"Do you think our friends will be mad?" she asked. Her voice filled with apprehension, and the thought lines in her forehead were pronounced. Annie hated to disappoint people, and I'd been waiting on this to rear its ugly head. I knew it would come and hoped like hell she didn't regret our decision in the end."Annie, I stand firm in the idea that sometimes it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Our friends and family won't stop loving us because we got married without them." Smoothing her hair with my hand, I tried to reassure her, to soothe her worry away-but that was easier said than done."It may be that way for guys, but I'm afraid Jenny, Lynn, and Scarlett aren't going to see it the same. Some part of me always thought my wedding would mend things with my parents, too, but I didn't give them that opportunity. I feel like I chose the selfish route not including them.""Do you wish you had done something differently? You know we don't have to tell anyone we tied the
When the plane touched down in Greenville, Annie and I turned our phones back on for the first time in over a week. We had promised each other we wouldn't allow any outside distractions to mar our trip, and being out of the country made that easy to explain before we left. Once on the road, she looked at me. "Do you think it's safe to check the messages at this point?" Her face was tainted with worry."Sweetheart, your friends will not be mad at you. Plus, they don't even know anything yet. Are you trying to avoid the confrontation? Is that why you aren't checking your phone?" She nodded her reply."Who are you most afraid of telling?""My mom and dad," she stated plainly. "Things between us have been strained for years. This may be the final nail in the coffin. The sad thing is you're exactly what they always wanted for me." I'd met her parents when we'd run into them one night, but it was only briefly, and neither had shown much interest. We'd all wanted to go in separate di
Anticipating jet lag and the overwhelming fatigue that comes from vacation, we had planned the trip and time off work so we had one more day before returning to our daily grind. At that point, Annie's friends knew she was back in town. They had laid low yesterday. We got in late afternoon, and they gave her some space. But as soon as the sun came up this morning, her phone wouldn't stop ringing. First, it was Jenny, then Lynn, followed by Scarlett, all of them wanting details. I felt for her. I had sent my friends a text message last night saying we'd gotten married. They each said congrats or some other guy form of the word, but none really cared. They had all known it was coming and knew Annie was it for me. Guys were just different that way. I think they all appreciated not having to sit through a ceremony or buy a gift.She grunted a frustrated moan as she rolled over to face me. "I guess I just need to get this over with."I held her to my chest while she sent a group text to
The moment I hit the DC floor, I was aware everyone in the facility knew Annie and I had gotten married. Dan was one of my best friends, and I'd told him the night before last. He was worse than any girl I'd ever known about gossiping. Couple that with Lynn knowing Annie's side, it was the hot topic of conversation. For the most part, everyone was genuinely happy for us, sharing words of congratulations and well wishes. Luckily for me, Lynn filled everyone in on the details of the day, showed people pictures, and swooned for us in general. Everyone in the DC knew Annie, and to my knowledge, there wasn't a soul who hadn't loved her while she was here. I got lucky and only had to field questions with words of affirmation.A couple hours into the day, Topher stopped by my office. He'd been bombarded by Scarlett with the details of the wedding. I knew he and Annie had shared a night together, but he was a good guy, and his well-wishes were heartfelt even if they came with a warning about
I stopped when I heard Lynn ask him if he was okay. Unable to believe my wife's best friend was coddling this arrogant ass who had nearly destroyed her, I waited. With one hand on the door, I turned around and stood silently as the scene unfolded in front of me."No, I'm not fucking okay. Why the hell did I find this shit out here? Why didn't she tell me?" he roared in Lynn's face. He was pissed and taking it out on the one person who cared how he felt about my marriage. I shook my head in wonder. He hadn't told Annie he was getting married. I had the pleasure of that task. But somehow in his twisted mind, she owed him the courtesy of a phone call or a heads-up. I'd heard about how he'd treated her, and she'd told me tidbits, but I was witnessing his expectations first hand, and they pissed me off. "You aren't the only one who found out after the fact. She didn't tell anyone other than Jack, and that was to ensure she would still have a job when she came back." Gray raked his ha
The first two years of our marriage had been damn near perfect. Annie and I adored each other. We spent our free time together-traveling, eating out, socializing with our friends-it didn't matter what we were doing as long as we did it as a couple. I'm sure it helped we were in counseling almost from day one, but that never bothered me. Annie had a daunting past, and I wanted to ensure I was always there to help mitigate the demons. When she first invited me to a session, her apprehension was apparent-mine was, too. I'd never been in any type of therapy, but it was critical for Annie, and I tried to view it as an opportunity to be part of the healing. While we dated, she had opened up about the abuse she'd endured in high school. I knew about Will committing suicide and her feeling responsible for it, but I hadn't realized how deep those feelings of guilt truly ran. They went beyond Will and seeped into her relationship with Gray. I refused to add to that list. In fact, I wanted to h
Two days later, I sat waiting for Annie in the living room. I'd just gotten out of the shower and knew she'd be late but hadn't anticipated it would be after eight o'clock when she walked through the door. The smile that graced her face surprised me. I'd expected my wife to arrive weary, but the moment I saw her, I knew she was in a good mood."Hey, sweetheart. How was work today?"She waved her hand dismissing my question as she answered, "Meh, it was fine." I watched as she wandered through the house and set her things down before returning to sit in my lap."Are you hungry? I ate earlier, but I can fix you something." She shook her head, but her exuberant grin never left her lips.I wrapped my arms around her before she finally let me in on what had her so happy."I got in to see my OBGYN today." Her face pulled back to stare into my eyes.My lips found hers in a quick peck that resulted in a smile of my own. "Yeah, how'd it go?" I already knew if she was happy then things
We sat together in the bathroom, her between my legs on the floor holding the stick in both hands, willing the second line to appear. Annie's tiny frame tensed in front of me, but I tried to relax her during the wait. Three minutes became an eternity. When the line didn't appear, I waited for her to fall apart, ready to catch her to keep her from breaking. To my surprise, she leaned her head against my arm for a brief moment before turning slightly to face me."It's just the first month. We knew it was unlikely." There was disappointment in her words, but not despair. "It would've been cool but pretty unrealistic." Before I could respond, she leaned in to kiss me, opening her mouth to further invade my space. I welcomed her intrusion with open arms, pulling her toward my body. Just as things started to heat up, she pulled back. Her eyes were heavy with lust. "More time to practice." It was all she said before rising from the floor, pulling me up by my hand, and leading me to our b