Page 72 of Walkoff Wedding

I can’t admit any of that… not when this is supposed to be fake. The problem is that every day that passes, it begins to feel less and less like an arrangement and more like something different entirely.

Strolling past the circulation desk, I grin at the librarian and raise my hand in a quick wave as I make my way toward the back of the building. This place is way bigger than I remember, but then again, it’s not somewhere I’ve frequented in the four years I’ve been at OU.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and when I pull it out, there’s a message from Addie.

Wifey: In study room 12.

My lips curve into a grin as I pocket it and continue walking to the back, where the signs direct me to the secluded row of individually numbered rooms. They’re not huge, but big enough for a desk, a few chairs, and a large whiteboard. The top part of the walls is glass and the bottom a blackened-out partition that matches the door.

I had no clue these existed, yet another testament to the fact that I haven’t spent any time here, but I’m not in the least bit surprised that my wife knows about them since she’s the kind of student that every college dreams of.

I find her in the very last room in the corner, her head bent over her textbooks, chewing on the end of her pencil as she bobs her head to whatever’s playing through her headphones.

She hasn’t noticed me yet, so I take a second to admire her. Her hair is down and curly today, with a few tiny little blue flowers threaded within the strands. They match the flowers on her denim dress, and of course, she’s got on her favorite Mary Janes. When she smiles down at whatever she’s working on, something fiercely possessive blooms within my chest.

I wish she knew just how beautiful she is.

How every time I see her, I’m struck by it, like I’m seeing her for the very first time all over again. No one even compares to her. I just can’t fucking believe that we somehow spent the last four years at the same university and never crossed paths.

Quietly, I slip inside and shut the door behind me before walking over to her. I dip my head down to press a kiss to her head and set the coffee and muffin on the table in front of her.

She glances up from her textbooks, a bashful smile tugging at her lips, and pulls the headphones out of her ears. “Hi.”

“Hi, baby.” I pull out the chair next to her and sink down into it. “Brought you coffee and breakfast. Figured you probably didn’t stop to eat this morning.”

Heat blooms on her cheeks, and she nods, tucking her hair behind her ear. “You would be correct. I… forgot. My head’s kind of been all over the place today. Thank you very much.”

My brows pinch together at her comment. “What’s going on?”

For a second, she’s quiet, her gaze flicking between me and the books in front of her, and I realize that something’s off.

“Addie, what happened? Talk to me.” My voice is laced with concern.

“It’s… it’s probably nothing. I just, I could’ve sworn that I saw Dixon in the courtyard this morning. But that would be crazy, right?” She pauses, dropping her pencil onto the table and turning toward me before reaching up to rub at her bottom lip absentmindedly. “Since I was fairly certain that I was losing it, I kept walking, especially when I glanced back and saw the person was gone. It just… it left me feeling really weird and paranoid, and I haven’t been able to shake it. It’s all just too much. Brent has been hanging around a few times when I’ve gone to open up the bakery, which is insane because it’s literally 3:00 a.m.… just watching creepily from his house. And there’s those texts that he sent, which he makes seem harmless but feel so… threatening.”

Before she’s even done talking, I reach for her and pull her against my chest, wrapping my arms around her tightly. It better not have been Dixon. I was worried he’d be a problem, but after Addie texted and told him to never contact her again, he’s been a ghost.

“Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve been there in a heartbeat. Addie, you have to tell me this stuff. You can’t keep it all in, and I can’t protect you if I don’t know.”

She leans back slightly, peering up at me, “It might not have even been Dixon today. I’m tired and stressed-out about this test, so it could’ve just been my mind playing tricks on me. I didn’t want to make something out of nothing and totally disrupt your day. And with Brent, I mean he’s technically not doing anything wrong since he lives next door, it’s just unnerving. Even though I knew he’d be watching, hoping to catch us in a mistake.”

“Hey, you not feeling safe is something. If you think you see either of them again or even feel like something’s not right, call me. Or call the campus police and report it. Who knows what they’re capable of now that they didn’t get their way. Both of them. I’m not taking a chance when it comes to your safety, baby. Promise me you’ll call me if you see either one of them. I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay?” I assure her, reaching up to brush my thumb along her jaw.

The thought of him potentially being here, watching her, coming within a hundred fucking feet of her, sends a jolt of fury crashing down my spine. I grit my teeth together, my jaw working painfully at the idea.

I’ll do whatever it takes to keep this promise to her, even if that means going to that fucker’s house and handling this shit myself. Especially after that asshole put his hands on her. He’ll never get close enough to make that mistake again.

If he did that with me there, I can only imagine what he’d do if she were alone.

No one touches my wife.

“Okay. I will,” she mumbles quietly into my chest. “I promise.”

I hold her for a few more minutes, finding comfort in the steady sound of her breathing until she pulls back, finally reaching for the strawberry muffin. “I honestly just want to forget about it. Thank you again for bringing me breakfast. I was planning on starving until lunch so I could get a few extra hours of studying done, so this is very appreciated.”

My arms drop, and I sit back in my chair as she starts to pick at the top of her muffin.

“Seriously, text me next time. I can always bring you food or, you know… keep you company while you study.” I give her a playful grin, and she smiles.

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