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The shrill pitch of the electric screwdriver stops. Lucas looks down at me, and I silently curse Troy in a million enlightening ways for halting my entertainment.
Not once while I was single did I imagine getting married and never having sex with my new husband. But that’s exactly what has happened.
Regular sex isn’t the only important factor for a successful marriage. Communication is also important.
And currently, I’m zero out of two on both points.
Lucas told me on our wedding day he sees us eventually having kids. The pain of his words still vibrates through me. I should just dive into the deep end and tell him the truth. But I can’t form the words. Can’t spill my secrets.
What if he changes his mind about us being married? I’ve already lost my parents, my brother, my baby. I don’t want to lose Lucas, too.
Except, that’s exactly what might happen—and it could have nothing to do with my inability to have kids.
Justice. I don’t know if it’s blind or not, but it’s the one thing that could destroy our marriage.
I shake the thought from my head and remember why I’m here. I lift the two bags from Picnic & Treats. “I brought you lunch.”
Troy walks over to me, an easygoing grin on his face. “No wonder you’re my favorite sister-in-law.”
A chuckle bursts from my chest. “Sorry. I didn’t bring you lunch. Does that mean I’m demoted to your least favorite sister-in-law?”
Lucas drops down from the scaffolding and walks toward us.
Troy rubs the top of my head, messing up my hair. I duck away from his dusty hand and crouch to stroke Butterscotch, his adorable Cavapoo. The dog’s happily snoozing in a sunny spot.
Lucas gifts me with one of his smiles that make my insides swoon. “Hey, wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“I figured since it’s nice out and you need to eat, I’d visit you for lunch.”
As it is, we haven’t spent a lot of time together since the wedding. Lucas has been busy between helping Troy, being called on search-and-rescue missions when tourists get lost in the mountains, and looking into possible leads as to who set him up.
So far, the latter hasn’t amounted to much.
“I think women call this a romantic gesture,” Troy says. “All right, you two lovebirds, you get an hour lunch.” His voice hits hard on lovebirds as if they’re magical creatures he’s having a tough time believing in.
Lucas grabs his T-shirt from a scaffolding rail and pulls it on over his head. His ab muscles flex—and tease me some more.
We walk to his SUV. “You wanna have lunch at the lake?” he asks.
“Sounds good.”
He drives to a spot where few people visit. We walk down to the water’s edge and sit on the grassy bank. Several ducks are swimming a short distance from us. Their quacks and the soft rustle of the willow canopy swaying in the breeze are the only sounds around us.
I remove the chicken-and-bacon club sandwiches from the bags and pass him one. “How’s the job going?”
“It’s hard work, so that’s good.”
What he’s really saying is it’s enough to momentarily distract him from thinking about the job he’s great at but can’t do because of the drug charges. I’ve seen him work with Grams. It’s clear how much he loves his job and how great he is at it.
“What are you up to today?” Lucas takes an impressive bite from his sandwich.
“Not much. I worked on a new design for a bracelet and went to the post office. And I’m going over to see Grams after lunch to spend time with her. So lots of excitement.” Somehow, I keep the underwhelmed sigh from my voice.
“This isn’t how I imagined married life,” Lucas says as if reading my mind. “Somehow I thought I’d get to kiss my wife first thing in the morning and before going to sleep.”
He could if I were sleeping in the same bed as him. Because I wasn’t ready to go there yet after we got married, I’ve been sleeping in the guest room.
An unexpected bubble of laughter escapes me at his comment. “You probably also expected to have sex with her several times a day.”
