Our Now and Forever(14)
Slicing the buttered toast from corner to corner, Caleb set a piece on her plate and another on his own. “That’s a shame,” he said, reading in her body language that she didn’t want to talk about it.
They took their seats on the couch, as the apartment didn’t allow room for a table, and ate in silence for several minutes. Caleb hadn’t planned anything beyond finding his wife, and he definitely hadn’t considered playing house with her the morning after. She’d been right the night before, when she said they needed to really get to know each other. Maybe if he’d paid more attention when they’d first married, he would have recognized something had been bothering her before she left.
And if she loved this store so much, then he needed to become a part of it. Time for Operation: Getting to Know Each Other to begin.
“Tell me about the auction. Are we looking for specific items?”
Snow nearly choked on her eggs, taking several seconds to cough them out of her windpipe. “Did you say we?” she asked once she could speak.
“Yeah, we,” he said. “Did you plan to leave me here while you went to the auction?”
“If you’re worried that I’ll disappear again—”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. It’s clear I wasn’t enough to keep you in Baton Rouge, but I can see what this store means to you.” Lifting his coffee for a drink, he added, “I know you won’t leave it, even to get away from me.”
“I’m not sure how to respond to that.”
Caleb had hoped she’d refute the idea that he wasn’t enough, but he should have known better. “No need,” he said. “We have a month to get to know each other. We’ll start with me watching you work.” The words came out harsher than he’d intended.
“You make it sound like I’m applying for a job.”
“I’m the one who’s having to fight to stay on here.”
“A marriage isn’t a business exchange,” she snapped.
“It isn’t something that you quit without notice either.” This was not how he’d wanted the morning to go. Caleb set his plate on the coffee table and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know what you want from me, Snow, but I’m doing my best. Tell me how this is supposed to go and I’ll make it happen.”
Dabbing the corner of her mouth with a napkin, Snow kept her eyes on her plate. “I don’t know what to tell you. That’s the problem.”
Taking a deep breath, he leaned back on the couch and took a different approach. “Then let’s decide what we’re going to tell people.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, meeting his eye.
Caleb scratched the stubble on his chin. “How long have you been in this town?”
“Since June of last year.”
So she’d been here almost the entire time. Amazing.
“And in all that time, did you tell anyone that you were married?”
Snow dropped her gaze. “Lorelei figured it out yesterday, and you confirmed it when you referred to me as your wife. But no one else knows.”
“Today, you’re going to walk into an auction with your husband. We both know people will have questions.”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” Snow gathered their plates and carried them to the sink. “Do we have to tell anyone anything?”
How had he not noticed how anti-conflict she was? “That’s up to you, but I don’t think we can avoid telling them something. And before you suggest it, I’m not going to lie.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to lie,” she said, her tone defensive. “I’m suggesting we don’t need to share all the facts . . . exactly.”
Telling total strangers that his wife had run from their marriage wasn’t an appealing choice to Caleb, but short of saying he’d dropped out of the sky, he couldn’t think of any other answer.
“Why don’t we tell them we were dating before I moved here,” she said, “and that we’ve recently gotten back in touch.”
“And now I’m living with you?”
“We dated for a long time. We can even say we were engaged. Oh,” she said, growing excited about the story she was concocting. “We reconnected online and have been carrying on a long-distance relationship. And now you’re here.” Looking proud of herself, she added, “That should work.”
Caleb didn’t like having to pretend he wasn’t yet married to his wife, but this could play into his favor. The town would see them as lovebirds planning a wedding. And maybe that’s what they needed. Once Snow admitted they were good together, he could give her the real wedding she deserved.