Page 29 of Accidentally Marrying the Prisoner
I’ll have to do something to make it up to Mirabeth. An orgasm or two and a snack would be a good start. Preferably tonight. Like, within the next ten minutes. I might even finally tell her I know about her secret tote and that every day, it makes me even more excited about our future.
Mirabeth sighs as she unlocks the front door, and I step inside first to run interference in case Merlin is in a bad mood after we left him alone for so long. Sure enough, I have to catch him midair, though he purrs, tucking his head under my chin.
“I hope you’re as good with our kids as you are with Merlin if they turn out to be as spoiled as he is,” Mirabeth says. She jolts and looks up sharply. “I meant,yourkids, like, way, way, way in the future with your real wife.”
“You are my real wife.” I yank her into me and drop a kiss on her forehead.
“For the next three years,” she says, looking off to the side.
“About that?—”
I’d already forgotten Alisa was here until she reminds me, loudly clearing her throat, interrupting me once again when she’s the last to step inside. Looking left and right, it takes her less than five seconds to check out the apartment, and then she stands there awkwardly, just inside the door. I’d tell her to take a seat at the drafting table—definitelynoton my bed that I share with myrealwife—but I’m hoping my ex won’t be here long enough to need one.
“What on earth did you need to tell me in the middle of the night that couldn’t have waited until morning?” I ask Alisa in a not-so-friendly manner.
She does exactly what I don’t want—she drops onto the edge of the bed, as if the weight of the world is heavy on her shoulders. I bite back the demand that she get up at once.
Alisa’s voice is only a step above a whisper when she says, “I know I should’ve waited, and that you probably don’t want to see me, but I couldn’t. It’s been eating at me nonstop since your party.”
I don’t particularly care what’s been eating at her, and I motion my hand for her to hurry up. It’s just our luck that tears well in her eyes, and Mirabeth disappears into the kitchen to get Alisa a paper towel. Alisa takes it with a twinge of a smile and dabs at her cheeks.
“Spit it out,” I tell Alisa, the longer she makes us wait, internally groaning when I’m reminded of uttering those same words to Mirabeth only a few minutes ago.
I’ve never been so short with Alisa before, and she’s surprised as she regards me. “I wanted to say how sorry I am for the way I left you when you were sentenced. Abandoned you like that when you needed people in your corner most.” She swallows, dropping her chin to her chest. “And then, to make it all worse—I’m so sorry—I didn’t know you wanted to name our son after Andrew,” Alisa finally says with a rush, flicking her eyes nervously to Mirabeth.
Mirabeth goes rigid beside me while I gag at the thought of having children with Alisa. “If you’re implying that Drew is mine, I hate to break it to you, but I know how to count.”
At this, Mirabeth lets out an audible exhale, and I tug her closer, wrapping an arm around her back to grip her waist that may or may not start expanding soon if I don’t get my urges under control. Which I won’t. Can’t, even if I wanted to.
“No. No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Alisa’s chin quivers, and she soaks the paper towel with her tears. “But he would’ve beenyours. If I had known, back then, that you’d get out so soon, I wouldn’t have married Brad. But I’m so?—”
“Seriously? Right in front of me?” Mirabeth peels my hand off her waist and sweeps open the front door. “Get out.”
“That sounded bad. I promise I didn’t mean—I mean, I love Brad. He—” Alisa cringes away from Mirabeth’s low growl.
Huh. I quite like that, this possessive streak from Mirabeth, even as the sick feeling I got when Alisa saidour sonmakes my stomach revolt.
“Brad was there for me when you went to prison, and he treats me like a queen.” Alisa worries her bottom lip with her teeth.
“Congratulations. I’m happy for you,” I say, shooing Alisa toward the door. “Tell my brother I said ‘hi’ when you get home.”
“I’m sorry,” Alisa says once again, standing and shuffling toward the front door. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone. I just…just needed to apologize, and I wanted to say?—”
“I don’t care what you want. Bye,” Mirabeth says, holding the door open wider for Alisa to step out. “I’m going to get ready for bed,” she says to me quietly, covering a yawn with the back of her hand.
I go to close the door, intent on following Mirabeth as she strides to the bathroom, wanting to pick back up where we left off with our conversation.
Alisa captures my wrist. “Please, Conrad, I don’t want to leave things like this again.”
I shake Alisa’s hand off. “What do you want?” I ask, none too kindly, though I don’t care any more than Mirabeth does. “Other than to come here and disrespect my wife and my marriage? Do you think I wanted to hear that you would have waited for me? That I wanted my wife to hear that shit? It’s fucked up.”
“I’m so sorry. I really didn’t think…This was a bad idea.” She sighs. “I just hope we can move on from the past and maybe even be friends. That’s all.”
“Not likely,” I say.
“Ok, then…I’ll settle for civil. For things not to be so tense, since we’re going to be seeing each other at family functions for the rest of our lives, ok?” Alisa looks up with a plea. “I want Drew to know and love his uncle. He really is an angel, and he deserves to grow up in a happy family, even if his parents messed up.”
I shove my hands in my pockets as I consider her request. Finally, I say without hostility, “I want that too.” After all, Drew will be my future kids’ cousin, and I want them all to get along and be as close as I was to my cousins before their family relocated all the way to Massachusetts.
