Page 38 of Six Month Wife

She makes a face but saunters over, clearly amused.

“If this is what ‘wifely glow’ looks like, I want a refund.”

“Oh, you know you’ve got that glow.”

She shoots me a look, reaching over to wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead with her thumb. “Credit the organic turmeric shots, lovey. That’s what fuels this radiant glow.”

“I like it.” I smile to myself at her natural-seeming wifely duties. She's good.

“I may be falling flat on my face in life, but at least I’ll look good doing it.”

“Looking great, actually.” I let my gaze travel over her, from her high ponytail to her toned arms and legs. “I mean, if the goal of those products is to look as hot as you do, you should be selling out.”

She laughs, but I catch a flash of uncertainty. Her confidence is always rock-solid, but I can see the tiniest crack when she talks about her business. It hits me that there’s more riding on this than I realized.

"Mind if I join you? Thinking about some elliptical time today. We can talk grocery lists or weekend projects and lean into the domestic bliss."

“I would love that.”

She’s all breathy sarcasm, and I like it more than I should. I stay focused on my pace, watching her from the corner of my eye.

While I run, my mind drifts to an old flame who’s now a semi-famous wellness influencer. She hawks collagen powder and retinol serums like gospel. Maybe she’d be into Adair’s line. A little promo in the right place could do wonders.

But I file the thought away. No need to overstep yet.

I pause the treadmill and stretch out my calf. “Question for you, Holistic Beauty Queen,” I tease, looking up to her as I bend down. “Do you think the other club members are buying it? Our grand romance? Should we, I don’t know, turn it up a notch? Just in case the estate attorney starts sniffing around, interviewing people around town?”

It’s half a joke. We both know social proof matters, especially if anyone starts digging.

She smirks, stepping off the elliptical and grabbing a mat to stretch, putting it down between our two machines.

“You made an impression. Everyone’s buzzing about Dr. Matthews and his surprise declaration of love. I’ve heard it from multiple customers at Citrine.”

“Oh, nice,” I grin, watching her bend and stretch. “I’ve never really thought of myself as the romantic type, butmaybe I’m a good method actor. We need everyone in this town convinced. Call it insurance.”

She raises a brow like she’s not sure whether to roll her eyes or flirt back. “Insurance, huh?”

“Oh, right. You know, if all else fails, at least Hattie and Samuel believe in our love.”

She snorts, but her cheeks are pink. “I'm still healing from that one. It was a crash course in feeling like my love life is under a microscope.”

“Not the worst thing,” I say, turning to face her. “Letting people think I’m crazy about you.”

Her eyes flick to my mouth. It’s quick, but I catch it. And like that, the tension between us is elevated.

She straightens and tilts her head, mock-inspecting me. “Hmm. The optics are solid.”

She stands up, and I lean on the handrails to meet her gaze head-on. Her face is inches from mine. Her ponytail swings slightly with the movement.

“But brand loyalty takes work. You’ve got to reinforce the messaging constantly.”

Her fingers trail lightly along my chest as she flicks off imaginary lint. “Engage the target audience.”

She stands on her tippy-toes, her mouth is a breath from mine now. “Maintain visibility.”

I look around to see if anyone else is noticing our dry run. Luckily, everyone has on their AirPods and are focused on their workouts.

“Visibility,” I echo with a suddenly dry throat.