Page 94 of Almost Beautiful (Beautiful 3)

“No,” I whined, walking over to her. “Can’t you just stay here?”

“Mark and Pam are not that cool,” she said, jutting out her lip. “Dad’s still afraid if I spend too much time with Shep, I’ll end up eloping.”

“Can’t imagine where they’d get that idea,” Travis said, kissing my cheek before opening the freezer. He pulled out a package of chicken breasts and tossed them into the sink. “They should come up. See that Abby isn’t miserable. She’s actually pretty damn happy. I make sure of it.”

He winked at me, and I tried to calm the butterflies exploding in my stomach. I thought that might’ve gone away after a while, but every time it happened, I prayed it never would.

“They still don’t want me getting married before graduation. Neither do I, but Wichita sucks. And I’ll miss Shep. And you guys, I guess.”

I took the few steps over to her and pinched her side. She squealed and laughed out loud. I couldn’t help but giggle.

Travis looked over at us and shook his head, amused.

“I’ll come by before I head out.” She hugged me, kissed my cheek, and then disappeared behind the door.

My phone went off seconds later, signaling a text from America.

“Some things never change,” I said.

Proud of Travis. Didn’t mention your bikini once.

“You weren’t wearing that outside, were you?” Travis asked.

I giggled.

“What?” he asked.

I tossed him my phone, letting him read America’s text.

He let his head fall back, hating being a forgone conclusion just as I did. “Agh… I can’t help it. Look at you,” he said, pointing all ten fingers at me. He wrapped me in his arms again, showering my face and neck with tiny kisses. “It’s not easy having a wife this beautiful.”

I’d never felt particularly attractive, especially being around America all afternoon in a bikini, looking like a super model. But Travis made me feel like I was not just the most beautiful woman in the world, but the only one.

“Get used to it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How’s Trent? Did you stop by?”

“No, he was discharged earlier this afternoon. I figured we’d stop by after dinner. He’s staying with Dad while Cami’s at work.”

“Good plan,” I said, opening the cabinet. I scanned the cans of vegetables, trying to decide between corn, peas, or green beans. “What are we doing with the chicken?”

“I was just going to grill it.”

“So, corn and mashed potatoes, then?” I asked.

“Sounds good to me. Then Netflix and chill?”

I stared at him. “We are so boring.”

“I like boring. Boring is good.”

Someone pounded on the door, and I left Travis in the kitchen to answer. “Mare either forgot something, or it’s Marsha Becker.”

“Marsha Becker?” Travis asked, wrinkling his nose.

“If it’s her, you’ll figure out why real quick,” I said before twisting the knob and pulling on the door. “Hi.”