Page 23 of Married Into Love

“My brother was a great hockey player. He’s a smart businessman. But he’s the furthest thing from normal when it comes to Josie. And when you meet my parents, you’ll find that we get it fromourdad.”

“I guess it’s only fair, considering my family has its own brand of crazy. At least yours is the kind that makes the guy want to stick around,” she grumbled, her hand covering her belly again. “Which’ll be a good thing if you really did knockmeup.”

I couldn’t stand how sad her eyes suddenly looked. Swiftly rising to my feet, I pulled her into my arms. “There’s a story behind that, isn’tthere?”

“Not agoodone.”

“For better or worse, beautiful,” Iremindedher.

“Seriously crazy,” she whispered, taking a deep breath before she continued. “My dad walked out when I was in my freshman year of high school. Not just on my mom, but all of us. Me and Ariana, too. One day he was there, and the next he was gone. No goodbye. No explanation.Nothing.”

I didn’t know the guy, but if I ever met him I was pretty sure I’d end up kicking his ass for the shit he’d put Alessia through. “That was what, six years ago? And you never heard from himagain?”

“My mom got served divorce papers about a year later. She didn’t contest it because he offered her a small settlement and she couldn’t wait to get her hands on themoney.”

I stroked my palms up and down her back in a gesture meant to offer comfort while she recounted her difficult past. “It couldn’t have been easy, raising two teenage girls on her own. I’m sure she neededthecash.”

“If only that’d been her reason,” she sighed. “I didn’t know it at the time, but she was gambling with money she couldn’t spare. We never seemed to have enough to make ends meet, and I used what I earned from my part-time job to help fill inthegaps.”

Shit. She’d only been sixteen back then, holding down a part-time job to help her mom. No dad around. A mom with a gambling problem. Alessia hadn’t had an easy timeofit.

When I’d been that age, I was attending an expensive boarding school because they had one of the best hockey programs in the country. As long as I pulled in decent grades and stayed on the team, my parents covered everything for me—including the brand-new car they’d bought me when I got mylicense.

I’d lived a blessed life. One I was determined to share with mynewwife.

“Alessia.” I waited for her to lift her head and meet my eyes. “Those days are over. No matter what happens between the two of us—and make no mistake, I’m going to do everything in my power to convince you to stay married to me—I’ll make sure you don’t have to struggle like thatagain.”

“Alec, no. I didn’t tell you all of that to make you feel sorry for me because I want moneyfromyou.”

“I know you don’t, beautiful. But you’ve got my ring on your finger.” I rubbed over the underside of it with my thumb. “And I might have already gotten you pregnant.” I slid my other hand between us to cradle her belly. “That makes you doubly mine. And I take care ofwhat’smine.”

“You really are a caveman. I should probably do something about that or else you’ll think you can walk alloverme.”

“Nah.” I grinned at her. “You’d be disappointed if Iwasn’t.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Iechoed.

“It’s not like I’m going to admit it to you. That’d only make you worse,” shelaughed.

“I married a smart woman,” Icomplimentedher.

“Smart enough to notice you broke our new rule. That was definitely a serious conversation, and I wasn’t inyourlap.”

I gently brushed my lips over hers. “But you were in my arms, and that’s just as goodforme.”

“Enough with all the sad stories and life-changing realizations. I think we should do something funtoday.”

“Then it’s your lucky day! How does a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyonsound?”

“Like something I’ve always wanted to do but never had thechance.”

“Good, because Ryan and I made arrangements to do one this morning but now he’s not here and I’d hate to let the sight-seeing tour go to waste.” Especially when it was something my wife wanted that I could easily givetoher.

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