Page 134 of My Husband Problem

I focus on it. It’s pointed at us. It has been this entire time. And it hits me—he’s recording this. He’sbeenrecording this.

I try to go back over what I’ve said, but I have no idea what I’ve shared. I have way too many emotions filling my head and heart, and my brain feels fuzzy.

Maggie and Mark have been standing on either side of Scott, taking notes as we’ve talked. Maggie has a small recorder that she’s holding out toward us.

“So, does that mean you’re staying?” Maggie asks Declan. “Is this more than just a visit?”

I hold my breath.

He’s hinted that if I’m living in Rebel, this is where he wants to be. Things have been going well. He said he’s crazy about me and that he’s been falling for me. I have definitely been falling for him.

But are things different now? Now that I couldn’t…

I shut that down quickly. Declan isn’t going to reject me and everything that’s been going on between us because of what just happened in my office. He’s not that guy. He has been patientand amazing about my pain and helping me through it. There was a very good chance that the first time we tried sex, it was going to go exactly the way it did.

We’ll try it again. It will go much better next time. And I know that Declan will be all in on giving it another chance.

But how long can I expect him to stick with this?

His grandfather is willing to annul the marriage the day after tomorrow.

We might not have that chance again. It’s the easiest thing. It’s the best way out that doesn’t make either of us the bad guy.

I should cut Declan loose.

“Yes, I am,” Declan tells the reporters, his voice clear and firm.

Maggie, Scott, and Mark all look surprised.

“Wow,” Maggie says. “So you’re done with Portland?”

Again, emotions are flooding through my body, and I have to force myself to pay attention to what he says.

“I don’t want you to put it that way,” Declan says. “I love Portland. We’ll go back regularly. My business is there. Iris Lee will be running the business as my chief executive officer. I’ll be there whenever I’m needed. I will continue to serve as president of the company. And I’ll be able to do a lot of it from here.” He looks down at me. “A lot of really important things happened for both of us in Portland. But our home is here now.”

My heart trips.

Home.

Our home.

“You won’t miss the high society?” Scott asks. “The penthouse? The nightlife?”

Declan shakes his head without hesitation. “No.”

That’s it. Just ‘no’. No qualification, no further explanation.

“You lived there for nearly twenty years. Your lifestyle there was quite different from here,” Scott presses.

Declan nods. “It turns out I was in the wrong place all this time.”

My stomach flips, and I find myself leaning into him, absorbing his warmth.

That’s how I feel about Rebel. I didn’t feel it less than a week in. It took me a couple of months. But I feel a very distinct sense of ‘coming home’ now that I’m here.

Maybe this can work out, after all.

Maybe.