Page 47 of It Must Be Fate

Next thing I know, the flowers land on the counter with an angrythwack. Rhys storms towards me, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

I jump down from my chair just as he reaches me. His hand comes up to grab my throat and he drags me against him with a snarl.

“You met up with your ex?” he asks, his voice dangerously calm. The twitching muscle in his jaw tells me he’s anything but.

“No.” I place a soothing hand on his chest. “I ran into him by chance after your match. He’s in London for work, he’s a game developer now.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” he seethes through clenched teeth. “So you said hello and went on your way?”

This is the part he’s really not going to like.

“We both had coffees in hand so we sat down for a few minutes and talked.” His eyes burn with jealousy. His hand tightens around my throat so I clarify, “As friends only.”

Rhys laughs humorlessly. Cold fury pours off him in waves. I haven’t seen him this angry in years.

“Do you want me to go to jail, love?” he says, his thumb rubbing warning circles over my pulse point.

“No.”

“Then what are you doing?” he demands, giving my neck a warning squeeze. My lips part but he doesn’t let me answer. “Didyou think I’d be anything other than absolutely fuckinglividthat you sat down for a cozy little catch up with your ex-boyfriend? The ex I had towatchyou be with when you were already mine?”

I cup his wrist with one hand and reach for his face with the other, stroking his cheek fondly as I stare into his eyes.

“You’re right, it sounds terrible,” I admit. “But do you want to know what we talked about?”

“No,” he snaps, releasing me and taking a step back. “I don’t.”

I fist the fabric of his shirt and yank it firmly to keep him from walking away. Grabbing his face with both hands, I force him to look back at me.

“You.” His eyes lift up to mine, narrowing suspiciously on me. “We talked about you. About our family. I showed him pictures of us together. Of Hayes as a newborn.” I place a hand on my stomach. “I told him about our second little one.”

Rhys sucks in an angry breath. His hand covers mine protectively and he steps forward, crowding me against the counter. “Did you let him touch your belly?” he demands territorially.

“Of course not,” I say, genuinely offended. “I would never.”

He grunts, his chest settling. “Good.”

“He asked me if you make me happy.”

Rhys’s jaw snaps shut. “I’m going to kill him.”

“No.”

“Was he hoping you’d say no so he could step in and take you away from me. Is that it?” Rhys fists my hair and forces my head back to look up at him. “I won’t stand by and watch like I did last time, Silver. I won’t give you a choice. You already made yours seven years ago, and choosing me was a lifetime vow. If he comes anywhere near you again, I’ll deal with him like I did Devlin, except this time I’ll handle the problempermanently.”

The jealous rage that flies off my husband is something to behold. He’s incandescent with it, his grip on me brutal and possessive.

I keep stroking his cheek to calm him down.

“Baby, he told me he’s seeing someone and he’s happy. He’s going to propose to her. I promise you this was genuinely like old friends catching up, nothing more.”

He squeezes my sides, pressing me up against his chest. “So what was your answer?”

“The truth, obviously,” I answer. “That I’m one of the lucky ones because I got to marry the love of my life. That you’ve given me everything I’ve ever wanted and made every dream of mine come true. That I’ve never been happier in my whole life.”

Rhys makes a noise of quiet satisfaction and drops his face into the crook of my neck, pressing a hot kiss against my throat. “Good girl.”

I laugh. “I thought you’d think so.”

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