AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I think back to all the times he’s been to the vineyard. He always stayed with Amelia, or we’d hang out together by the firepits or in the tasting room, but I realize he’s right.
I’ve never seen his apartment, either—not that he has it anymore.
But I wonder what a space lived in by Spencer Nash is like.
What hangs on his walls? Is he neat or messy? Based on what I know of him and spending a few days sharing a hotel room…I’m certain he isn’t messy.
Just like I’m not.
Everything has a place, and things are returned to their proper places after they’re used. It’s easy enough since I live alone…and even as I have the thought, I realize I will still be living alone even now that I’m married.
It’s not like I can leave the vineyard and work remotely from San Diego so I can be with my husband.
It’s not like this is a real marriage, either.
Though last night it felt like one.
Today it has, too.
Everything will change once my family knows the truth, though. Nobody at Newlywed will believe Spencer married me out of love when he and my sister broke up a few months ago.
But things are growing. They’re progressing. I’m struck with a whole lot of hope.
“I hadn’t realized,” I murmur.
“What’s it like?” he asks.
“My house?” I ask, and when he nods, I lift a shoulder. “A lot like Amelia’s. Same floor plan, anyway. All five bungalows have the same plan. But mine is tidier.”
“Yeah, she wasn’t the neatest.” He chuckles a little, and it has to be my imagination when I swear I hear a bit of wistfulness in his tone.
Wistful that they aren’t together?
It’s the first time the thought crosses my mind, and I’m sure I don’t like it.
It’s just jealousy rearing its ugly head.
He’s not sad they’re apart. That is a fact. But what we haven’t really gotten into is whether he’s still hurt by the way things came to an end between them.
And I’m the one who told him about the cheating. I told him the why. How can he look at me and not be reminded of those things?
It’s the first time I’ve had that thought, and it pulses a bit of hopelessness in the pit of my stomach.
I push it away, though. His fingers are tangled between mine. He’s here with me, flying home so I don’t have to face my family alone. That has to mean something.
“What about your place?” I ask.
He lifts a shoulder. “I’m tidy, too. I’m renting an apartment near the stadium in San Diego. I have no idea how long I’ll be there, so it doesn’t make sense to buy.”
“Weren’t you renting here, too?”
He nods. “I lived in the same place a long time, but look how easy it was to get out when I was released. Apart from packing up all my Lego sets, of course.”
My brows shoot up in surprise. “Lego sets?”
“I’ve been obsessed since I was a kid. Back then, I just had a few sets, but now I have…” He trails off, and I stare at him curiously. “Sorry. My inner nerd is coming out.”
“I think it’s cute,” I admit.
