Page 42 of Colin (The Doherty Mafia)
How would I ever let her go?
Marley got what she wanted.
She looked through my wardrobe until she found something she wanted me to wear.
The only suit I owned.
We stood in front of the mirror together, staring at each other up and down. We made a darn good couple, I had to admit.
Marley picked up her purse and found the wedding ring inside. She held it up for me to see.
“Let’s do this. Let’s pretend,” she said, slipping the ring on her finger. I went over to the drawer in my nightstand and fished out my ring too.
When I joined her at the mirror again, we both had our wedding rings on. She reached for my hand and weaved her fingers with mine. It felt good. It felt fucking great.
The sensation hit me like a wave—sudden happiness.
It wasn’t just lust anymore. It wasn’t about sex. I still wanted her body, more than anything in the world, but standing at the mirror admiring each other and together as a couple—that was almost as good as sex.
She looked up at me with twinkling dark blue eyes.
“Let’s go. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to see us as a married couple. This is going to be fun!”
I followed her out of the apartment, I could barely keep up as she rushed down the steps to my car outside.
Nothing had ever made me as happy as seeing the smile on this girl’s face.
Was I going crazy?
We were at one of the swankiest restaurants in Manhattan.
And even though we arrived forty minutes late to our reservation, we were led politely to our table in the corner. Marley made a face at me like she was impressed. Slowly, but surely, she found out that people knew me around there. They knew which family I belonged to—and that was good and bad in equal measure.
However, she didn’t question me on it. Maybe she knew I wouldn’t want to talk about it.
We ordered wine and a few canapés to start. People turned to stare at us and it wasn’t because of who I was. It was because of how stunning Marley looked. She stood out in that dress, she stood out because it was created for her perfect body. And even in a place like that where everyone was dressed to the nines, she was someone who made people’s heads turn.
And I hoped, for their sakes, that they noticed the matching wedding rings on our fingers. She belonged to me. At least for a little while longer.
Marley sat across from me, sipping the red wine that lightly stained her chocolatey lips. A candle flickered between us and her face was aglow.
We made small talk about our preferred cuisines, but when she drew in a deep breath I knew she wanted to bring up something more serious.
“Colin, I just want to say that I’m very grateful to you for what you shared with me. About your mother and your family.”
I shifted in my chair but she refused to look away from me.
I didn’t want to discuss my mother again. I didn’t want to open up old wounds that night.
“And I meant it when I said you’re lucky to have the kind of family you do.”
I nodded.
“Because I never experienced it. That kind of family or the kind of connection,” she continued.
I said nothing, but I wanted to hear more.
Marley played with the corners of the table cloth and drank some more wine.
“I…my parents were…they fought a lot when I was growing up. It wasn’t a happy family situation. They blamed each other for being miserable, and fought over me and tried to pit me against each other. It was…not easy for me.”
Her eyes looked dense and like they might fill with tears at any moment. I leaned over the table towards her, feeling the urge to reach for her and hold her in my arms. But I figured maybe she didn’t want that.
She wasn’t really saying it to gain my sympathy was she?
She was telling me something personal about her childhood because I’d shared something personal about mine.
“How are they now?” I asked.
Marley sniffed and shrugged, acting like what she was about to say didn’t bother her. But I could see it in her eyes, her voice was shaking.
“They died. Just a few days before my father was supposed to move out of the house so they could proceed with the divorce. They were driving together to see me at college and their car spun out of control and hit a tree.”
My fingers on the table shook and I hoped she didn’t see it. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.
I could sense her eyes on me. She watched me closely and I tried to get myself together before I looked at her again.
“Colin, are you okay? Is it something I said?”
