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For anyone who has loved someone not because they are perfect but because you manage to find beauty in all their shades of gray.
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. Strangely, I’m into it.
This guy is one big nerve-wracking mindfuck. My nose prickles and I glance away, skin crawling under the weight of his gaze, heart pounding like it might beat right out of my chest.
All I know is that I spent my childhood in the system, passed from foster home to foster home, and I won’t be letting the same thing happen to Milo. Over my dead body.
“You’re a real ballbuster, Tabby. I appreciate that about you!” West calls back to her as she leaves. She flips him the finger over her shoulder. And it makes me feel a bit better that she’s just as mean to him as she is to me.
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.
I definitely have not been thinking about his head between my legs. Though, if I was, I could argue that’s a great place for it, because at least I wouldn’t have to listen to him talk or look at his grumpy fucking face.
I find it hard to breathe when Rhys looks at me too closely.
“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.”
I have a feeling we’d hate-fuck this entire building to the ground. And truthfully, I don’t really want Tabitha to hate me. I wish she didn’t.
“I’ll marry you, Tabitha.”
Because as much as there’s a part of me that wanted to tell her this whole thing is a sham, I felt like I owed it to Rhys not to. It may be a sham. But it’s our sham. And for better or for worse, we’re in this together.
Over the past weeks, it’s become clear that the only person looking out for Tabitha is Tabitha. And fuck if it doesn’t make me want to look out for her too.
“Tabby, I’m not the kind of guy who fucks around. So you can make up all the rules you want, but I’ll be following my own. And that rule is that there won’t be anyone else while I’m wearing this ring.”
Because kissing him to make myself feel better when he’s looking at me like I hung the moon feels dangerous.
“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.”
Tabby. Our marriage is one big extenuating circumstance. I’m not sure you could call us a family. Tabby: Rhys. I’ll call us a family if I want to.
I’ve spent a lifetime thinking I don’t like talking. It turns out I just needed the right person to talk to.
All I know is no one has ever looked at me the way Tabitha Garrison does.
Someone who cares put together this room, and it makes my heart fall hard on a heavy stutter step. No one has ever put a room together for me. But Tabitha did.
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.
Does love start off as obsession? Because that’s what I am. Obsessed with my wife.
“Why are you looking at me like I terrify you? Can’t a woman enjoy watching her hot-ass husband jump rope in the morning?” “Because you do,” I tell her honestly. “Fair. It’s part of my charm, though.”
“Right. But this marriage… it’s fake.” Her head tilts as she regards me with a tight smile and narrowed gaze. “That’s funny. It doesn’t feel very fake to me.”
“First and last, baby,” I rasp out. “Because I have no plans to fuck anyone other than my wife for the rest of my life.”
“Tabby, I’m tired of hiding. I don’t need to anymore, thanks to you. This is my choice. You and me. Together.”
“You can’t be mean to someone with a broken back.” Her eyes roll. “Your back isn’t broken. At this point, I’m more concerned about the concussion, because you’re acting a fool.”
I remember thinking she was fierce and loyal and fucking incredible. I remember wondering what it would feel like to have someone like Tabitha love you. And now I know.
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’ve been a lot of things in my life. Traveled a lot of places too. But now I’m not just a wrestler. I’m a dad, I’m a friend, and I’m a husband to Tabitha Garrison, the mega-hot brunette who makes the best carbonara in the world. And it strikes me that this is my favorite thing I’ve ever been.
