Her knee presses lightly against my leg.
My brain forgets how conversation works.
Across the table Mason notices.
His eyes narrow.
Dex notices Mason noticing.
Dex grins like a shark.
"So," Dex says loudly. "Shelly."
"No," I say immediately.
"Just curious," he continues. "Remind me again whose brilliant idea this whole marriage thing was?"
I lean back in my chair and look straight at him. "Yours," I say. "You said I should get married."
Dex pauses for half a second. Then he points at Natalie. "Yeah but I didn't say how to do it so successfully."
I shrug and take a sip of my drink. "When I see something worth committing to, I don't half-ass it."
Natalie squeezes my hand under the table.
Later someone jokes from the far end of the table.
"Shelly better behave now that his wife is watching."
A few guys chuckle.
Another voice adds,
"Yeah, his reputation just got expensive."
The tone shifts slightly.
Natalie stays calm.
But something in my chest tightens.
I set down my fork.
"Watch it," I say evenly.
The table goes quiet for half a second.
Bryce immediately jumps in.
"Anyway," he says loudly. "Who ordered the steak the size of a steering wheel?"
Dex raises his hand.
"Athletic necessity," he says.
Conversation restarts.
Natalie glances at me.
