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“Oh, I see. That’s your idea of doing two things at once, huh?”
“Exactly. Life’s too short to procrastinate.”
“Nick, I’m not sure what to say.”
I frowned, then took both my hands from under her dress and touched her cheeks with the backs of my fingers.
“One thing’s clear,” I started.
She raised a brow. “Do tell, because everything’s clear as mud for me.”
“We can’t continue the way we have up until now, pretending that we’re not attracted to each other.”
She straightened up. “That was probably a silly plan, wasn’t it? It was going to come to a head sooner rather than later. Though I have to admit, I didn’t think it was going to be this fast. Then again, I didn’t think we’d have the opportunity to have the house to ourselves either.” She blushed and covered her mouth.
“What just went through your pretty mind?”
“That Penny might be a genius. The timing was impeccable.”
Her words took me by surprise. Then I realized she was right. “Yeah, we Whitleys are known for our impeccable timing. It’s interesting.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why do you sound so unhappy about it?”
“I just hadn’t realized that my family could read me so well. They could probably tell from the wedding that all I wanted was to be alone with you.”
She bit the inside of her cheek.
“Tell me what’s on your mind, Allison. I promise I’m good either way.”
She frowned. “That’s just it. I’m not sure. Before... we said we’d have separate lives.”
I didn’t fucking want a separate life. I wanted to build a life with her.
“Fuck no. That’s off the table.”
The corners of her mouth lifted. Clearly she liked what she was hearing.
“And staying away from each other also doesn’t seem to work out.”
I liked where this was going. From the very beginning, she’d been far more cautious than I had been, and I didn’t want her to feel like she had to do something just because I wanted it. Not my style.
She was mine to protect and take care of. I felt more possessive of her than I’d ever been with anyone in my whole damn life. From the day of the accident, I felt the need to be right there with her.
“And anyway, you did say that you’re not marriage material. So—” She smiled, tilting her head. “—how about we’re married with benefits?”
That made me laugh. I liked that she took everything with humor.
“Married with benefits. I love that. But I don’t think it’s enough.”
All my life, I didn’t think I could be a good husband. I could be an excellent fake one, but what if I could be a really good boyfriend?
“Oh?” she said.
“What you and I have is real, Allison.”
She nodded. “Very.”
“You’re mine. And I’m yours. How does that sound?”