Page 48 of Finding Hayes
I thought about how to answer the question, because we were married, after all. We should have a story.
“We were childhood best friends, and then we lost touch for a long time,” I said, my fingers intertwined with my husband’s.
My husband.
Our wedding was pretty uneventful, and we’d bought a cheap ring online to use for the ceremony. Our first kiss as husband and wife was nothing like the kiss in the truck before the wedding. It was a quick peck, and we were done.
“Yep. She just up and left me with no goodbye,” Hayes said,catching me completely off guard.
“That’s not quite how I remember it, Lover.” I chuckled, but it was forced. “He was not sitting at home crying over me leaving. He had a girlfriend at the time. We were just friends back then. Nothing more.”
“Oh, but you know how friendship can turn into so much more. Obviously, there were feelings there if you ended up here today,” Loraine said as we all walked outside to the parking lot.
The sun was shining, and most of the snow had melted. But winter wasn’t over in Magnolia Falls, and spring was still a ways away.
“I guess you’re right.”
“So, you just left the poor guy without telling him where you were going?” Jonathan asked, and even though his voice was laced with humor, I didn’t like the way Hayes had painted this picture.
“No,” I said, as we paused at their car. I tried to keep my tone light and humorous, but I was fuming on the inside. “It wasn’t quite like that. My husband knows why I left and why I didn’t keep in touch.”
Hayes glanced down at me, and there was a question in his gaze.
Is he for real?
He was not the victim.
It reminded me of all the reasons I’d despised him over the last decade.
This was why I should never have agreed to fake marry this man.
“My wife loves to think everyone can read minds,” he said. “I don’t have a clue why she left.”
The bastard.
“Listen, this is what I’ve learned the older I get,” Loraine said,clearly noticing that our fingers were no longer intertwined. He’d dropped my hand after I’d dug my nails into his palm when he started playing the victim. “The past is the past. The happiest marriages are the ones that focus on the present.”
“Wise words from a wise lady,” Jonathan said, but Hayes and I were too busy glaring at one another. “Now you two have a wonderful night. I’m taking my bride to a lovely dinner to celebrate.”
We said our goodbyes, and my husband opened the passenger door for me. I climbed in, and when he attempted to pull my seat belt out for me, because apparently, he thought I needed his help with that all the time now, I smacked his hand away.
He glared at me and slammed the door before stalking over to the driver’s side.
And we drove back to his house in silence.
Happy first day as a married couple.
thirteen
. . .
Hayes
Our wedding nightwas spent not speaking to one another. Savannah was obviously pissed that I’d shared that she’d left town without saying goodbye.
Fuck that.
The truth hurts sometimes.
