Page 74 of Honeymoon Phase
Why did I have to call her a fucking good girl?
Because my penis had clearly taken over my fucking brain.
Roe isn’t a woman who can be told what to do. She isn’t a woman who takes orders. She’s a woman who gets things done. Like finding a guy to marry her for a year so she can take over the family business. That’s the kind of determined badass she is. And that’s why she’s here. That’s the only reason she’s here.
And I know Everly’s big mastermind plan was to get my wife to fall in love with me, but that’s going to be really hard when I can’t even figure out how to get my wife to spend time with me.
“Which one is your favorite, Addison?” my mom asks from her seat plunked right between the two of us. She’s got her binder spread out in front of her and has been taking notes through this entire tasting.
Addison yanks her eyes away from me and gives my mom her full attention. “I’m going to level with you, Jo. I love them all.”
My mom laughs and I notice Roe’s tense mood lightening just slightly. “You and me both. Gosh they don’t make it easy, do they?” She makes a note and then pulls her pen to her mouth. “What do we think about cupcakes? The baker said most of these cakes can be made into cupcakes so we can do a variety that way.”
“I love the cupcake idea.” Roe smiles warmly, her hazel eyes striking against her silky black hair that’s tied into a braid down one shoulder. My fingers itch to feel the nubs of that braid, to drag my coarse thumb over the strands, twist it around my fist and give it a little tug until she gasps in shock and submits to me. What I wouldn’t do to see my powerful, irritating wife on her knees, naked, panting, and taking orders from me for once.
“Luke!” My mom’s voice is loud, and I jerk my head to look at her, and the irritation on her face is obvious. “I asked what do you think of cupcakes?”
“Um... sure... whatever Roe wants.” I frown and stare down at the cake sitting on my fork, my face hot with shame over where my thoughts were going right in front of my mother.
When I look up, Roe’s eyes are tight on me, and I swear it’s like she can read my fucking mind.
I have to get control of this situation.
After saying goodbye to my mother outside the bakery, Roe turns to head to her car and I follow, my heart hammering in my chest as I approach her from behind. “Hey, can we talk for a second?” I ask, falling into stride with her as her boots crunch over the snow-packed sidewalk.
“Sure, what’s up?” she chirps in that irritating singsongy voice that she’s been using.
“Are we okay?” I ask, pulling my hat off and facing it forward.
“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?” She laughs and it grates on my nerves.
“Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” she chimes back, picking up pace.
“You know what.” I stop walking and she keeps going until she realizes I’m not beside her and pivots to turn around and look at me.
We’re silent for a few seconds before I lift my hands up. “I miss you, Roe.”
Her brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“I just...” I exhale heavily and grip the back of my neck. “I miss you. Things have been weird since I kissed you and I hate to think I fucked this all up for us.”
“Things haven’t been weird. I’ve just been busy! Things at the yard are crazy and my dad is coming back next week and has some meetings set up that I don’t know anything about. It’s just a lot. It’s not you.”
The polite smile on her face gives me a pit in my stomach. She has this fucking wall up that I hate. She usually never has this with me. I see her have it with her dad, with the guys at the yard, with my mother.
Never me.
I narrow my eyes and eliminate the space between us. “If we’re good, then can we hang tonight?”
She shrugs her shoulders and says, “What do you mean, Luke? We live together.”
“I know but can we just not do the thing where we both come home, eat by ourselves, and then hide out in our bedrooms?”
“That’s not what—”
“Cut the shit, Roe. I miss my best friend.”
