her twice since, when she was hoping to get some money out of me—which I don't have." I raise my gaze to meet his, hoping he's not disgusted by me, and his eyes soften as he nods a little for me to continue. "I had to drop out of school my senior year so I could try to work and take care of myself. I didn't go to college or anything like that."
He puts his fork down and runs his hand through his hair, tucking it behind his ear. "Whether you went to college doesn't matter to me. That's a shitty thing to have to go through, though, especially so young. As you saw at the wedding, I have a big family, and we're all pretty close."
"You're very lucky to have them." I'm envious, actually. Although I met them all briefly in the flurry of crazy yesterday, they seemed extremely nice and welcoming. And I could tell they actually cared about each other, unlike my own family.
"You have them, too. My family is your family now."
I glance down at my plate and push my fruit around. "That's really sweet. But, we don't even know if this is going to work. I'd rather not get my hopes up about having a nice family."
"Asia, I didn't get into this to get divorced. Did you?"
I snap my head up with defiance. "No. That's the last thing I want."
"Good, 'cause I don't know how, but we're going to make this fuckin' thing work."
My insides tremble at the possibility of what he's saying. Maybe this really can work. Maybe, somehow, I really will get through the next six months of this and end up with a husband and a great family.
"Is that your real name?" he asks suddenly. "Asia?"
"It is. Is Talon yours?"
"Yup. We all have unique names in my family. That's what you get when your mom is a romance author and your dad's a musician."
"I really like all the names," I admit. "I always thought they were stage names."
He grabs an e-cig out of his cigarette pack and starts to puff on it. "Nope. They're on our birth certificates that way."
"Did you quit smoking while you were downstairs?" I tease, gesturing to the electronic cigarette.
Letting out a laugh, he pushes his empty plate a few inches away. "No, I just don't want to set the smoke alarm off. I am trying to quit, though. My brother used these, so I'm giving them a try." He blows vapor to his left and then fixes his eyes on me intently. "So, the million-dollar question. Sex. You've made it clear you're not a slut, and I like that, actually."
My stomach does a small flip and a flush of heat comes over me. "I wish I could say the same about you. It seems like you have quite the reputation."
He smirks. "Guilty as charged, jelly bean. Sorry."
I brace myself to ask my next question. "Are you able to be faithful?"
The tip of his e-cig glows blue while he takes a long drag off of it. "I think so," he finally says, with a hint of uncertainty.
"You think?" I repeat. "You have to be sure. I can't be married to a cheater."
"Is it cheating if we're not having sex?" he teases, tilting his head to the side.
I glare at him and push my own plate off to the side, my appetite suddenly gone. "Yes, Talon. It is."
"Take it easy, I'm just kidding. I'm sure I won't cheat on you. I've gone a month without it so far, so that's a record for me."
I feel as if I were just slapped at his words. "A month?" I repeat. "You had sex a month ago?"
He shrugs cluelessly. "Around that time. Give or take a week."
Shaking my head, I stand and walk away from the table. I can't believe he slept with another girl just a few weeks ago. Part of the process was that we were supposed to stop sexual relations with others when we found out our partner was a definite and the wedding date was set. We knew that three months ago.
He stands up and follows me to where I'm standing at the window. "What's wrong now?"
I continue to stare out the window at the lake where we had our pictures taken last night. The first place we kissed. "You knew about me then. You knew we had a wedding date already."
"Well, yeah, but I didn't know you. I
He puts his fork down and runs his hand through his hair, tucking it behind his ear. "Whether you went to college doesn't matter to me. That's a shitty thing to have to go through, though, especially so young. As you saw at the wedding, I have a big family, and we're all pretty close."
"You're very lucky to have them." I'm envious, actually. Although I met them all briefly in the flurry of crazy yesterday, they seemed extremely nice and welcoming. And I could tell they actually cared about each other, unlike my own family.
"You have them, too. My family is your family now."
I glance down at my plate and push my fruit around. "That's really sweet. But, we don't even know if this is going to work. I'd rather not get my hopes up about having a nice family."
"Asia, I didn't get into this to get divorced. Did you?"
I snap my head up with defiance. "No. That's the last thing I want."
"Good, 'cause I don't know how, but we're going to make this fuckin' thing work."
My insides tremble at the possibility of what he's saying. Maybe this really can work. Maybe, somehow, I really will get through the next six months of this and end up with a husband and a great family.
"Is that your real name?" he asks suddenly. "Asia?"
"It is. Is Talon yours?"
"Yup. We all have unique names in my family. That's what you get when your mom is a romance author and your dad's a musician."
"I really like all the names," I admit. "I always thought they were stage names."
He grabs an e-cig out of his cigarette pack and starts to puff on it. "Nope. They're on our birth certificates that way."
"Did you quit smoking while you were downstairs?" I tease, gesturing to the electronic cigarette.
Letting out a laugh, he pushes his empty plate a few inches away. "No, I just don't want to set the smoke alarm off. I am trying to quit, though. My brother used these, so I'm giving them a try." He blows vapor to his left and then fixes his eyes on me intently. "So, the million-dollar question. Sex. You've made it clear you're not a slut, and I like that, actually."
My stomach does a small flip and a flush of heat comes over me. "I wish I could say the same about you. It seems like you have quite the reputation."
He smirks. "Guilty as charged, jelly bean. Sorry."
I brace myself to ask my next question. "Are you able to be faithful?"
The tip of his e-cig glows blue while he takes a long drag off of it. "I think so," he finally says, with a hint of uncertainty.
"You think?" I repeat. "You have to be sure. I can't be married to a cheater."
"Is it cheating if we're not having sex?" he teases, tilting his head to the side.
I glare at him and push my own plate off to the side, my appetite suddenly gone. "Yes, Talon. It is."
"Take it easy, I'm just kidding. I'm sure I won't cheat on you. I've gone a month without it so far, so that's a record for me."
I feel as if I were just slapped at his words. "A month?" I repeat. "You had sex a month ago?"
He shrugs cluelessly. "Around that time. Give or take a week."
Shaking my head, I stand and walk away from the table. I can't believe he slept with another girl just a few weeks ago. Part of the process was that we were supposed to stop sexual relations with others when we found out our partner was a definite and the wedding date was set. We knew that three months ago.
He stands up and follows me to where I'm standing at the window. "What's wrong now?"
I continue to stare out the window at the lake where we had our pictures taken last night. The first place we kissed. "You knew about me then. You knew we had a wedding date already."
"Well, yeah, but I didn't know you. I
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