Page 27 of Mine to Love
“What does that mean, exactly?” Miles asked.
“He’ll tell me to fuck off. Dare me to leave. He’s even let me walk out the front door, locking it behind me, always yelling from the other side that I’d be back. And he was right, I always did, because of Gabriel. It was too much to leave in the heat of the moment. I had to plan. That took time.”
“That was smart on your part,” Miles said. “I’m curious. What did his parents do to try to get you to stay?”
“A brand-new car showed up one day. There was all of a sudden talk of them paying for college. They bought Gabriel a new computer. Told him no more adult programs. They told me they’d change my prenup agreement, but no amount of money was going to make me stay. I mean, I did that twice before, and nothing changed. They never followed through anyway. It was all talk so I wouldn’t drive right out of town. But I don’t understand why. They don’t even like me.”
“How long were you married?” The wheels in Miles’ backward brain began spinning wildly out of control. It was hard to contain it when he got going. Thinking was never a problem. Sorting information was easy. Speaking not hard at all.
But he couldn’t put it on paper if he tried.
He’d need Rhett for that one.
That was one of the reasons he’d never go to work full-time for his brother, and while everyone in his family totally believed he had the chops to be a PI or a cop, it was the test and the paperwork that made Miles twitch. His learning disability would never go away. It was something he’d accepted a long time agoand had overcome in many ways. But it didn’t change the fact he still had it.
“I got married at twenty-one. I left him for good fourteen months ago, but the divorce didn’t become final until two months ago, so a little over ten years.”
“When did you try to leave before this final time?”
“Five years into the marriage.” She flattened her hand against her stomach. “And then again three years after that.”
He inhaled sharply. He’d watched too many of his sisters-in-law tell his brothers they were pregnant by merely covering their bellies. He knew what that gesture meant.
Only, he didn’t know what happened.
“I know it’s none of my business, but I’m going to ask anyway. Why did you try to leave? And why did you end up staying?”
“The first time I caught him cheating. I was more upset that Gabriel was in the house than the fact he was fucking some bimbo.”
“That’s not cool.”
“It would have crushed Gabriel and he wouldn’t have understood.” She let out a slow breath. “It’s one of the reasons why I need to ease Gabriel into the idea of me dating anyone. Even someone he likes as much as you. I can’t just throw you in his face.”
“The man knows what sex is. He’s asked me about it a few times, but yeah, the cheating part would have been confusing as hell since he does have some displaced loyalty with Charlie.”
“He’s a twenty-two-year-old virgin. There have been times I thought about hiring someone to have sex with him, but then I think about all the things that could go wrong.” She laughed, lifting her drink. “The man is obsessed with porn and I can’t bring myself to tell him to stop looking at it.”
“A little self-gratification never hurt anyone.”
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
He chuckled. “For the last four months, until last night, it’s all I knew, but we’re getting sidetracked.” He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Something you’re good at.”
She shrugged.
“Why did you stay after he cheated on you?” he asked.
“We had been fighting for a year over whether or not to have a baby. I wanted to go back to school, and he wanted me to be the good little wife and stay at home. I was bored stiff and getting antsy. I refused to go off birth control and that was his way of paying me back.”
“That’s cruel.”
She nodded. “But he said all the right things. Did all the right things. And we were good for a while, until I got pregnant.” She rubbed her thumb over her index fingernail, picking at the edges. “It was as if I fulfilled my wifely duty and he went back to being a prick. He would stay out late with his buddies. He started ignoring Gabriel. He told me no more college. That was it. I was going to be a mother and that was my role. I felt trapped and alone.”
“I imagine you would.”
She wiped a few tears that dripped down her cheek. “When I was seven months pregnant, I had enough. I wanted out. I didn’t care if he and his parents cut me and Gabriel off. I figured I’d be able to handle Gabriel because he was so excited about the baby. I also assumed that Charlie and everyone else would still be in our lives because of the baby, but I just couldn’t live there anymore. It was pure torture. I was alone. No one cared. I was Rapunzel trapped in a tower without my long hair. I packed my bags and told him I was leaving. He dealt with it by shoving me down the stairs.”
“He did what!” Miles jumped to his feet with his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He paced in front of the porch, itching to punch something.
