Page 57 of Married With Lies
“And Doc says she’d help me search for schools with good veterinary programs and she’ll even write me a letter of recommendation, which is awesome, and all I need to do is keep my grades up and I can’t believe I’ll be graduating in a year. Oh, sorry,” he says when he bounces around too much and accidentally stabs me with a bony elbow.
“No problem.” I shift an inch closer to the window to give him more room to carry on.
Sadie bypasses Center Street and turns into a residential neighborhood where the houses are small and the yards not especially neat.
She pulls up to the curb and turns to Jasper. “No more walking to the ranch at night, okay? You can always call me for a ride.”
He nods. “Can I still come back tomorrow? I’m on spring break for the rest of the week.”
“Of course. As long as you clear it with your mom first.”
He frowns and looks at the little brick house we’re sitting in front of. “She won’t even notice.”
I open the passenger door and step out to let Jasper exit. To my surprise, he extends a hand to me. “Thanks, Mr. Wingate. Glad to see you’re feeling better.”
I look at Sadie, still in the driver’s seat. She shrugs. Apparently no one told the kid my real name. I don’t see much reason to correct him now.
“And I’m glad to be feeling better,” I say and meet his handshake.
He grins, shoves an unruly mop of dark hair out of his eyes and jogs across the barren front yard to the front door. I watch until he’s safely inside.
Sadie waits for me to climb back into the truck and shut the door. She shifts gears and pulls away. “Does he remind you of Luca?”
I glance back at the brick house. “I hadn’t thought of that before but yeah, maybe a little.”
“He’s a great kid.”
“Seems like it. And Luca was always a great kid.”
“I’m curious, what did Luca have to say about this whole marriage thing?”
I don’t like to think about how I’ve lied to my brother. Or how he’d completely disapprove if he knew the reason. “He said if I’m happy then he’s happy.”
“Huh. Wish my brother had such a positive attitude. He told me I was reckless and stupid. And you don’t want to know what he said about you.”
There are few things that matter less than Baylor Wingate’s opinion of me. But for some reason I’m ready to throw punches when I hear that he’s insulted Sadie. “You don’t deserve that shit. Send him my way if he gives you more trouble.”
She throws me a look. “I think not. But this protective quality of yours is cute so I’ll overlook how it might be tinged with homicidal intent. Now fasten your seatbelt. You’re rather accident prone these days.”
“Watch the road,” I grumble, but I do click my seatbelt closed. “And I’m fresh out of homicidal intent today so Bitchy Baylor is safe.”
Sadie drives in silence until she stops at a red light and notices my left hand, resting on my knee. “You wear your ring every day, don’t you?”
“And you never wear yours, do you?”
“Ha, shows what you know.” She peeks down her shirt and reaches inside. I won’t lie; I’m tempted to lean over for a closer look.
Sadie fishes a chain out and shows off the ring dangling from the end of it. “I do wear it every day. Just like you insisted.”
“All right,” I say, with my eyes still glued to the shape of her tits beneath a bulky hoodie.
Why does she need to have such a great body?
It’s a question that’s been troubling me since our Vegas wedding. If I wanted to shock her, I’d let her know just close she came to getting her cheerful little brains fucked out that night. I would have wrecked her and she would have loved every minute. So would I.
It's something I still think about. More than I should.
Sadie drops the ring back inside her shirt, patting it into place between her luscious breasts. How funny to feel jealous of a ring.