His fingers flexed and then gripped the wheel, giving me the impression he didn’t like my comment. “Why are we doing this if we’re not going to take it seriously? It needs to look real to the outside world, right?”
I nodded, and decided not to tell him that I’d been considering letting Alyssa stay with my parents during this marriage. I didn’t want to be away from her, yet at the same time, it felt wrong to bring her into a fake family. More than that, I worried what would happen if she got attached to Wyatt and this all went to shit and he ended up leaving again.
“I’m sorry about the mayor crashing the party,” I said, deciding to change the subject.
He glanced at me again before returning his eyes to the road. “You do know he’s in love with you, right?”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t say love, but I know he was interested.”
His jaw tightened. “Why aren’t you?”
I looked at him, wondering why he was going there. “I like the mayor, but not like that. Besides, I work for him. It wouldn’t-”
“Plenty of bosses fuck their staff.”
I flinched at his sharp tone. “Mo isn’t like that. He respects women. He respects boundaries.”
Wyatt scoffed. “Yeah, like not interrupting one of your staff’s wedding because you’re jealous. He certainly respected that boundary.”
Touché.
“You can’t be that upset. You didn’t go all caveman on him.” I didn’t know why he was acting like he was the injured party.
“I nearly did.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“Because you wouldn’t have liked it.” He turned onto the side street that led to Alyssa’s friend’s house.
“No. I wouldn’t have.”
“You can handle yourself, Sinclair.”
My lips twitched upward. “Yes. I can.”
“Is it a problem that he’s guessed that this marriage is fake?”
“No. I don’t think so.” It was another reason why this honeymoon was a good idea. If Mo had questions about the marriage, perhaps Stark would too. The more we acted real, the better the chance we had at pulling this off.
He parked in front of the house.
“I’ll be just a minute.”
“Can I come?” His expression was surprised that I planned to make him wait. “I’m her step-dad now. It seems like we should be a unit.”
Inside, guilt lanced me in two. Again. Maybe on this honeymoon I’d be able to tell him the truth.
“Yes, of course.”
We walked up the stone path together. Wyatt had his arm on my lower back. He was doing a much better job than I was of making this fake marriage seem real. I realized that my attitude and behavior could blow it for us, which would be terrible considering the scene I’d just made with Mo to tell him me and Wyatt were real.
“Mama!” Alyssa ran up to me as her friend’s mother let us in.
“We weren’t expecting you yet,” the mother said.
“We’ve had a change of plans.” I bent over to look Alyssa in her green eyes. “Wyatt and I are going out of town for a night. Grandma and Grandpa will come get you and you’ll stay with them.”
She looked up at Wyatt and then me. “Are you going on a honeymoon?”
“That’s right.”
The two girls looked at each other and giggled.
“When you come back, will I be able to go with you?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, even though I was still uncertain.
“Will I see the horses?” she asked Wyatt.
“Absolutely. I’m expecting you to help with them.”
The two girls clapped. “I’m so jealous,” her friend said.
“Maybe you can come for a sleepover and help too,” Wyatt told her. They clapped again, but I had that ongoing uneasy feeling. Yes, we needed to act real, but in some ways, it felt too real. I couldn’t allow that.
“We’re going to go now, so you be a good listener for your grandparents, okay?” I told Alyssa.
“’K.” She followed us out. “What do I call you now, Wyatt? Step-daddy?”
We all stopped. I went still, as panic overtook me.
“What do you want to call me?” he asked.
“Wyatt, I guess.”
He smiled. “Wyatt it is.”
I swallowed as once again guilt and fear threatened to bury me.
He helped me into the SUV and I did my best to smile and wave as he drove us away from Alyssa and her friend.
“She’s a great kid, Sinclair,” he said next to me. “I can’t imagine how hard it was to be so young and by yourself. But you’re a great mom.”
Maybe. I might have been a good mom. But I was a terrible person. I looked over at him, wanting desperately to tell him the truth and at the same time, unable to make the words form in my mouth.
“We have a little drive before Lincoln. Want some music?”
I nodded and then turned to look out the window while Wyatt sang along as he drove us to our fake honeymoon.
21
Wyatt
Sinclair was a little off the entire day. Of course, it wasn’t every day you got married, so I initially put her mood down to nerves. After the incident with the mayor, she seemed agitated, so I did what I could to keep things calm and easy. I’d nearly given up on the honeymoon idea, even though the mayor was questioning the legitimacy of our marriage. Fortunately she saw the need to carry on the ruse.
Of course, for me, it was a chance to spend time alone with her. She was adamant that there would be no more physical contact between us, and I’d respect that. That didn’t mean I wasn’t prepared for honeymoon sex, but if it didn’t happen, I’d accept that.
Mostly I just wanted time away from Salvation, our families and the Stark business to reconnect with her. Ten years ago, we talked about anything and everything. I felt closer to her than I’d ever felt to anyone. Walking away from her had felt like walking away from a part of my soul. Whether this marriage stayed fake or not, what I really wanted was to feel that connection with her again. I hoped a
