“Yeah, he wants me to come up.” I show him my phone.
“Then let’s go.” Silas pulls out his wallet to get money out.
“You guys leavin’?” Archie asks.
“Beck just texted,” I say as I stand.
Silas stands with me, holding my chair.
“You two go take care of that. Breakfast is on me,” Archie says.
“Thanks, Arch,” I say softly.
Silas nods to him. “Appreciate it, man.”
“Not a problem.” He leans back in his chair.
We wave behind us as we start to leave the dining room.
Silas wraps an arm around my shoulders. “It’ll be okay, Cupcake. I’ll be right there with you.”
I nod, but I can’t answer because I’m not sure him being there with me right now is a good idea.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
SILAS
Our way upto Beck’s room is quiet, but I haven’t let go of her yet. Her body is tense, so I rub my thumb along her hand, trying to calm her. I’m not sure if me opening my mouth right now would make her feel better or worse.
The elevator dings, and the doors open. She steps out, and I put my hand on her lower back.
“Maybe I should go in by myself,” she says, looking up at me.
I tilt my head to the side and look at her. “I’m not letting you do this alone. But I kinda need to know how we’re approaching this.”
“I have no idea,” she whisper-yells. “On one hand, if I say it was a mistake and we were just goofing around, they’ll never trust me again and just continue to baby me forever.”
“It wasn’t a mistake,” I cut in.
She smiles shyly at me. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry. I just … God, this is all too real now.”
“Brooke, I thought I’d made it clear to you last night and again this morning, but if I need to keep saying it until youbelieve it, I will.” I run my hand up her back to her neck. “This, for me, didn’t just happen overnight. I’ve had feelings for you for a long time now. And I abso-fucking-lutely took my shot to spend some time with you, not just last night, but any night before.”
“Okay, so maybe we don’t say it was a mistake then?” She stops walking and turns to face me.
“I think”—I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into me—“we should be honest. You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about being with me before last night. So, I really don’t think this was random on your part either. Am I wrong?”
“I definitely thought about seeing you naked before. Getting married? Well, that never crossed my mind. This isn’t about us hooking up or even dating. We got married, Silas. They’re going to ask questions we don’t know the answers to yet.” She puts her hands on my biceps.
“Then that’s what we say. We don’t have all the answers yet.”
“I can’t believe you aren’t freaking out about this.” She looks at me, eyes roaming over my face.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m just … fuck.” I turn my head from side to side, trying to figure out how far I should take this right now. “I’m happy about it. Is the timing ideal? Nope, but as far as I’m concerned, I’ve won the whole fucking house. Any man would be lucky to be with you, but I”—I poke my own chest—“get to call you my wife. So, I don’t see how that would be bad in any scenario.”
“You’re gonna make me cry before we even get in the room.” She tips her head back.
