Her Reluctant Husband by Erica Marselas (summer beach reads txt) 📗

“I don’t remember these being in here." She runs her finger over the newly added gemstones around the original center diamond. "I swear there used to be three diamonds.”

“That’s because there was. I exchanged two of them with Alexandrite stones. June birthstones. I thought…” I trail off and rub my hands on my legs. I originally had the Alexandrite in a pair of earrings. Ones I had bought only hours before the accident, wanting to give them to her and tell her I wanted us to be together. Alexandrite is the June birthstone and though she was born in October, the stones mean love. It didn't hurt that my name was in it too. They weren't cheap, but back then I would have spent everything on her. I never got rid of the earrings and came across them the night after we were married. I'm still not sure why, but I asked Kelley a few days later to help me find a jeweler to switch the stones around. I couldn't give her the earrings, but I wanted to give her this.

"Thought what?" she asks, touching my hand.

“I had the stones lying around and thought you would like something to make it yours.”

“You had Alexandrite stones, just lying around?”

“Don’t overthink it."

“I won't.” Her lips tilt up in a little smile.

“Good.” I take the ring from her and slip it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

“What do you know, I guess you can be nice.”

“You have to know I didn’t just get this ring made today.”

"I know. I really love it, Alex." She leans over and kisses my cheek. "This means a lot."

"I'm glad. So, is this a good enough start?"

"It is. It's just…but we still can’t talk, right?"

"I'm sorry I didn't do better by you when you were younger." She opens her mouth and I raise my finger to stop her. "But Kat is gone. I don't know what else there is to know. Right now, I just want to move forward. Can we try that first?"

She nods, but her eyes are staring at her lap. She's not happy, but I don’t want the details of that night. I don’t want to know what led her to what she did with Bradley or why she got drunk. If she was hurting, why didn’t she tell me?

“Good.” I grab the remote and turn back on the movie. “Let’s see how this chick flick Christmas movie ends.”

“Alex, you really don’t need to stay.”

“Actions, remember."

9JUNE

I wake to the light sound of a heart thumping, and for once, it's not mine echoing back, but that of the man I legally call my husband. His arms are wrapped around me, holding me tight, and safe from rolling off the couch we both passed out on last night.

I press my nose into his bare chest and inhale his crisp woodsy scent and it quickly occurs to me I slept. For the entire night. Instead of a nightmare, I dreamt of a smiling, happy Kathleen. It’s been forever since I’ve seen her in my dreams not screaming.

What do you know, he is a dreamcatcher.

Though it's probably just a fluke, I take this moment and savor it. Who knows if it'll happen again?

Alex shifts under me, and what sounds like my name mumbles out of his lips before he softly snores again. My bladder urgently presses against my stomach and I know it’s time to kill this bubble I’m in. I manage to slip out of his arms without waking him and stumble to the bathroom. He's not awake when I return, and I decide to make him some breakfast, considering there is no way I’m going to be able to sneak back into his arms. I fry some eggs, bacon, and potatoes, and nibble on some fresh fruit as I cook. With no eyes on me and the peaceful night sleep I got, I’m able to enjoy the juiciness of the ripe strawberry without my stomach twisting.

The sun reflects and bounces off my new wedding ring, making a small rainbow beam on the ceiling. I’ve always been in love with Aunt Liz’s old wedding ring, but with the sentimental updates Alex put into it, I’m in love with it even more. There’s so much more behind the Alexandrite gems, and who knows if I’ll ever manage to get the story to why he put them in there or why he just had them lying around, but it means everything.

The fact he did this before I even asked for actions, when I didn’t think it would be possible to show he cares about me, shows me my Alex isn’t so dormant after all.

“Good morning,” Alex says gruffly, pulling out a barstool and plopping himself on it. His hair stands on all ends, and he still looks half asleep with his droopy eyes.

"Morning. I made breakfast." I grin and flip off the burner for the bacon.

"I smelled it. How long have you been awake?"

"Not long."

I plate up his breakfast and place it in front of him. He glances at the food then at me, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why do you keep cooking for me?"

"I like cooking. It surprisingly de-stresses me. Even if the guy eating it is an asshole." I smirk and the corner of his lips curl as he holds back his own smirk.

"Where's yours?"

"I ate already."

He picks up his fork and taps the plate. "Really?"

"Yep. Had to make sure to eat mine before you because I put the cyanide in your eggs."

"Alright. Alright. I happen to no longer think you're trying to poison me."

"You sure about that? I could be doing it slowly to make sure it doesn’t look suspicious.”

He glances down at his plate and twists