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We hear Martin’s car pull into the driveway. Immediately, Princess settles herself over Willow and me, growling protectively at the front door.
“Shhh, it’s okay,” I whisper to her. “Willow, honey, why don’t you take Princess and go play in your room? I need to get supper ready. I’ll come get you when it’s time.”
Willow nods and nudges Princess off, quickly sliding off my lap and leading her canine guardian to her small room at the end of the hall.
Everything is small here. So small and so… insignificant.
Much like the man who walks through the front door right when I slip on my kitchen apron.
“Hey, honey, I’m home!” Martin sings out like it’s someBrady Bunchbullshit we’ve always done. Like I’m actually gonna be excited to see him.
That being said, I have to play my cards right, so I do need to pretend like I care. “How was your day?”
“Oh, so much better knowing you’re safe at home with me.” He grins and swoops into the kitchen to plant a sloppy, wet kiss to my cheek.
“That’s… great.” I quickly add a smile so it seems like I mean it. “Really great.”
“Yeah?” Martin steps up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist.Please, God, don’t let him notice anything different there.He presses another moist kiss to my neck and it’s all I can do not to throw up into the pot of water I’m trying to boil. “Did you miss me?”
“I thought we’d have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner,” I respond. I try to make it sound like it’s a “yes” without actually flat-out lying.
“Sounds good. Listen, I’ve been thinking…”
The way Martin has me pinned close to him, rocking us side to side, has me feeling all sorts of nervous. He’s only this affectionate when he wants something I’m almost guaranteed to disagree with. Something like…
“We should get married.”
I damn near drop the whole box of spaghetti into the boiling water, plastic and all. “Married?” I croak.
“Mhm.” He kisses my shoulder and it takes every ounce of self-control not to throw the pot at him just to get him off me. His touch, his breath, his voice… All of it sends shivers down my spine and swirls in my stomach with disgust. “We’ve been together for years. Willow is getting older and she deserves to have her parents together. One big, happy family.”
I push away from the stove and guide him over to where there’s no serious heat source or sharp object to threaten me with. When I turn in his arms, I chant to myself that Ihaveto put up an act to stall for time. It’s the only way I can stomach smiling at his face and rest my hands on his arms.
“Why now? We’ve never really discussed it before.”
There it is—the flash of irritation in his eyes that tells me I’m pushing his buttons.
He stamps it back down and keeps his smile on, even though I see it waver. “We have, just not as seriously. We should do it. Just go for it. You and me. We can go down to the courthouse, and?—”
“What’s the rush?” I ease myself away from his attempt at an embrace and make for the fridge. Maybe he’ll stop touching me if he sees I’m quite literally busy cooking his dinner. “It’d be nice to have a traditional wedding,” I add to defuse the tension.
“I know, babe. But with everything going on, and almost losing you… We need to make this official.”
My hand hovers over the package of ground beef. I don’t know for sure yet what it is, butsomethingis pinging in my mind with the way he says it. “Official?”
“Yeah. You know, man and wife.”
I pull the meat out and slowly turn to the countertop where I have a mixing bowl and breadcrumbs ready. “Man and wife.”That’s it.That’s the kicker here.“This wouldn’t have anything to do with spousal privileges, would it?”
Martin stops and clears his throat. “What do you mean?” he all but stammers.
I grab the large kitchen knife and set to mincing garlic. “Well, you planted evidence to get Tolya out, right? And obviously, you have accomplices. I know about everything that’s been going on, so marrying me would ensure I can’t be questioned on the stand when—and I do mean, ‘when,’ Martin—you’re caught and thrown on trial.”
He stares at me. The smile is gone, and so is any attempt to woo me with his charm. But instead of flying at me in a rage, he sighs and leans against the other counter. “Fine. Whatever. You’re just as complicit as I am, so I figured this would be a way to protect each other.”
“Makes sense.”
“Really?” He sounds surprised.
