More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
For anyone who has loved someone not because they are perfect but because you manage to find beauty in all their shades of gray.
She smiles now. And it’s fucking blinding. It’s not demure or shy. It’s a weapon, and she knows exactly what she’s doing by pulling it out on me.
Yeah. Tabitha, sister of my new tenant, is hot, looks like she thinks I might have bodies buried in my basement, and has a mean handshake.
Tabby Cat. I shake my head. More like a black cat.
I wish I could say I don’t think about Tabitha. But that would be a lie. Because much like the very first time I met her, I can’t get the woman out of my head. Haven’t been able to for the past two years.
Rhys Dupris may be easy on the eyes, but he’s a fucking nightmare for my heart.
This woman needs a target for her anger. Someone to blame so that she hurts a little less. And without even thinking it through, I decide I can be that person for her.
“Hey, asshole. I made you a bowl of carbonara so that I won’t have to hear your stomach all the way upstairs. I didn’t even poison it. Bon appétit and good night.” The door creaks as she closes it, but then it stops. Light spills down the stairs once again as she adds, “Oh, and I sleep with a gun under my pillow, so don’t try anything weird.” I drop my chin, and a smile curves my lips. Because I’m pretty sure that—in her own way—Tabitha Garrison was just nice to me.
“Just fucking let me take care of you. Where is it?” He glances up at me, and my stomach bottoms out. All those dark features homed in on me. Him on his knees for me. Wanting to take care of me.
“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with me being a porn star. If you want to see me fuck someone, the bathroom is right there. Drag me in there right now, and you can watch in the mirror while I bend you over.”
Rhys has always given off big dick energy. But I know now it’s not so much energy as big dick knowledge. Big dick surety? Big dick guarantee.
Yet here I am, heart pounding in my ears, lungs struggling for air, fucking hearts in my eyes as a woman who tolerates my presence glides down the aisle toward me.
“Girl. Have you met men? Everything about them is exhausting.”
He does look like he could kill me or fuck me. And with a face like his, I’d say thank you either way. Thank you, sir. Will you please twist my panties and whisper something dirty in my ear one last time before I go?
“Am I Mrs. Wild Side?”
“Wild Side’s thoughts on pussy—it’s fine.”
I glance over my shoulder, and her beauty steals the air from my lungs. All done up, the porch light shining down on her like a spotlight screaming, She’s the one!
“Her name is Tabitha, not that you need to know. Because you? You’re going to keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”
Rhys: No. I’m married to a mega-hot brunette who makes the best carbonara in the world.
I’ve been through some shit in my life. But having to watch Tabitha cry might be the worst of it.
I’ve spent a lifetime thinking I don’t like talking. It turns out I just needed the right person to talk to.
“I wish you weren’t seeing me like this.” My brow furrows. “Like what?” “At my worst.” I tip my head toward her. “Then it’s all uphill from here, baby. It’s going to make seeing you at your best so damn special.”
I run a palm over her hair. She stares at me with that same look from the bathroom, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it means. All I know is no one has ever looked at me the way Tabitha Garrison does.
He tells me almost nothing with his words, but everything with his actions.
I’ve always kept myself locked up tight. But I’ve never had a Tabitha. Someone so fierce and loyal on my side. I’ve watched the way she is since first meeting her. Protective and always looking out for her family. It seemed so foreign to me, like something I could witness from afar but never have for myself. This morning, I’m not so sure I was right about that. This morning, it feels like I might have it already and am just realizing that I do.
Does love start off as obsession? Because that’s what I am. Obsessed with my wife.
He blinks more than once and swallows, as though digesting the sentiment. Then he gives the firm dip of his chin that makes me smile. My man of few words and many feelings.
This woman’s capacity for forgiveness is staggering. It’s what first pulled on my heartstrings, and it’s what has me hook, line, and sinker for her now.
He’s a shy boy at heart. It’s part of his charm. It’s part of what makes his filthy mouth in bed hot as hell too.
My newest secret is that I’m happy. Being married to Rhys makes me happy. Really, truly happy.
I’ve never been in love, but I’ve also never felt like this. So it seems reasonable to assume I just might be in love with my wife.
“Hey, Tabitha?” Her hands don’t stop moving when I talk. “Yeah?” “I might be in love with you.”
“No, not might be. I am. I have been for a while now.” Tabitha sighs contentedly. “That’s good. Because I’ve been in love with you for a while now too.”
“Turning my life from black and white to full color.” She blinks back at me, lips tipping up into a sad smile. “You did the same for me. I help you find your color, and you help me find mine.”
Every day I spend married to Tabitha Garrison, I feel more whole and settle into this being real, and not some fever dream. I fall asleep next to her every night, and I wake with her in my arms every morning.
I let her in, and I think it healed me in a way.
“Life is all just shades of gray. People are shades of gray.
Rhys is already watching me. Because of course he is. His eyes are always on me. He’s always supporting me—quietly, gently. In that way of his that feels like a warm blanket wrapped around me on a cold day.
