"I know." His forehead presses against mine, and the gesture feels impossibly intimate despite the space between our mouths. "But they don't need to know that."
He holds us there for another heartbeat, then two, letting the moment stretch just long enough to be convincing before he slowly pulls me upright.
His eyes meet mine, dark and unreadable, and there's something in them that makes my stomach flip. Then he opens his mouth and ruins it. "Don't worry, sweetheart." His voice is low, meant only for me, with just enough edge to remind me exactly who I've married. "You might have my last name now, but I won't kiss you until you ask me to."
Heat floods my face. "That will never happen."
"We'll see." He pulls back, and there's a challenge in his dark eyes. "You never mentioned monogamy was one of the conditions."
My blood turns to ice then immediately boils. Perhaps it wasn't discussed, but it was implied, given we have to sell the lie. We have to make the people who are closest to us believe we are madly in love. How can we possibly sell that if he is sleeping around?
He mistakes my error for something it's not. "Jealous already, Mrs. Hale?"
"Practical," I correct. "If someone sees you with another woman?—"
"They won't."
"The whole charade falls apart, and we both—" I stop, his words finally registering. "What?"
Trigger's hand is still at the small of my back, and he uses it to pull me infinitesimally closer. To anyone watching, we're lost in newlywed bliss. But his voice drops, and becomes something darker. "They won't see me with anyone else. Because, despite what you think of me, I don't do things halfway." His gaze holdsmine, steady and certain. "When I commit to something, even a lie, I'm all in."
My breath catches.
"Besides," he continues, and now there's definitely amusement coloring his tone, "you're the one who'll be begging me for a kiss soon enough. I'd hate to ruin that moment by being seen with someone else."
"You're delusional."
"And you're my wife." He says it like a challenge. Like a promise. Like a threat. "So I guess we're both stuck with our delusions."
The crowd is still cheering around us, oblivious to the war we're waging in whispers.
"For now," I remind him, my voice sharp.
His smile sharpens to match. "For now," he agrees.
But the way he's looking at me—like he knows something I don't, like he's already three steps ahead in a game I didn't know we were playing—sends a shiver down my spine.
Trigger takes my hand, lacing our fingers together, and turns us to face the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announces, his voice carrying across the room, "Mr. and Mrs. Hale…again."
People are on their feet with applause, and all I can think about is the space that existed between our mouths moments ago. The kiss that didn't happen. The kiss he's now dangling like bait, waiting for me to break first.
I won't,I tell myself firmly.I won't give him the satisfaction.
As he pulls me through the reception, I feel a shift as his grip changes from performative to purposeful. Even his smile when he nods at well-wishers, doesn't quite reach his eyes anymore. Something's changed.
"Trigger—"
"Time to go." His voice is pleasant and easy, but his hand is already pulling me toward the exit.
"We can't just leave. Laney will?—"
"Now, Asha." The pleasantness evaporates. He leans in close, his breath warm against my ear, and to anyone watching, it looks intimate. Loving. But his words are steel. "It's time to start playing the role you signed up for. Wife."
The word sends a chill down my spine. The way he says it, not teasing like before, not challenging. Final. Possessive. Real in a bone-deep, terrifying way.
"What are you talking about?" I try to pull back, but his arm slides around my waist, holding me against his side as we move through the crowd.
"Smile," he murmurs. "Wave. Look happy."
