Page 18 of My Husband Problem

Her frown deepens. “You didn’t even stay in Cara at Christmastime last year when wewerethere together,” she says.“You left to come back to the States for business.”

“I didn’t have business,” I confess. “I left early because you were uncomfortable.”

Her mouth drops open. “I…wha…I didn’t…” She stops and takes a breath. “I wasn’t uncomfortable.”

“You were sneaking out of our bedroom every night.”

We would retire together to the same room, but not until it was late and everyone else had gone to their rooms. Then, before either of us got into bed, she would sneak out and sleep in another room. She would return in the morning before anyone woke up and get ready for the day in the en suite bathroom, emerging as if she’d spent the night with me.

“You were definitely uncomfortable,” I say. “I hated that. I didn’t want to ruin Christmas for you.”

She shakes her head as if not fully processing this. “So you leftfor me?”

“Of course.”

Her eyes go wide. “SoIruined your chance to make amends and heal things with your family?”

“Well… I wouldn’t put it like that,” I say.

“But I did.”

She did. Kind of. I step closer to her. “Let’s just say, now you understand why I do not want the annulment.”

“Argh!” She lets out a frustrated groan. “Dammit, Declan. You’ve been estranged from everyone for eighteen years! I was counting on you being cold-hearted about how the family would feel about us splitting up.”

I step closer. “On the contrary, when I’m with you, I feel…warmer in a lot of ways.”

Okay, that sounded more like innuendo than I intended.

Her mouth opens again, but no sound comes out.

I smirk. I really like surprising this woman.

Then her brows pull together. “It’s just the humidity here. You’ll get used to it.”

I almost laugh. I realize I shouldn’t be surprised that her feeling bad about Christmas didn’t soften her entirely.

Astrid’s a fighter.

She was thrust into the spotlight as a gymnast when she was a kid. The king and her sister decided she would be a great representative for our country, andhergrandfather realized that would be the perfect way to get her out of the country.

But she didn’t just go along with the plan. She didn’t do just the bare minimum. She became a world champion. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that she would have been a gold-medal Olympian if she hadn’t gotten hurt.

Then, when it seemed fate had dealt a terrible hand in the form of a serious injury, including vertebral fractures and a partial spinal cord injury, Astrid fought back. She doesn’t just let things happen to her or let other people decide what will happen to her.

Which means, if she wants me to divorce her, my time in Rebel, Louisiana, will probably be a lot more interesting than I even expected.

Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched squeaking sound erupts near our feet.

I look down and am startled to see four animals circling our feet.

A second later, I realize they’reotters. Real, live otters. One is standing on Astrid’s foot, looking up at her, making a whining noise. Another is on his back legs, with his front paws on her knee. The other two are crouching but also watching her and making a noise I’ve never heard before. Is that what otters sound like? Really?

“What the…” Before I even finish the question, I’m grabbing Astrid by the hips and lifting her off the ground, away from the animals.

They have claws. And teeth. And possibly rabies. Or…other things. I don’t really know that much—or anything—about otters.

The one looks like he’s trying to figure out how to climb up her body, though, and she’s wearing those damned shorts with all that exposed bare skin that the others can easily get to.