Angie unbuckles and finally looks my way. “Ok.”
That one word should feel like a victory, but it hits me like a death sentence, fueling the doubts swirling in the back of my mind.
I carry the car seat into the house and set it on the couch, unbuckling the sleeping infant to cradle her against my chest. Angie follows me into the nursery where I lay Jessie in her criband watch her sleep for several long minutes until the distance between my wife and me is too much to bear.
I gesture for her to follow me out, grateful when she does. I sink onto the sofa, uncertainty holding me in a vise grip. “Did Tyler sign the papers?”
She nods. “He didn’t even look at her.”
“I’m sorry. That must’ve been hard.”
“No. Not really,” she says, pacing the length of the living room. “I expected that.”
I lean forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. Each word I say next is carefully measured. “What did he do?”
She stops and stares at me pointedly. “Why don’t you tell me whatyoudid?”
“I would if I had any idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“Vegas. I’m talking about Vegas.”
My pulse ratchets up as her accusation lands like a gut punch. “If you think for one second I’m going to apologize for anything that happened in Vegas, you’re wrong. I don’t regret a single second of it. I’d do it all over again to end up right back here.”
“Even if it meant hurting me? You’d make that wager again?”
My stomach plummets. “Wager? What wager?”
She couldn’t possibly mean…
Her voice pitches higher. “The night before the wedding. You had a drink with Tyler, and you won me in a hand of blackjack. Do you deny it?”
I stand and run my hands through my hair. “You think I won you?” I say, my voice low and measured so as not to wake the sleeping baby down the hall.
Anger churns in my gut, and it’s a goddamn feat that I’m still standing here when all I want to do is rush out the door and make Tyler pay for what he’s done. There’s a slighttremble in her hands, the only outward sign of distress. My woman is strong as hell, even when she has every right to fall apart.
“That’s what it sounded like to me. He said he’s been competing with you for years, and it all came down to one more wager.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Angel. Not once.”
There’s a fierce determination in the set of her jaw. “A lie of omission is still a lie.” She swipes away the tears cascading down her cheeks. “And just so we’re clear, the tears are because I’m fucking pissed.”
Desperation overpowers reason, and the last thread of my resistance snaps.
“I watched you with him for 1295 days. I watched him break you down day after day, over and over again. Do you know what that felt like? It was agony to see you with him, knowing I could've loved you the way you deserve. I would’ve stood at the altar and pledged my love to you for an eternity if you’d chosen me first—not in that shitty Las Vegas chapel, but here in front of everyone we love because you deserve to be more than just an afterthought. You are myfirstthought every goddamn day. Do you think I would’ve bet on that? Bet on him hurting you? I would never do that. Never.”
I take a step toward her, but she mirrors the movement.
“Angel. Please.”
When she doesn’t say anything, I take another step, and this time she lets me close the distance. As if my hands have a mind of their own, I reach for her, cupping her cheeks in my rough palms. Heat radiates off her skin—anger or worse. Pain.
“I love you,” I say. “I aminlove with you. I have loved you for six years. It only took me two days to decide I wanted to give myself over to you completely. But the universe had other plans, and I convinced myself to let you go.”
A soft exhale escapes her parted lips, and I resist the urge to close the distance.
Not yet.
“When I found Tyler the night before the wedding, drunk out of his mind, unsure whether he wanted to go through with it, I never considered playing the villain in your story. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. So, I made a wager. One hand of blackjack, and he would have to let me speak my piece. Do you want to know what I told him?”
