Page 78 of The Marriage Mistake

His smile was so tender I felt something crack in the center of my chest. “You will,” he promised. He caught my hand and pressed a kiss to my fingers. I watched him, my gaze snagging on my new ring.

The stones were brilliant in the slanting sunshine. I couldn’t stop staring at them.

A large, warm hand closed over mine, and Jack tugged me closer. His other arm wrapped around my back, and he threaded his fingers through mine before kissing my palm, just above my new rings. Then he moved my hand to his jaw and held my wrist, his thumb stroking the bottom of the rings against my palm. His eyes were soft, warm, and utterly beguiling. I could look at nothing else but him.

“That was silly,” I told him. “So much money for just a ring.”

“I liked the way you looked when you saw it.” He smiled, and it felt like my whole world was contained in the curve of his lips.

“How did I look when I saw it?”

“Kind of like the way you’re looking at me right now.”

I sniffed, but couldn’t bring myself to pull away. Jack’s smile widened, and before I could come up with something appropriately biting to say, he dipped his head and kissed me. It was the kind of kiss that set me alight. The kind of kiss that should only happen behind closed doors. He crushed me to him, deepening the kiss, and I held on like he was my life raft in a stormy sea.

Somehow, we made it to the car. I kept staring at my ring, because apparently shiny rocks made my brain stop working. Shiny rocks and what they meant: that Jack cared about me enough to buy it. That he’d noticed a fleeting look on my face and taken note. That he’d waited weeks, knowing he had the ring, for the perfect moment to give it to me.

My heart was so big it crowded out my lungs. We pulled into the garage and Jack cut the engine. He looked at me, his eyes dark. “We’re married now,” he said.

I nodded.

“Officially.”

My chin dipped again. My mouth had gone dry.

Jack reached over, sliding his fingers along my jaw. His thumb pressed against my lips, rubbing softly. “That means you’re my wife.”

The word made my heart trip over. I parted my lips on an exhale, nodding.

Jack’s eyes were very dark as they stared at my mouth. “Does my wife want me to fuck her? Show her who she belongs to?”

Heat rushed through me. My throat was a mass of tightness. All I could do was nod again.

Jack grunted, his thumb still rubbing my mouth. Then, unhurriedly, he got out of the car while I fumbled with my seatbelt. Then he was there, pulling the door open, scooping me out of the passenger seat. He carried me to the side door and only set me down long enough to unlock it.

When he carried me over the threshold, bride-style, I couldn’t help the smile that stretched my lips. I’d come here thinking I’d find someone to sign a contract that meant we both got paid. By now, I’d be packing my bags and planning to leave.

I hadn’t expected to find a man who made me feel cherished. Who called me his wife like he meant it. Who carried me through the house that felt like a home. Like my home.

He climbed the steps, carrying me like I weighed nothing. I clung to his shoulders, breath speeding up, knowing that something had changed when we’d filed that certificate.

It was legal now; I was his wife. We were married in the eyes of the law. Yes, we could add to the almost fifty percent of marriages that ended in divorce. All we had to do was follow our plan.

But I didn’t want that.

I wanted Jack, and Darby, and the rest of the Mars family. I wanted to build this town back up to something beautiful. I wanted evenings on the sofa and weekends spent hunting through estate sales. I wanted everything, and the way Jack looked at me right now made me feel like he wanted to give it to me.

He set me down on the rug in his bedroom and flicked the door closed. We stripped off our jackets and shoes and left them in a pile on the floor. I couldn’t stop staring at Jack. My husband. The man I’d fallen in love with.

He watched me with ocean-blue eyes as he unclasped his watch and tossed it onto the top of the dresser. He reached behind his head and tugged off his sweater and T-shirt in one movement, revealing a broad chest and acres of golden skin. He was so beautiful, and he was all mine.

I fumbled with the buttons of my pale pink blouse. It was tucked into my skirt, so I yanked it out to get at the rest of the buttons. My hands shook. The diamonds on my finger glinted as I undid the last button and let my shirt drop to the floor.

Before I could reach behind me to unclasp my bra, Jack caught my left hand. His eyes roamed over my body, drinking me in. I’d never felt so beautiful.

“From the moment you walked into the room on that first day, I’ve been imagining you on your knees in front of me dressed just like this.” His voice was a low rumble that sent shivers rolling through my middle.

My heart began to thump. “You really like the pencil skirts, huh.”