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For the rest of the week, I focus on two things—dating my husband and spending time with my lover while my husband is at work. The former, unfortunately, is harder than I thought it would be for a few reasons. One, it was never part of the plan. And two, as camp nears, Fitz seems busier than ever, cramming in a last minute ad campaign he flew to and from Chicago for, and, of course, spending hours on end at the Rebels facility.

The truth is, I don’t mind to an extent . Because between Fitz being busy at work, and me on hiatus from campaign life, I get uninterrupted time with Bernard. But where I do mind? In the bedroom.

I know I don’t exactly have a typical marriage. Depending on who you ask, it’s fraudulent for one thing. And two, feelings came after the decision to get married was made.

But they are real feelings. And that’s what Fitz wants—realness. So I’m at a loss as to why, having been both his girlfriend and wife for more than a week, it feels like since we came back to Vegas, I’ve been sort of friendzoned.

Maybe that’s a little dramatic. You don’t kiss your friends, or grab their asses, or touch and play the way we do. But Fitz won’t give me more than that, even though I can feel, as we fall asleep in my room downstairs, that he wants to.

I’ve taken matters into my own hands this morning.

“Oh, you made coffee.” I stretch my arms above my head as I yawn. The movement makes my already open robe a little more obvious, and what’s more obvious is the red lacy bra and thong I wear. He might be the seasoned quarterback, but clearly I’m on offense here.

Fitz passes me a mug before he fills his travel thermos. “Hope it’s not too strong. I lost track of how many scoops I put in.”

Scoops of coffee , I think to myself. He’s talking about scoops of coffee .

I leave the mug on the counter and lean forward. “That’s alright,” I blow on it. “I could use a little kick .”

Still nothing.

Fitz opens another cabinet and takes two protein bars out of a box. “Nick’s passing by. Have some paperwork for him I had to sign before I’m off to the facility.” He motions to a folder on the table. “Speaking of which, what about the marriage license and the court?”

“I can’t file it until thirty days after it was issued. Why? Are you planning to divorce me already?” I ask, rolling my eyes. “I mean, maybe you should. We already have a dead bedroom.”

He narrows his eyes. “A dead bedroom?”

“You know, when married couples don’t have sex.”

Fitz’s eyes lock on mine.

“Lack of intimacy is a real killer,” I tell him. “There’s no coming back from that.”

He puts down the protein bars. “Is that right?”

“I’m clearly more invested in this than you are,” I motion down. “This has gone pretty unnoticed.”

Fitz raises an eyebrow. There’s that tornado in his eyes. “Unnoticed?” He challenges from across the island.

The deepening of his voice makes me shiver. “Y-you haven’t touched me since that night.”

Biting his lip, Fitz rounds the island toward me. I turn under his stare so the marble presses into my lower back.

“I’d hardly call it unnoticed,” he says, arching over me. The movement forces me to lean back, and I slip, yelping when Fitz’s hand slides to my ass, keeping me upright and against him. I gasp when his hardness presses against to me. “I woke up like this.”

I bite my lip. “I want to touch you. I wanted to that night.”

I reach forward, lifting the hem of his shirt.

“You did,” he purrs. “Have you forgotten? I’m putty in your hands.”

I lean forward, smiling against his lips, dragging the smirk up his cheek and to his ear. “Then you should see what you’d be in my mouth.”

“Fuck.” Fitz slides his hands under the robe, and he groans when he kneads the nude flesh of my ass cheeks. “That’s why we need to wait.”

“Fitz,” I whine, knowing he’s going to end this. “Please.”

“There you go begging again,” he tells me wickedly. “I told you, you’ll be sick of it, but I won’t.”

“You’re really going to make me wait?” I pant as he kisses along my jaw and down my neck. “What are we? Teenagers?”

He hums against my skin and begins rolling his hips into me. “Based on how things went that night, I’d say you’ve got me feeling like one.”

My hands fling from the counter and wrap around him, one finding the thick hair at the back of his neck. “I guess I wouldn’t mind it.”

“Mind what?”

I rotate my hips in sync with his. “Pretending… we were doing this years ago.”

Fitz groans softly. “Tell me more.”

Just as I’m about to do that, there’s a hefty knock at the apartment door. Fitz’s head falls against my shoulder as Nick’s voice sounds from the other side.

I pout.

Fitz sighs. “Just be patient with me. I want all the time in the world with you. A bit after camp, we’ve got a long weekend before we’re back full time. Let me take you on a mini honeymoon so we have no distractions.”

“Promise?”

He carries my hand it to his mouth, laying a kiss across my knuckles. “I’d never break one to my wife.”

* * *

“Remind me next month to credit you,” Abby calls out. “Most of our riders don’t hang out to clean stalls.”

Bernard slows his trot, and we round the fence. “I don’t mind. You get what you give back. I’ll help take care of him if he takes care of me. But even if he didn’t, I probably still would.”

Abby smiles like she understands. One might think horses don’t have a lot to give humans, even the ones who train and ride them, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not sure if, after Honey died, any person on earth gave me more love, more appreciation than a horse.

“My guess is that’s your husband.” Abby points toward the other side of the pen where Fitz approaches.

Gently, I dismount, unclipping my helmet and gathering a hold on Bernard’s reins. “What makes you say that?”

Abby leans against the fence. “Because he only resumed breathing now that you’re on the ground.”

I raise my hand to wave. “I told you I’d be busy cheating on you this morning.” For good measure, I lean against Bernard. “Isn’t he amazing? And such a good boy.”

Fitz narrows his eyes playfully. “Now I’m really hurt. I thought I was the only man you’d ever call a good boy.”

Abby snorts.

“Abby, now you can officially meet Fitz,” I say, rolling my eyes and teasing. “But don’t listen to my husband. He thinks he’s more of a good boy than he really is.”

“So this is the guy, huh?” Fitz leans over the fence, patting Bernard.

“This is.”

Fitz turns to Abby. “And he’s in good shape?”

“The best shape.”

“Comes from a good family?” Fitz asks.

I look between the two of them. “What are you?—”

“If you’re going to be spending all the time with this stud, I at least want to make sure he’s cut from good stock.” Fitz jumps when Bernard flings his head back.

I reach up, stroking his nose. “Shh. You’ve insulted him.”

Abby taps the fence post. “I’ll let you two be. I’m in the office.”

“What are you doing here?” I ask when Abby has stepped far enough away. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the hotel?”

The Rebels’ camp begins today, which means Fitz will be away for the next two weeks.

“Newlyweds get a late pass.”

“You can’t exactly blame me,” I tell him. “I’ve been with my lover all morning.”

“Yeah, well, trust me, it’s probably not in my best interest to admit my wife prefers hanging out with another man already and we haven’t even been married for two weeks.” Fitz laughs. “No, this actually was on my way. I just wanted to stop by and see what all the fuss is about with this guy.”

I loosen my grip on the reins so Bernard can dip to nibble on the high grass sprouting around the post of the white fence. “He’s special, isn’t he?” I ask while smoothing down the horse’s mane. When Fitz doesn’t answer, I turn back to him, finding him staring. “What?”

“Yeah,” he says, clearing his throat. “Anything that makes you smile like that has to be pretty damn amazing. And worth the money,” Fitz adds. “So you better like him since he’s officially yours. I hear it’s kind of hard to return a horse.”

I lift my hand off Bernard. “What?”

“I need to go in there.” Fitz tips his head toward the office. “And finish up some paperwork.”

Reaching out to grab his arm, I stop him. “What do you mean he’s mine ?”

“I bought him for you as a wedding gift.”

“What do you mean as a wedding gift? I don’t need your?—”

“Save your inheritance for something meaningful. Whatever that might be.” Fitz redirects his attention from me, still standing with my mouth open, to Bernard. “If my wife gets hurt on your watch, you’re going to have to answer to me.”

Bernard continues to munch on grass.

Me, on the other hand? I drop his lead and step onto the first plank of the fence so I can reach Fitz. Without hesitation, I press my lips to his quickly and then wrap my arms around him. “I can’t believe you did this.”

He gives me the softest squeeze. “I just want you to have everything you always wanted.”

I don’t know why tears come, but they do. They’re happy tears, of course. But more than that, I’m overwhelmed. I drop back down on the ground and go to wipe at my face with the back of my hand, but Fitz beats me to it, brushing my tears away with his thumb.

“You’re out of your mind,” I sniffle.

“Yeah. I’ve heard a lot of that recently.” He smooths down a patch of grass with his foot. “You going to be okay while I’m gone?”

The longest amount of time we’ve spent apart was no more than three days.

“No,” I tell him, honestly. “But I’ll manage. Did you forget where you found me all those months ago?”

There’s a soft flare to Fitz’s jaw, and I feel bad.

“I’ll be fine. I’m on vacation, remember? I’ll be home and here.” I reach behind me, patting Bernard.

Fitz smiles, but for some reason, I don’t get the sense he’s all that reassured.

“I won’t have any parties.” I joke, trying to soften him up.

“You can call me,” Fitz says gently. “At night. If you need to. You know, if you need a distraction.”

I grow a little uncomfortable and try to lighten the air. “So you won’t give me sex, but phone sex is on the table?”

Fitz rolls his eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” I promise. “Are you going to be alright with Foller?”

I get that I’m new to this whole football thing, but I can’t imagine being on the outs with your head coach sets the right tone for a successful season.

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about Foller?—”

“I’m worried about you .” I clarify. “Foller can take a hike and never come back.”

Fitz smiles. “I like that you’re worried about me, but don’t. I can handle it.”

“I can too,” I whisper, pulling him in for one more hug.

Fitz wraps his arms around me. “I know.”