Page 18 of Operation Annulment (Silent Phoenix MC)

seventeen

Kate

“ D o you want to move your furniture or leave it for now?” Nate asks as he surveys my tiny apartment.

“Maybe a few of the smaller pieces?”

“I’ll see about renting a truck,” he says, tapping his phone screen.

I’m moving in with him.

He said that if we were going to try and make everything work, we should probably live together. I’m still keeping my apartment—he insisted I not give up my lease until we were confident it would work. It’s a big commitment, but the thought of playing house with him just feels right.

If I work hard to hide the drama in my life, he’ll see how good we could be together. I cannot fail at this.

It may be a trial marriage, but I can see it lasting forever. We just need to focus more on each other and not let the past get in our way. I am so much wiser than I was a few days ago. It’s as if the blinders have been removed, and I can see our relationship more clearly.

I was jumping to conclusions before. As his wife, I need to give him the same benefit of the doubt he’ll give me.

He lifts a box, and his forearms tighten.

That’s my husband.

Dr. Husband…ooh, I like that a lot.

At least the universe honored part of my request—the man’s a doctor.

He catches me staring and winks. “See something you like, Mrs. Davis?”

Mrs. Davis?

I could get used to the sound of that.

“Always, Mr. Davis. Are you getting hungry? I could order us some food.”

He places the box near the front door and cracks his neck. Just as he does it, there’s a knock. He shoots me a puzzled look, and I shrug.

Nate unlocks the front door, and all hope for a drama-free sixty days flies out the window.

Jeremy is standing there, holding a big bouquet of roses. I should mention that I hate roses. It seems I always end up getting pricked by the thorns.

Speaking of pricks…

He glances at Nate briefly before returning his full attention to me. “I was out of town on business when you called, but after hearing your message, I cut my trip short,” he says.

My message?

“But I didn’t call you?—”

“Jeremy! It’s Kate! So, I’ve been thinking… we should go to Vegas together. We could spend the weekend in bed, recreating our first date, if you know what I mean. Sex, Jeremy. I’m talking about sex.”

In case I wasn’t convinced drinking is the worst idea in the world, this voicemail has ensured that I’ll be sticking to nonalcoholic beverages for the remainder of my natural life.

A muscle under Nate’s eye twitches as he rubs at the stubble on his face before chuckling—not in a ‘my wife is just adorable’ way, but more of a ‘trying to decide where to bury her body’ laugh.

Oh, this is bad. Really, really bad.

“You called him first? So, what was I? Your backup plan? Cute, Kate. Real fucking cute.”

Jeremy slides his phone into his pocket before approaching him with narrowed eyes. “What are you, her parent?”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Nate mashes a fist against his mouth as if trying to rein in his temper is taking everything in him. “Parent? Try husband.”

So. Bad.

It was almost as bad as when Dakota convinced herself she was Spider-Man and scaled our swing set. She reached the top and stood up in victory before promptly falling and breaking her arm.

“You got married, Kate?”

“Surprise!” I exclaim, weakly lifting my arms above my head and wishing the carpet would swallow me whole.

Jeremy’s eyebrow shoots up, and he takes a step back, probably deciding how fast he’ll have to sprint to outrun Nate. “Okay. Well, I’m going to go?—”

“Better yet, take her with you,” Nate interjects coldly. “You’re the one she wanted.”

“Nate,” I protest, but he holds up a hand, silencing me.

“Nope. Go on. I hope you have a really nice time together,” he growls before brushing past me and out of the apartment.

I’m not a fan of this side of my new husband. He expects me to hear him out when he calls up his ex. But, god forbid, he actually show me the same courtesy when I make a mistake.

Hey, Universe? I asked for a man who would fight for me, not pawn me off to the first guy who shows up…

I blink back the sting of tears and grab my purse from the side table before turning to Jeremy. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t being serious about us going out,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder .

“You think?” I snap, shrugging away from his touch. “I’m going to Dakota’s. All of this feels like too much, and I can’t—” My voice breaks off in a loud sob.

He pulls me into a rough hug, not freaking out that I’m getting snot all over his dress shirt. “I’ll take you. You’re clearly in no shape to drive.”

Why couldn’t I have just had feelings for him?

I look for Nate’s BMW as Jeremy guides me to his car, but the parking space is empty.

“Maybe on the way, you can enlighten me about this marriage,” he adds. “Because the last time I checked, you were single. Hell, your message last night made it pretty damn clear that you were available.”

I dab at my eyes with the back of my hand before climbing into the passenger seat. “We got married in Vegas. End of story.”

“Somehow, I doubt that,” he mutters before starting the car. “Were you two dating, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I stare blankly out the window, watching the headlights from passing cars as they pass. “I don’t know what we are.”

“Married, Kate. Married is what you are.”

Touché.