Page 27 of In Love with My Secret Husband

Troy Barrymore's eyes were wet, and in seven years of marriage, through every fight and every silence and every closed door between them, she had never once seen that.

"Now tell me," he said hoarsely, "that you love me."

A choked sob escaped her.

"And that you will never leave me again."

Her husband cupped her face, and his hands were shaking. Hishandswere shaking. The hands that had held a hockey stick through twelve seasons without trembling, the hands that had cradled her body an hour ago with perfect control — they were shaking against her cheeks.

And her heart...she couldn't remember it hurting this much.

"Say it, Laina."

But the pain, for once...was the good kind of pain.

"I love you," she said brokenly, "and I will never leave you again."

"Good."

And oh, the way his voice cracked...

"Now, wait for me here like a good wife..."

She didn't think she would ever forget that either. The way his thumb swept across her cheekbone, wiping the last of her tears, and the way his jaw was tight, and the way his eyes held hers like he was memorizing her face in case she wasn't here when he got back.

"...while I fix things like a good husband."

Laina didn't get to answer, with Troy already kissing her hard. Not tender. Not slow. A kiss that was a seal and a promise and a warning all at once. His hand gripped the back of her neck, and her fingers fisted in his shirt, and for three seconds the world was nothing but his mouth and his hands and the sound of her own heartbeat.

And then...

Just like that, he was gone.

The front door closed. The house went quiet. And Laina stood in the middle of their bedroom in a tangled sheet, with her husband's taste still on her lips and his words still ringing in her ears.

Wait for me here like a good wife.

She sat down on the edge of the bed. His side. The side that still smelled like him.

And she waited.

Chapter Seven

"HOW BAD IS IT?"

In the room were Jonas, his business manager, Garth, his lawyer, Trey Flint, CEO of the Waymakers, and his wife Camilla, who was the daughter of Flint's predecessor. These were the people Troy trusted the most, not only to tell him the truth—

"Every team you've defeated in your career is celebrating right now like they've won the Stanley Cup," Jonas reported. He had his laptop open in front of him, scrolling through something Troy couldn't see from where he stood. "It might also cause sponsors and investors to back out, but for now they're all in a wait-and-see position."

But also, these were the only individuals in the world, aside from his wife, whom Troy could also trust withhistruth.

"I don't give a damn about any of those things."

Everyone in the room looked at him in shock. Jonas's hand froze on the laptop. Garth set his pen down. Camilla's lips parted.

Or rather, everyone but Trey, who only looked at him with interest. The Waymakers CEO sat at the far end of the table with his arms crossed and his face unreadable, watching Troy the way he watched everything — like a man who had already run every possible outcome and was simply waiting to see which one would play out.

"All I care about is saving my marriage."