Page 59 of Takedown

“Molly raised a great man.” His soft lips land on my forehead. “I’m sorry about before—"

“Shh. I don’t care about before. I only care about now and tomorrow. Tomorrow looks bright,” he tells me.

“Let me say this, please.” When he nods, I continue. “I’m sorry for leaving you in Vegas and for freaking out those first few days when we got back. You didn’t deserve that, and I was a scared fool. And yes, tomorrow does look bright even though we might be living in a cardboard box because this wedding is so expensive,” I sigh.

“Ooh, I feel another spreadsheet in our near future.” I hop off his lap, and he slaps my ass. I let out a yelp and run to the bedroom for my laptop. When I return, I pull out several receipts from my purse and update the document. “So, apparently, seven months is not a long time to plan a wedding, and we’re paying extra to have things expedited. Do you know it can take up to nine to twelve months to get a wedding dress?”

He does a fake gasp and puts both hands to his cheeks and says, “Really? The wedding industry is shameful.”

I playfully slap him upside his head the same way his mother does. “So, I had to pay extra to get my dress in time for alterations if needed. I hope the flowers won’t cost too much, and—”

“Love, don’t worry about it. Just use the credit card. Don’t stress out about the cost.”

“Yes, but I really want to be a homeowner. I guess I can dip into my emergency savings, and since we have both incomes, we can still buy something. But now we’ll need something bigger than just the starter house I was going to get on my own. Oh, I need to know exactly how much you make. And maybe we can get joint accounts.”

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She wasn’t kidding about being all in. That’s everything I want to hear and my worst nightmare rolled into one, but I clear my throat and put a smile on my face, and hope she can’t smell my fear.

“We can merge checking accounts. I can transfer to yours or you to mine.” I’ve never been so happy to have accounts at two different banks before then I am right at this moment. She smiles at my suggestion and nods.

“Okay. We can figure that out later, but we need to figure out how we’re going to budget these added expenses. We can’t have any late credit card payments.” She talks some more, and I do my best to pay attention while I move money around on my banking app. She asks me how much I make, and I tell her without meeting her eyes.

“Okay.” She smiles, showing off all her teeth. “That makes us equal.” She claps her hands together as if she just discovered some great secret. I close the banking app and put my phone away.

“I thought you said you made more than me?”

“I do, but we’re in the same bracket.” I look at her and raise my eyebrows. She tells me her salary and says, “You know the box you check for your salary range? We’re in the same box. So, yes, I do make more, but we’re in the same income bracket, which makes us equals.” She reaches over and runs her fingers through my hair and kisses my cheek.

“And that’s important to you?”

“Very. I want to be on equal footing. I know things can happen, but I want us to at least start at the same level.”

I sigh and lean back in my chair.

“I don’t see why that matters. It wouldn’t bother me if you made twice as much as me.” She looks at me and smiles, while she shakes her head as if I just missed the point.

“It’s different for me,” she says. “Jason makes about nine times as much as Alex. I’d hate that.”

“You don’t think they’re equal, Mel? You’re right. They’re not. She runs the man,” I chuckle. “If anyone is beneath anyone, it’s him. And,” I tell her, grabbing her chin, “unless you’re getting another husband, you don’t have to worry about that. I’d never treat you that way.”

She looks down, and I wait for her to speak again. I know she’s considering her next words.

“You don’t understand. It’s about me, not anyone else. I was always the unimportant one growing up, and I don’t want to be that person anymore. I want to be capable. I want to be a true partner to you and that means contributing financially. It’s important to me. If we’re going to build an empire, we’re going to do it together.”

“So, if you found out I was a secret millionaire, you’d bolt?” I do my best to sound playful, but my heart is beating so fast, I’m worried she’ll hear it.

“Oh, really?” She gives me the most exaggerated eye roll. “How many millions are we talking about?”

“Fifty, give or take.” I give her a non-committal shrug. She throws her head back and her laughter fills the kitchen. She’s unguarded and beautiful, and I can’t help but reach over, pick her up, and put her on my lap.

“It’s freaky how strong you are, but I’d be worried if you had fifty million dollars and chose to rent this place from my brother. And you lived like a broke frat boy before I came up here and rescued you.”

“Mmhmm.” I nibble the side of her neck. She leans away, giving me better access. I brush her hair aside and bite her skin. I suck right at the base of her neck, uncaring about leaving any marks. “Think about it, Mel. No more spreadsheets. No more stress about what we spend for the wedding, or what house we can afford. You can quit your job and go to law school full time.”

I leave wet kisses on her neck, but my wife has stopped reacting to me. I pull my lips away and she slowly turns to face me.

“I like it this way better with both of us contributing. It’s moot, stud. You probably don’t even have fifty dollars in your wallet right now, never mind fifty million.”

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