Page 38 of Never Been Worse

“Mr. Holden, welcome to Friendly Skies Airlines. We’re so happy to have you flying with us,” the flight attendant says, standing a bit too close for comfort. I give her a tight smile. “My name is Leah. I’m a huge fan, and I’ll be personally attending to you for our entire flight. We’re set to take off in a few, but is there anything at all I can do for you before that?”

I shake my head.

“No, but my wife would like”—I turn to Harper—“a Coke Zero, no ice?” She looks at me, slightly confused for a moment, before nodding, and I turn to the flight attendant once more. “That will be all.”

Her smile falters a hint before she nods and steps away.

“Lucky guess,” Harper says under her breath, pulling out a book and her headphones.

“I’m sorry?” I ask with a laugh.

“With the drink. Lucky guess. It’s what I order.”

Slowly, I shake my head because clearly, she still doesn’t get it, how into her I am, how much I’ve been watching her for the past two years.

“That wasn’t luck. When we go out as a group, you always ask what kind of soda they have. If it’s Pepsi, you’ll get water. If they have Coke, you’ll ask for Coke Zero. If they don’t have that and it’s fountain, you get a Diet Coke with ice. If it’s bottled, you’ll get water.” She stares at me, and I smile at the shock on her face. “I pay attention, little wife.”

She stares at me for a moment, taking me in and trying to decide how to respond, but the flight attendant is returning with a familiar red can and handing it and a cocktail napkin to me.

“Here you go, Mr. Holden,” she says with a purr before walking away with a wink.

When I hand the can over to Harper, I notice the cocktail napkin has a number andLeahwritten on it with a bright pink lipstick kiss on it. Rolling my eyes, I crumble it up and set it aside for the trash.

“Does that happen often?” Harper asks, cracking open the can. I shrug.

“It’s not uncommon.”

“Do you take them up on their offers?” I don’t miss the hint of jealousy she attempts to keep out of her words unsuccessfully.

“I’m not going to step out on you with a flight attendant if that’s what you’re worried about,” I say.

“Trust me, I know. There’s a very hefty prenuptial agreement in place,” she says, and I laugh. “I’m just...curious. I realized this weekend that I don’t know very much about you. Outside a good chunk of your musical memories, now, of course.”

I smile at the reminder of the flight here and reach out for her hand on impulse, grabbing it before shrugging. “I used to. When I was young and horny and didn’t want something more.” She bites her lip like she doesn’t want to ask, but I stare at her, eyebrow lifted, challenging her to do it.

“But now?” she finally asks.

“Well, now I’m married,” I say with a smile. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, elbowing me but not letting go of my hand. She told me she’s a nervous flyer, and I can feel the truth of it in the small shake of her hands.

“You know what I mean. Before me. Before you were tied to this.”

I think about how to answer that, how to approach this without terrifying her. Harper Abbott, now Holden, I’m learning, is much more scared than she lets on.

“It gets old, you know. Being some check mark, some grand trophy. You start to crave something real. You start to wonder if people like you for you, or if it’s because you’retheWes Holden. If it’s because you’re in a band or if it’s because they likeyou.”

“So you don’t do friends with benefits?” she asks, and if I’m not mistaken, it feels like a leading question, something I’m intrigued by more than I probably should be. But I’ve already made my mind up on Harper and what I want us to be. Friends with benefits would just give my little wife too much room to deny whatever is building between us, even if her offer was tempting.

“I’m too old for that,” I whisper, my hand reaching out and tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’m ready for more.” We’re veering off hypotheticals now, and she knows it.

“I’m not looking for more.” Her tongue comes out to wet her lips nervously. “I don’t think I’ll ever want more again. I wasted too long banking onmore,and all that did was make me ignore all the glaring red flags.”

“I think you just need to learn to trust yourself more,” I say. “I think you knew for some time things weren’t going to work out with you two. You were afraid of what it might say about you if you walked away from it all after investing all of that time into the relationship.”

Her brows furrow as she takes in my words, and I watch her, reading her the way I’m learning to love to do. It’s the best way to get to know her since she is so hesitant to share. But then my eyes catch on a gold chain tucked beneath her sweatshirt, and I can’t help it. My fingers reach out, grazing her skin and snaking underneath, tugging it from her shirt. Her breath hitches as I touch her, and I don’t bother to fight the smirk on my lips as I settle the necklace over top of her sweatshirt.

“You’re still wearing it,” I whisper, running my thumb over the W charm.

“I kind of like it.” A small, shy smile spreads over her lips. “It’s growing on me, just like my husband.”

---