Autumn heads to her room to put her stuff away, and I let out a breath. “How are we going to do this, Declan?” I ask, stressed as fuck now.
He wraps me in a hug. “One day at a time,” he tells me with ease. “I ordered some dinner and was thinking that maybe it’s a good start to have dinner together from now on. We can figure the rest out as we go.”
That’s not a terrible idea. Autumn won’t suspect a thing, and it will get her used to him being around more often. Although he’s pretty much around every day as it is, so it’s not actually that much different.
“One day at a time,” I repeat.
He leans down and kisses me briefly and then pulls away. “I’ll be right back.”
When he goes to his apartment to grab the food, I sigh out loud. This is going to be hard, not telling anybody.
But I can do this.
We can do this.
One day at a time.
Chapter 28
Declan
Maybe we didn’t think this all the way through. Keeping our marriage a secret has proven to be a lot harder than I originally thought. On the bright side, I’m pretty sure nobody suspects a thing. This is what I imagined our original deal to be like: us dancing around each other during the day and having fun at night. Why we couldn’t make it happen the first time, I’ll never know, but I’m loving what we have now. I just wish we could be out in the open with our relationship instead of hiding it fromthe world.
In the four weeks since Las Vegas, we’ve managed to spend time with each other every day. I come over for dinner, even if it’s late, and Penny and Autumn hang out with me whenever they get the chance.
We’ve also managed to keep our sex life going. As soon as Autumn goes to sleep, Penny and I are at it like animals. She keeps trying to convince me to wear condoms, but now that I’ve had her bare, that’s never happening again. I’ve made up my mind, and there’s no going back.
I keep asking Penny when she’s going to be ready to tell people, but she keeps giving me non-answers; changing the subject or completely ignoring my question altogether. I’m about ready to go crazy. I want everyone to know she’s mine, and I don’t want there to be any doubt in her mind that I’m serious about spending my life with her and Autumn.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
I look at my phone and Kate’s name pops up on the caller ID.
I know I told Penny that we wouldn’t tell anyone, but I think it’s time for me to get some advice.
“Hey, Kate.”
“How’s my favorite brother?” I hesitate for a fraction of a second too long. “Okay, what did you do now?” she asks, already accusing me of something I’m not guilty of.
I let out a breath. “You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
“Please tell me you didn’t kill someone. I’m not sure I can be an accomplice.”
I smile even though she can’t see me. “I didn’t kill anyone. But I did something kind of reckless.”
“Don’t leave me hanging.”
“I got married.”
The silence is deafening. I thought for sure I would get yelled at, but Kate is, for the very first time, at a loss for words. “I’m going to need you to say that again,” she says slowly.
“I got married a month ago. In Vegas.”
“If you so much as tell me that you got married to anyone else but Penny Whitehall, I swear to God I will fuck your shit up so bad that you’ll wish you never lived.”
“Well, good thing I got married to Penny Whitehall then. Or I guess it’s Penny Young now.”
“Oh, thank God!” she exclaims with a sigh. “I would have been so mad at you.”
