Page 63 of The Husband Contract

“Yeah? What’s that?” He frowns.

“Who was that woman that just texted you? I saw a naked photo on your screen, and I was wondering who that was.”

“Her name’s Louisa,” he answers immediately.

“Who is she?”

“You asked who texted me, not who she was.”

“Yeah, and you said she’s Louisa. But I don’t know who sheis.Like, a crazy ex or something?”

“She works for me,” he says abruptly.

“She works for you? Does she normally send you naked photos of herself?”

“She’s done it once or twice before. Does it bother you or something?” He shrugs.

“Yeah, it bothers me,” I say sharply. “How would you feel if I was sending naked photos of myself to random men and they were sending me smiley faces?”

“I don’t suppose I’d like it very much.”

“Well, I don’t like it either,” I snap, my throat tightening. “Look, Sebastian… do you regret marrying me? We’ve only been married for an hour, but maybe you’re thinking you made a mistake. Maybe you were caught up in the highs of being sexual, but now you’ve come back down to earth and?—”

“No. I don’t regret it. Not even a little bit.”

He shakes his head slowly, leans forward, and kisses my nose, then my lips. His hands slide down my body, pulling me into him. I feel his hardness pressed against my stomach, his other hand cupping my breast. His lips find my neck, and his breath is hot as he whispers,

“I don’t regret one moment of this, Willow.”

But when he pulls back and meets my eyes, something inside me screams a warning I can’t ignore.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have listened to my heart,” I whisper. “Because something feels off, and I just don’t know what it is.

“I love you, Sebastian,” I say again.

If he responds this time, I’ll know this is real.

He runs his fingers through hishair and just stares.

“Willow,” he says quietly, “the way you look at me, I could almost believe this is real.”

“What do you meanalmost? Of course, it’s real!”

He sighs, brushes past me, and says, “Go to the room. Get naked for me. We’ll talk later.”

“Is there something you haven’t told me? Something I should know about, Sebastian? You’re making me nervous.”

“I’m just distracted by work. I’ll be back.” And with that, he walks away. I stand there, waiting for the elevator again, feeling conflicted. Maybe heisconsumed by work. Maybe he’s nervous. Maybe it’s a combination of many things. I don’t know if he regrets it. I don’t even know ifIregret it now.

Maybe he’ll ask for an annulment. Maybe it’ll just be one of those whirlwind romances that end as fast as it began.

My heart sinks at the thought.

I want so badly for this to be real.

I’ve waited so long to meet a man ready for commitment. Someone loving, kind, sweet, and handsome, and I thought that was him. But maybe I’ve just been stupid.

Maybe I’ve spent my whole life living in the clouds, dreaming of something unrealistic.