“Of course.”
She looked down at her shoes. “Eric would have been having a fit right now.”
I narrowed my eyes.
She held up her hands in surrender. “Sorry, didn’t mean to compare you two; it’s nice to be with someone who actually shows an interest in the things I want to do.”
I slid my hand in hers and grinned at the blush that crept up her neck and onto her cheeks. “You’re cute when you blush. I’m glad I can still do that to you.”
“Calm down; we’re still newlyweds,” she teased. “Can you grab that blue book there?” She pointed to the top of the shelf where she couldn’t reach. Fi was tall, but I did have a good couple of inches on her.
I smiled and did as she asked and handed it to her. I watched her gingerly hold the book in her hands and carefully open the front cover.
“Whoa, I think this is a first edition,” she commented more to herself than to me.
“Is that good?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, very good.”
“This is a cool building,” I mentioned.
“I thought so too. I’ve been here once before, but I felt rushed.”
“No rush, we have no obligations today. I will follow you around all day and watch you look at books.”
Her eyes got all shiny, and she held the book to her chest. “Oh my God, if I wasn’t already married to you…that was like the most romantic thing you could say to me.”
“If you say so, sweetheart.”
She nodded vigorously and leaned up to whisper in my ear, “You’re so getting laid later.”
“That’s not why I did this, you know.”
She smiled. “I know, but still.”
Her gaze lingered on my belt buckle. I tilted her chin up with my hand. “Hey, my eyes are up here.”
She swatted my hand away and started moving down towards the next aisle. We spent another hour in the Book Barn. It made me so happy to see the smile spread across her face as she explored old books in every nook and cranny of the place. I still couldn’t believe what had happened the other night. Fiona Gallagher was my wife, and she actually loved me. I never thought this day would come.
She ended up buying a handful of books but absolutely refused to let me pay for them. I did kind of like that she would never give up being a feisty, independent woman; it made me love her even more. At the same time, she was my wife, and there was this patriarchal side of me that had a need to take care of her. To be the provider. I could hold back, though. I just wanted her to be happy.
We drove back to Philly, and she talked animatedly about all the books she had acquired today. It was so cute how excited she got about it. When we got home, she asked me to give her a couple hours so she could do some work, and I left her alone by heading to the gym. My body was aching from the hits I took in the game yesterday, but I knew I needed to shake it off and get serious.
I was halfway through my run when I saw a text come through from Benny.
BENNY: Hey, man. What are you up to tonight?
ME: Hanging with my lady. Why?
BENNY: Stephanie broke up with me, so wanted to see if you wanted to get a drink tonight.
ME: Fuck…sorry!
BENNY: It’s fine. I guess. But I have to find a new place to live.
ME: Fi’s pretty cool about that sort of stuff; I think she would understand if you wanted to do something.
BENNY: Nah. it’s all good. I’ll see if TJ wants to hang. He’s always down to drink.
ME: Truth. Don’t let him drink you under the table - you’re a lightweight.
BENNY: DICK!
I laughed at him and locked my phone screen again. Nothing had come through from Fi, so I knew she was in the zone, and I really didn’t want to bother her. I was finishing up with weight training when she finally texted me.
FI: Did you get lost?
ME: Nope, still at the gym.
FI: why, tho?
ME: These muscles you love so much didn’t appear out of nowhere.
FI: K!
ME: Don’t K me woman! I’m almost done.
FI: What do you want for dinner?
ME: Not your cooking. Let’s go out.
I wiped down the free weights and headed back home. I had made a reservation this morning already because I had no idea how long Fi wanted to spend at the bookstore. The door to the office was still closed when I got home, so I hopped in the shower, not wanting to disturb Fi. I knew how she got when she was in the middle of her writing. I definitely knew that I shouldn’t piss her off.
She was surveying the closet when I got out of the shower and started getting dressed. She smiled up at me and gave me a quick kiss. “Good workout?” she asked.
“Mmmhmm,” I answered noncommittally and rubbed my shoulder.
She eyed me cautiously. “Aaron…”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Are you hurt?”
Of course she would notice that I was favoring one side and kept rubbing my shoulder. “Yeah, I’m hurt. Not injured, though,” I assured her. “I got slammed into the boards hard last night. I’ll live.”
She didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t push the topic and went to go get her own shower. I was cleaning up in the kitchen when she walked out in that sexy black dress she had worn to dinner in Vegas and black stiletto heels that I didn’t even know she owned. I gulped and adjusted myself below the belt. Her red hair fell down her back, all silky and smooth, and I couldn’t wait to run my fingers through it. That dress did wonders for her lean figure, and I didn’t quite remember it having such a plunging neckline before. It was seriously making me consider skipping dinner altogether.
“You ready?” she asked.
I wiped my hands on a hand towel.
