Page 10 of While You're There
Rhett
Rhettscrolledthroughhiscalendar app for the third time that morning. It was early. He hadn’t slept well again last night. He wasn’t used to sleeping at Tori’s house, but his room at his parents’ house was littered with boxes and all the random things he wanted to take to Virginia so they didn’t have a choice. Plus, he didn’t want to have to face off again with his dad.
He sat up a little straighter against her headboard and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He needed a run. Or a drink. He doubted he had time for either.
Graduation had been a shitshow between the Chandler incident and the unexpected push back from his father during their post-graduation brunch. He never dreamed that when he pitched the idea of having their wedding up at the cabin in a few weeks, his parents wouldn’t be completely onboard.
It wasn’t the wedding itself or the rushed timeline that caused the discord. It was the flurry of questions his father had spat out over his plate of steak and eggs. Questions that were uncomfortable at best, insulting at worst, and that left such an uneasiness in the air that none of them were able to finish their meals.
Why were they getting married so soon?
Why wasn’t Tori willing to move to Virginia with him?
What contingencies had he included in the prenup?
What did her preventative surgery plans mean for his future, for their family legacy?
His mom at least had the decency to shake her head and scold Peter Wheeler when he brought up Tori’s health and how it might affect the Wheeler “legacy” as he had not-so-subtly worded it. That wasn’t the worst of it, though. His dad shoved out of his seat and upended a saltshaker when Rhett revealed that they didn’t have a prenup.
He couldn’t believe his own father had assailed them like that at brunch, on the day of his graduation no less. His dad had known Tori since she was five years old. She shouldn’t have to provide a character assessment or credit check to officially join the family after being part of their lives for nearly twenty years.
Nothing was resolved or accomplished from their face-off besides the lingering tension that followed them home to Hampton. Rhett was pretty sure the issue wouldn’t come up again. His dad would be at the wedding, and then he would resume his fifty weeks of travel per year. As long as he was confident his mom was on his side, he didn’t give a shit what his dad thought about his marriage, his money, or his future.
Thankfully, his mom had agreed to help him with the wedding planning and seemed genuinely happy for them to get married. Now that the date was set, he had even more to do. He had to leave for Virginia tomorrow morning for a quick two-day trip. He was in the final stages of hiring his executive assistant for NorfolkStar Transport, and he wanted to conduct the final round of interviews in person. He needed to be there in person to hire the person who he would trust to manage his schedule.
Then Tori had three back-to-back consultations on Friday. He knew she was set on having a risk-reducing hysterectomy as soon as possible. Her follow-up scans had come back inconclusive, but because of the elevated CA-125 levels in her bloodwork and her genetic history, there was a chance that she already had a very early stage of ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, without evidence of tumors or an official diagnosis, she had been warned that she may get some pushback about being so proactive about prophylactic surgery. Rhett wanted to be there for her on Friday to help navigate those conversations and to feel out the surgeon they were going to trust with her life.
He sighed again, accepting that the only way to tackle the next few days was to put his head down and push through. He would have to head back to his house at some point today to pack a bag for Virginia. He wondered idly where he had put his garment bag when they unloaded the cars on Sunday night.
Rhett was pulled out of his own head by Tori rolling over next to him. He turned to gaze down at her, noticing the slightest pinch between her eyebrows. “Good morning, beautiful.”
“Hey, hot stuff,” she replied, her voice still heavy with sleep. “What are you stressing about over there?”
He offered her a tight smile. She could always tell when his mind was working overtime.
“Just thinking about everything we have going on this week.” He shifted onto his side and wrapped an arm around her. She shimmied closer to him, lining up her back against his bare chest. He could feel the warmth of her body through the thin T-shirt she had slept in last night.
“Are you worried Memorial Day weekend is too soon?” she asked as she traced small circles on his forearm.
“Nope, not at all,” he replied without hesitation. “The wedding is what’s going to get me through these next two weeks. It’s all the other stuff I have to do between now and then that feels daunting. Memorial Day weekend will be perfect. I can’t wait to marry you.” He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, letting his lips savor the delicate skin stretched along her collarbone. He felt her shiver in response to his words and his mouth.They both stayed silent for a minute, relishing in the stillness of the morning.
Being in bed together was a sacred shelter. He could call up all the resilience and strength he needed when he was holding her in his arms. He had waited so long to be able to just hold her.
The calm didn’t keep against his reeling thoughts, though. He was the first to break the silence. “So what’s your work schedule this week?”
“I have to work dinner shifts tonight and Thursday, then I open on Saturday morning.”
“Wait, you have to work tonight?” He had to catch a flight to Virginia before sunrise tomorrow. He’d been counting on spending the day with Tori before he had to leave her for a few days.
“I do. I feel like I need to get back on somewhat of a normal schedule after all the random time off I’ve had lately. I’ve barely worked this month. I can’t work on Friday because of my appointments, then I marked off Saturday night and all of Sunday to be with you…” Tori trailed off as she ran her nails up and down the inside of his arm.
“You know it’s okay to work less with everything we’ve got going on, right? I hate the idea of you running yourself ragged when we don’t need the money.” He had already called his bank guy earlier in the week and had Tori added on to all his accounts. He was going to take care of his wife in every way possible, including financially.
Tori stilled in his arms, her body rigid in response to his words. She moved her hand off his arm and moved ever-so-slightly away from his hold. “Do you think we need a prenup?” she whispered.
Goddamnit. His father’s tirade had obviously gotten to her. “Of course not.”
“You know everyone’s going to think I’m marrying you for health insurance or your money.”
