Page 94

He doesn’t move away.

Neither do I.

There’s something different about the way he’s looking at me. Something that makes my pulse start to race.

“Noelle.”

“Yes?”

“I need to tell you something.”

Oh. Those are terrifying words. Especially from a man who looks like he’s about to negotiate the purchase of a small country.

“Okay.”

He takes my hands. Both of them.

“I know this happened fast.”

I blink.

“Our marriage?”

“All of it.”

“Well, we did get married before we met. That does tend to speed things along.”

His mouth twitches. But he doesn’t laugh.

“I made a lot of decisions before I knew you. Decisions about what this marriage would look like. What I expected. What I could offer you.”

I nod.

“And I thought I knew exactly what I wanted.”

“Someone to love Shiloh.”

“Yes.”

My chest squeezes.

“But I didn’t understand what I was asking for.”

“Maverick—”

“Let me finish, sweetheart.”

I close my mouth.

He takes a breath. “I wanted someone who would stay. Someone who would give my son a family. I thought if I made the terms clear enough, if I put everything in writing, I could guarantee that.”

His thumb moves over my wedding ring.

“Then you showed up.”

I smile a little. “With a car full of Christmas decorations.”

“And a ridiculous ceramic rooster.”