Top Ten Husband Qualities
1. Gainfully employed.
2. Good kisser.
3. Must want children.
4. A non-yes man.
5. Handsome and well groomed.
6. Must adore me.
7. Challenges me to be better.
8. Preferably never married.
9. Minimal baggage. See number 8.
10. Above all, faithful to me.
He took the list back and went down each number, one by one. “Number one, no problem.” He kissed me and smiled. “I’ve got two covered.”
“Uh, don’t you think I should be the judge of that?”
He tapped my nose. “Believe me, I can tell you agree with me.”
I couldn’t deny it. It was so true.
“Number three, yes.”
I don’t know why, but the thought that Ian wanted children, and perhaps with me, made me blush.
“Number four for sure, as well as five.”
I rolled my eyes at his arrogance.
“Number six. I absolutely adore you,” he whispered in my ear.
“Numbers seven and ten are not problems, but we need to talk about numbers eight and nine.”
I’ll admit his past made me wary, and it was a sticking point in my mind.
I know he didn’t want to talk about his ex-wife, but I had to ask. “Do you still love her?”
He sighed. “The question you should ask is if I ever did.”
“That’s kind of worse in my mind. Why would you marry someone you didn’t love?”
He took my hand and his thumb swept across it several times. “I told you I made mistakes, and I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Remember when I said that I tried to forget about you and that’s where I went wrong?”
“I remember you saying there was a woman.”
He held my hand up and kissed my palm. “In my pursuit to get overyou, I made some very poor choices, Marissa being one of them. But in my defense, she didn’t really love me either.”
“I don’t know if I can be with someone who takes marriage so lightly. And how long will this legal battle with her go on?”
His brows creased. “Kelli, I don’t take marriage lightly, and I didn’t take it lightly. Love and marriage don’t always go hand-in-hand. Yes, that’s the best way and the way I would prefer it, but I was faithful to the vows I made, and I only divorced her because she was unfaithful. Don’t get me wrong, I regret marrying her, but don’t think for a second I did it lightly. And to answer your question, the litigation should be done within the month, with any luck.”
