Page 22 of The Moments You Were Mine

I’d been relieved to be interrupted. Since I’d come back from taking care of Mom, having sex with JJ had felt wrong. And the few times we had, it had felt almost…desperate. Like we were trying to hold onto the tide as it pulled back from the shore, even though the retreat was inevitable.

Usually, when he was like this, the best thing to do was tease him out of his funk, but I didn’t have it in me anymore. Instead, I shrugged. “Sorry to ruin your plans for a congratulatory round of sex.”

He tossed the tampon box down, and it collided with the mascara tube, sending it rolling to the floor. The crash was loud and somehow ominous.

The scowl on JJ’s face seemed as opposite of the real JJ as the girl with the fancy updo in the mirror was to the real Fallon. When I’d first met him, he’d been the epitome of a laid-back surfer, but as the years had crawled by, he’d gotten harder, as if the salty seas were ripping the joy out of him and leaving a shriveled-up version of him behind.

He slid his arms around my waist, pulling my back into his chest, and when I visibly flinched, his scowl deepened.

“Your towel is wet, and it’s going to ruin my silk dress,” I said, trying to pull away.

He clamped his arms around me tighter, leaned in, and kissed my neck. “So what? You have other dresses in your closet.”

Not many. Even the lighthearted college girl I’d beenpretending to be hadn’t worn dresses. When I wasn’t in a wetsuit at the beach or in my equestrian team uniform, riding Daisy, I spent my days in jeans, shorts, or scrubs.

I struggled against his hold until he finally relented, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “What’s the deal, Fallon? I can’t even remember the last time we had sex.”

“Last weekend, after the extravagant catered party you threw.”

“To celebrate you and your final win as part of the equestrian team! That party was for you!”

Our eyes met in the mirror, and his flashed with anger and frustration.

“I didn’t need china and champagne. I would have been happy with a bonfire and hamburgers at the beach.”

“It’s about time you stopped hiding the real you and living the life you deserve,” he snapped.

And we were back to the money discussion. Sorrow leaked through me. How had I not seen that this would be a huge deal for JJ? He’d flat out told me that someday he’d shove his wealth in the face of everyone who’d ever put him down.

I stepped away from him and went to the closet, searching for the low-heeled sandals I’d bought for the ceremony. When I turned around, he hadn’t moved, and I raised a brow.

“We’ll be late for breakfast if you don’t get dressed.”

He glared for a moment before stomping over and reaching past me to grab a blue dress shirt from a hanger. I’d never seen it before, but it perfectly matched the robin-egg blue of my strapless cocktail dress. I’d only bought it last week. Had he bought his shirt to match since then? A chill ran up my spine, instincts trying to tell me something I couldn’t quite make out.

“I told your dad we’d just see everyone after the ceremony,” JJ said nonchalantly. “Meeting up for breakfast didn’t make any sense.”

Shock at his high-handedness rolled through me. “Excuse me?”

He watched me carefully as he buttoned the shirt. “Look. I love you, Fallon, but asking me to deal with your dad, his trophy wife, their two kids, your mom, and her nurse both before andafter the ceremony is just too much. After everything you told me about your family, I’m surprised you want to see them at all.”

Fury burned through me, but the only thing I could get out was, “Sadie is not a trophy wife.”

“She’s twelve years younger than him. What do you call that?”

“I call it true love.”

“I’m not fighting with you right now,” he said, pulling on a pair of black slacks and buttoning them. “It’s an important day. I thought we’d have multiple things to celebrate.”

“What exactly does that mean?” I demanded.

His eyes went to the tampon box again, and my breath evaporated. When it finally flooded back into my chest, I was able to stutter out, “Youwantedme to be pregnant?”

He met my gaze with sure ones. “Yes.”

“What in the actual hell?” I stormed. “First, how would that even be possible when we always use a condom? And second, you know how I feel about this. I want kids, but I’m not anywhere near ready to start a family. I’m not even ready to be married, as I clearly told you when you proposed, and I definitely want a ring on my finger before I go down that road. I won’t repeat my family’s mistakes. Not my mom’s or my grandmother’s. I won’t have a baby be the only reason I marry someone.”

“And my feelings on it don’t matter?”