Page 130 of Jensen

He nods. “Landis is four. If we want more children, the time is coming up. I don’t want them too far apart in age.”

I’m too horrified to hide it. “I thought you were angry with me. Now you want me to get pregnant again?”

He stands, turning to the window. It’s on the same side of the house that looks out over the magnolia grove. “I always knew you’d come back. Yes, I was angry, but I don’t hate you.”

That makes one of us. I hate him with everything I’ve got.

“I feel like we should maybe…do some marriage counseling first,” I say.

“We can do that,” he says. “But you will go right back to being my wife before anything else. Georgie is moving your things from the guest room into our suite. I expect things to return to the way they were with minimal interruption.”

The memory of Jensen’s arms around me in that little bed in the loft is so strong. The thought of letting Leland touch my body again makes me sick. I’m quiet for so long, Leland turns around. His brows knit, eyes staring at where I’m tearing the skin back from my nail. I drop my eyes to the floor.

“What?” he says.

“Um…there was something…something that really bothered me about when we got together,” I whisper.

“You can look at me when we’re talking.”

I obey, remembering the night I got pregnant, how I laid there for a moment and waited for him to get up to throw the condom out. But he didn’t, so I turned on the lamp. That’s when I realized what he’d done.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a brief second. “I wish we’d done it right and waited.”

“Waited?”

“Until we were married,” I say, voice hoarse. “Mama raised me to wait until I was married. Our wedding night was nice, but I regret not waiting.”

He’s clearly caught off guard. “It’s a bit late for that.”

I give him my biggest, most innocent eyes. “Maybe we could wait this time around. Get married at the courthouse and have a proper wedding night. It would…make me feel better.”

His jaw flickers, tightening.

“We could go on a real honeymoon this time,” I say, offering him the sweet smile that usually pacifies him.

He’s just looking at me. I go silent, unsure what he’s thinking.

“Your shot still up to date?” he asks finally.

I nod. “I’m still good for about a month.”

“Good. I want it in the contract you cannot get it again without my permission.”

My stomach roils, but I can’t show it. Instead, I tilt my chin and nod. “Just give me this one thing, and you can have everything else.”

He thinks hard for a minute, then jerks his head in a sharp nod.

“Fine,” he says.

“Thank you.”

Carefully, I get to my feet, clearly indicating I’m looking to leave, but he doesn’t dismiss me. Finally, I clear my throat.

“May I go?”

“Yes,” he says. “You’re not permitted to leave the house today. When Kayleigh returns, you’ll take Landis to the nursery and watch him for the rest of the day. Both of you will meet me in the dining room for dinner.”

I nod, turning to leave. I get as far as the door, my hand on the knob, when he taps the desk. Heart thumping, I glance over my shoulder.