Lone King, page 17
“What I don’t want is to be the last thing you think of in your life. And I don’t want to wonder if we’ll ever have a marriage where I mean more to you than everyone else. I’ve gotten used to that nickname and actually like it. It’s all the other stuff I can’t do anymore.”
In his dark eyes, I see genuine fear as I say those things. It’s almost as if he isn’t understanding me. Does he truly believe I don’t want to be married to him?
“Duck, you were never less important to me, but I see now that’s what you felt. I’m sorry. You mean more to me than anything in this world. Do you really want a divorce?”
I don’t answer for a long moment. No, I don’t a divorce, but we can’t continue like we were.
Looking down at where our hands are joined, I shake my head. “I never wanted a divorce, Marius. I just couldn’t keep lying to everyone I love.”
He slides his forefinger under my chin to lift my head. With a smile, he says, “No more lying. I promise. If you want, I’ll buy a billboard in Times Square to let the world know. Or dozens of them so we can tell everyone we’re together.”
My husband loves the big gesture. It’s his signature thing. I’ve always loved that about him. He’s generous to a fault.
“You don’t have to do that. All I want is to know my husband isn’t ashamed to be married to me.”
“I’ve never been ashamed of you, Duck. You’re gorgeous, smart as hell, accomplished…everything any man would kill for. I’ve never been happier than when I’ve been with you. God, I hate that you think I was embarrassed by you.”
Fighting back tears, I say, “I didn’t know why you didn’t want to tell the world we were together. My mind came up with dozens of scenarios to explain it, and none of them felt good. Then you brought that beautiful girl to Ava’s party, and I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t wonder why you were fine with showing her off but not me.”
“Aww, Duck. Sam is just my assistant. She means nothing to me. I thought I was proving a point, but I know now I was just being an asshole. I never meant to hurt you. I swear. Will you ever be able to forgive me?”
The pain of that night at Ava’s rushes through me, and suddenly, I’m angry again. “I know who the hell she is, Marius. It’s the fact that you thought it was okay for you to bring her to the party that was the problem.”
“I know. I get it. Honestly, I do. Just tell me you think you can forgive me. That’s all I need to hear.”
“And what if I can’t?”
Until this very moment, I wasn’t able to entertain the thought that I wouldn’t forgive him, but what if I can’t? What if all that’s happened is too much?
As soon as I ask him that question, I’m met with the saddest expression I’ve ever seen on anyone’s face. “Duck, you have to forgive me. You just have to. This can’t be the end of us.”
“I don’t know, Marius.”
“You love me, right?”
My eyes fill with tears at hearing him ask me that. “I do love you. I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t love you.”
His face lights up. “I’ve loved you since that first day, Duck. You knocked me off my feet, and I’ve never been the same again. I know I’ve screwed up, but please remember all the good times we’ve had. There have been some, haven’t there?”
I laugh at the memory of the two of us eating Chinese food and Marius utterly failing at using chopsticks. He was so frustrated by his inability to handle those two pieces of wood.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“I was thinking about us eating Chinese that one night and you practically throwing the chopsticks across the room when you couldn’t figure out how to use them.”
“Yeah, I’m more of a fork kind of guy, but you walked over and stood by my side to help me learn how to use them. I’m still not good at chopsticks, but I’m better because you helped me.”
He stops and then adds, “I’m a better man and a better person because of you, Duck. Losing you would mean losing the best thing in my life.”
My heart breaks hearing him like this. I love this man. I’m crazy about him. I don’t want to lose him any more than he wants to lose me.
Marius takes both of my hands in his and holds them, almost as if he’s afraid if he doesn’t that I’ll run away. “I just need to hear you think you can forgive me. That’s it, Eden. If you can’t, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
As much as I wish I could simply walk away from him and never forgive what he’s done, that’s simply not possible. Not with how I feel about him. Even sitting here in this neutral space in our home and in these horrible chairs we both hate makes me want to take him into my arms and never let him go again.
“I think I can forgive you,” I say in a quiet voice.
His eyes get big, and his face lights up with pure joy. “That’s all I needed to hear. You’re going to see being married to me is a good thing from now on.”
“It wasn’t bad before, Marius. It wasn’t enough of a marriage. That’s all.”
He stands up and then leans down to kiss me. “Now I know what I have to do. I think I heard Ava come back, so go enjoy your ice cream together. I have to go.”
What?
Now I’m confused. He came here to apologize for all that he did and to find out if I can forgive him for being such an absent husband, and the first thing he thinks to do to prove his love is leave me again?
“Where are you going?” I ask as he starts down the stairs.
Marius looks back at me and gives me a big smile. “To make you see why you should forgive me. I love you, Duck! Never doubt that.”
And with those lovely words, he bolts downstairs, leaving me unsure what the hell just happened.
When I get downstairs, Ava is waiting with bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream for us. “Hey, Marius looked happy when he left. He even apologized to me and said he deserved me smacking him. What happened?”
I sit down at the island and dig my spoon into a big scoop of ice cream. After I let it melt in my mouth, I answer her as truthfully as I can. “I have no idea. He said he was sorry. He told me he loved me. He asked me if I could ever forgive him, and when I said I think so, he jumped up and said he had to go.”
Ava stops eating and shakes her head. “Where?”
“I have no idea. He said he knows what he has to do now to make him forgive me, and then he practically ran down the stairs. Should I be afraid he thinks everything is better and he doesn’t have to do anything else?”
My friend smiles and scoops up a spoonful of ice cream from her bowl. “I think you should be ready for him to do something ridiculously big. Matthias does that when we have fights. One time, after we had a huge argument about him working every day, he bought me my car. I would have been fine with some flowers and an apology, but he thought saying sorry and handing me the keys to a brand new car was what I needed.”
As I dip my spoon into my melting ice cream, I smile and joke, “I like the car I have already. I don’t need a car.”
Ava levels her gaze on my face. “Eden, he bought you this penthouse when you said you didn’t want to go to hotels anymore. Marius is obviously a man who likes to go big.”
“I guess he took go big or go home literally, although I guess it should be go big and go back home for him.”
“This ice cream is delicious, Duck. Am I allowed to call you that? It’s cute, and I’ve never though of you as cute.”
Shaking my head, I smile. “No, that’s a Marius King thing. I’m still regular old Eden to you and the rest of the world.”
I don’t tell her the truth why she can’t call me by his nickname for me. She’d understand, but I want to keep that private.
The reason no one but Marius can call me Duck is that’s his unique name for me. It’s a special thing only between us.
So what is that man going to do to convince me to forgive him? I don’t need a car or a house, and we’ve taken vacations around the world so I can’t imagine where he might think of us going now. He’ll probably go with jewelry.
Maybe I’ll get an engagement ring finally.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Marius
Now that I know my Duck can forgive me, I’ve got to make some plans. This can’t be some lame forgiveness tour we go on. No way. My wife deserves the best.
Believe it or not, this is one of the few times I’ve thought of her like that. Most of the time, I think of her as Duck. I did call her my wife the night we got married, but since then, not much.
That’s about to change.
As I drive along the very road that nearly took my youngest brother from me last New Year’s, I think back to that night she and I stopped in at that little chapel in Vegas. I hadn’t planned on asking her to marry me that day, but something about how much fun we had that week made me think Eden should be my wife.
I roll over and open my eyes, but I’m alone in bed. I can’t believe Duck’s up already. What time is it?
So much for me having a hollow leg and handling my liquor. My head is pounding, and I feel like a bus hit me. And then backed up over me again.
What I need is water. Gallons of water.
I swing my legs off the bed and practically throw myself off the mattress to get up. No dizziness. Well, that’s good. Maybe I’m not hungover.
The moment I stand up I know that’s a lie. I’m so fucking hungover. Just standing up makes my head feel like it wants to explode.
Where is the water? Not that I would know the answer to that question. I haven’t had a sip of the damn stuff in the past five days. Perhaps subsisting on room service and whiskey isn’t the best way to live life.
But what a way it is, I think with a smile.
I take a few steps across the room and consider where I can find water to cure the cottonmouth I’m currently sporting. There’s water in the bathroom sink. No, thanks. Bathroom water always tastes awful.
A few more steps lead me out to the living room where I know I saw some bottles of water this week. Where, though? Maybe the bar? That seems as good a place as any to check.
I thankfully find two bottles and proceed to down them like a man who just crawled in from the damn desert. Wide awake, I look around for Eden but don’t see her anywhere. Then again, this suite is pretty big, so she could be here and I just can’t see her.
“Duck!” I call out. “Where are you?”
No response.
Did she leave me? I thought we were having a good time. The four orgasms she had last night would usually mean she’d be here when I woke up. Maybe I needed to give her five.
Just then, the door opens and she comes walking in looking incredible. That’s probably because she hasn’t been drinking all week. Maybe I should try going on the wagon too.
“Where have you been, Duck?”
She holds up two shopping bags and grins. “I didn’t want to wake you up, but I thought since I’ve got a couple more days here and nothing good to wear that I should get some clothes. The boutique on the main floor has the cutest dresses! Here, look!”
I sit down on the sofa as she pulls out a white dress with pale pink flowers along the hem. Or maybe those are hearts. I don’t know. All I do know is she loves it and will look incredible in it since she always looks good no matter what she wears. The second dress is a longer one and black with a huge slit up the side. A little more formal but it’ll still look great.
She sets the bag down without showing me the rest of what she bought. “I won’t bore you with the other things I got. Are you okay? You don’t look right.”
Running my hand over the top of my head, I mumble, “Hung way over. I’ll be okay after a shower, though.”
We fall into a strange silence considering we’ve spent every day having sex for hours on end all week. My excuse for being quiet is I’m hungry. What’s hers?
“Everything okay?” I ask, wondering why she’s still standing so far away.
She lets out a heavy sigh. “Ava texted me.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s new back at the old King place?” I ask, attempting a joke but sort of failing in my condition.
“I don’t know. I’m too bothered by the fact that I had to lie to her.”
“What did you tell her?”
Duck’s shoulders sag like she’s carrying the weight of the world on them. “I told her I was having a good time.”
“And that was a lie?” I ask, trying not to let my feelings get hurt since they’re about the only damn things about me that don’t ache.
Eden stares at me and twists her face into a grimace that’s sort of cute. I don’t tell her that since my experience with women has shown they like to think they’re really terrifying when they’re upset.
“No, that wasn’t a lie. The lie was not telling her I’m here with you instead of Justin.”
I open my arms and smile. “Come here, Duck. We can be miserable together.”
She reluctantly walks over to the sofa and collapses onto the cushion next to me. “I’m not miserable, Marius. I just don’t like lying to my best friend.”
Pulling her into me, I hug her. She feels so good against my body that in no time I feel much better than I did just a few minutes ago.
“Let’s focus on the positive. Your black eye is almost gone. Whatever that stuff was that the woman sold you in that store we went to Sunday night is doing the job. We’ve had a good time all week, and we still have a couple days more.”
Eden leans back on the sofa and sighs again. “I guess. I just hate lying.”
I sense she needs something more, so I wrap my arms around her as I think of how to make her happy again. Suddenly, it comes to me.
“What do you think about us getting married at one of those chapels we’ve seen around town?”
Her response is deafening silence. Since I’ve never proposed to anyone before, I’m not sure how this is supposed to work, but I don’t think not saying a single word is good.
“I’m guessing you didn’t hear me?”
Finally, she sits up and looks at me like I’ve grown two heads next to the one I was born with. I wait for her to say something, but she seems stunned or unwilling to speak.
“So is that a yes or no to getting married?”
“Are you seriously asking me to marry you? To become Eden King? Seriously?”
Now I’m not an expert, but I don’t think her use of seriously twice is a good sign.
“Yeah.”
“Do you love me, Marius?”
I see in her beautiful green eyes she thinks that’s going to put an end to this marriage talk, but if she believes that, she’s mistaken. I’ve been in love with her since that first night she stayed here with me. That I haven’t told her that yet is only because I didn’t find a good time to say it.
“Well, yeah.”
“Pro tip, dear. When you want a woman to marry you, you tell her you love her first. Making her ask is just poor manners.”
See that right there? I love when she’s like that. She basically just called me a thoughtless jackass but in a way that sort of cushions the blow for me. How could I not love her?
I sit up, and thankfully, my head doesn’t begin to pound when I lower myself to the floor. I don’t have a ring, but we can remedy that after I get a shower.
“Are you seriously going down on one knee to propose we get married in some drive-thru chapel?” she asks wide-eyed.
Looking up at her, I smile. “I don’t feel like renting a car, but if you’re really into a drive-thru wedding, I can get one. In the meantime, Eden, will you marry me?”
Her mouth drops open like she’s surprised, which seems odd since I’ve already asked her to marry me not two minutes ago. It’s probably the down-on-one-knee thing. It’s a little old fashioned, but I like it.
“Marius, you still haven’t told me you love me.”
I’m really not great at this. Maybe if I had done it a few times before I’d be more practiced, but this is my first time asking anyone to marry me.
“Duck, I love you. I’ve never had a week like this. I haven’t laughed this much in my entire life. I’ve been wearing a smile every day since we got together.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “That’s the sex, baby.”
Again, how could I not love her?
“You make me happy, Duck, so I want you to marry me. Will you marry me?”
“You’re crazy.”
Not exactly the response I was looking for.
“So that’s a no?” I ask, not even trying to hide how hurt I am right now.
She shakes her head and sighs. “I think I must be crazy, but I love you too, Marius. Yes, I will marry you.”
I stand up feeling like the king of the world. Pulling her up off the sofa, I take her in my arms and kiss her. I’ve never wanted to marry any of the women I’ve dated. I don’t know what it is about this one, but I’m enchanted by her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.
“So we’re getting married. You can wear that white dress.”
Eden leans away from me and smiles. “It sounds like you have this all figured out.”
I wish that was the case, but I’m pretty much flying blind here. All I know is when this week ends, I don’t want to live without my Duck.
Remembering that day makes me smile. I’ve never regretted for even a single moment marrying my wife. I know it doesn’t seem that way, but I don’t and never have. I’m not sure we have the perfect love you read about in books and see in movies. I don’t care if we do. What I know is I love her and she loves me.
Now to figure out how to show her that so she sees I’d be lost without her.
By the time I get back to the house, I’m still unsure how I’m going to prove my love. Matthias is sitting in the kitchen with Matty asleep in his arms, and my brother looks like he’s about to pass out too.
When I sit down at the table, he straightens up and looks around like he expects Ava to walk through the door any minute. The baby remains fast asleep, thankfully.
“Hey, what happened?” Matthias whispers sleepily. “Did you get the girl?” he jokes.
I’d be pissed if he didn’t sound exactly like I would in this very instance. “I will. Not to worry. What’s going on here?” I ask, pointing at his younger son.
