Page 45 of Plaintive Vow

Now what?

A couple signed forms, a few words, a couple rings, a hot as hell kiss, and we’re married? The butterflies vanish as my stomach knots with anxiety. Now do we go back to how things were? Living in each other’s orbit, both of us pretending the other doesn’t exist?

That kiss was unexpected, sure, but it was just a blip. A single abnormality that won’t be repeated.

Right?

Right.

I settle a little at the thought.

The ride home is just as quiet as the ride there. Before I can find a way to fill the silence, I’m standing on the porch of my house.

“When do you think we’ll see you again?” I ask, even though I don’t want to. I don’t expect anything to change. He’ll leave, and maybe he’ll stop by in a few days to make sure we’re doing alright, but that’s as far as this arrangement will go.

Andrei squints at me like I’m a puzzle he can’t figure out.

“We’ll have to make an appearance at some point, right?” I ask hesitantly.

This whole marriage is pointless if no one knows about it, but I’m not exactly champing at the bit to find out what his plans are, either. I have to find a way to reconcile everything that’s happened, and the added weight of other people’s judgment will only make it harder.

Instead of answering, he turns on his heel and walks back toward his car.

I guess that’s my answer.

My hands shake as I unlock the door, but before I’m able to step inside, Andrei’s back at my side, a duffle bag thrown over his shoulder.

“Sorry, I forgot this.”

I hesitate, but he nods his head toward the door. I don’t get a chance to move before he saunters straight in and drops the bag at his feet, fixing me with an intense look.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m moving in.”

He’s what?

“You’re what?”

“I’m not letting my wife sleep under a different roof, and you’re not moving out of the only home Niko’s ever known. So, I’m moving in.”

His gaze doesn’t waver, and I stammer uselessly, grasping desperately for the right words. I understand everything he said, but the order he put the words in doesn’t make any sense.

“But you have your own place.”

He grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look him in the eye.

“I need you to listen to me, Blair. You’re mywife.”

He almost sounds… pleased?

That can’t be right. I have to be making it up. It’s the stress of the past couple months catching up with me, that’s all.

“We’re going to be living in the same house. If you aren’t ready to share a bed with me, that’s fine. I’ll sleep in the guest room until you are. But I’m going to be here. With you.” His jaw flexes, and I try to pull away, but he doesn't let me. His eyes search mine, but for what, I’m not sure. I don’t know if he finds it or not, but he lets me go, picks up his bag, and storms up the stairs. Presumably toward the guest room.

What the hell just happened?

Chapter 13