Page 79 of Almost Paradise

“No. You cheat at that,” I remind her.

“How does one cheat at rock, paper, scissors?”

“You find a way.” She never makes her move at the same time as me. She always waits just a fraction of a second after I go before she does. “You could have gone and been back ten minutes ago,” I tell her. “I’m thirsty.”

“Fine,” she huffs. She tries to get up, but I pull her back and kiss her first. She puts on the white tee I had discarded and leaves the bedroom.

We’ve made love three times in two hours. The last time, we bet that whoever came first would have to go to the kitchen to get water and the cheese and fruit plate from the fridge. She lost just like I knew she would.

I quickly use the bathroom while she’s gone. By the time I return to the room, I hear my phone vibrating in my pants pocket. Scarlett’s name flashes on the screen, and I hit ignore. She calls right back, and I ignore it again. This is about the fifth time she’s called this week. I’ve ignored her each time.

“Who is that?” Nia asks as she comes back into the bedroom. I put the phone down and take the tray from her.

“Scarlett,” I tell her. I’m never going to lie to my wife. We’ve had enough lies between us.

She huffs and rolls her eyes. She puts a bottle of water on my lamp table and climbs on the bed. She sits in the middle, crosses her arms, and flares her nostrils. “What does she want?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t answer. I ended things. There’s nothing left for us to say, but she’s been calling all week,” I tell her. “I don’t want any lies between us. That’s why I’m telling you.”

“Well, whatever,” she says. She opens her water bottle and drinks it. When I get back in the bed, she’s stiff and won’t let me pull her back into my arms. It’s like trying to cuddle with a statue.

“We agreed there would be no wall. Come on.” I pull her into me. She lies next to me, but she remains stiff.

“Did you ever bring her here? If you did, I swear, I will set this bed on fire after I punch you in the teeth.”

“No. She’s never been here. She doesn’t know about this place. This has always been only ours. I could never bring anyone here. I couldn’t even bring myself to sell it.”

“Of all the people on earth, I can’t believe you would ask her to marry you. I should—”

I shut her up by turning around and capturing her in a kiss. She capitulates and finally kisses me back. I kiss her slowly and tenderly, hopefully telling her how much she means to me.

“She’s gone,” I remind her. “I never should have gotten involved with her, but I’m married to you. I don’t want to talk about her, especially during our weekend.”

“Did you get down on one knee?” she asks as if she didn’t hear what I just said. “How did that big proposal go? I bet it was stupid.” She goes stiff again while she waits. There’s no way I’m going to answer that. I did get on one knee. It was awkward, and I was embarrassed when she screamed her answer. I proposed because the person I wanted was gone, and Scarlett was there.

“She’s not someone you should ever think or worry about.”

“You think I worry about her? Oh, please. I’d like to punch her in the face though. After I kick you in the nuts for getting—”

I take her hand and put it on my balls. “I’ll let you touch them, but no kicking. Come on.” I turn to my side so we can face each other. “She’s irrelevant. I’m married to you, and we’re a family.” She finally relaxes and throws her leg over me again. She cuddles into me and rests her head on my chest. “That’s more like it,” I tell her. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” she admits.

“I’ve even missed your horrible singing.”

“Not horrible at all. Do you need a reminder?” She clears her throat, and I know she’s about to butcher a Mariah Carey song. I wince and brace myself, but the sound of her ringing phone saves me.

She takes it from her lamp table.

“Hey, Dad,” she says. She puts the phone on speaker. I don’t pull away, but some of my good mood dissipates. I know her father will probably always resent me. He’ll never believe I didn’t know about Carter, and after threatening his career to get his daughter to marry me, I doubt he’ll ever forgive me. “Does Carter want to talk to me?”

Her dad clears his throat before he says, “He’s asking for his father.” I can hear the disapproval in his tone.

“Hi, Mommy,” I hear Carter say. They talk for a bit, and Carter tells her all about his time with his papa, grandma, and cousins before he asks for me.

“Hi, Daddy. Papa made us asghetti,” he says. “With meatballs. Grandma gave us cake for dessert.”

“Sounds like you’re having fun,” I tell my son.

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