The Marriage Contract by Natasha Black (best novels for teenagers TXT) 📕

called and hit the block button. When it was done, she finished off her water and stood. “Guess we should get back inside. Otherwise, they’ll think we’re having a lot more fun out here than we are.”

I smiled, but there was little humor in it. The truth was, I wanted to be having that fun. I wanted to call that asshole Adam and tell him exactly how fucked he could get if he didn’t leave her alone.

I followed Chloe inside, and she went to the floor while I ducked into the kitchen. I grabbed my apron and put it on, letting new words rattle around in my mind. Now they were ones I made up myself but were based on ones she said.

Did she love me?

I wondered about that the entire rest of the shift, and every time I got to the window, I would look for her. She never looked back for me.

24

Chloe

A few days after that first night back at the bar, I had a day off. Hannah called and asked if I wanted to hang out and have a girls’ day with her. It had been a long time since we had just spent time together, and I eagerly accepted the invitation. Partly because I wanted to spend time with my cousin, but also because I needed to get my mind off everything. It was harder than I expected to pretend with Matt. Especially when we were together as often as we were.

We were together at home. We were together at the bar. I had always enjoyed being with him, but now it filled my mind with all kinds of thoughts I shouldn’t be having. Maybe going out with Hannah for a while would snap me back into reality.

She picked me up, and we first went to lunch. Since she had been in Portland longer than me, she had a better idea of all the cute restaurants and had chosen one that reminded me a lot of the bistros we ate at in New York when I had gone to visit her there, just without the pretension.

We sat down and thanked the waiter for the glasses of iced water he immediately put in front of us. He handed each of us the day’s menu and said he would be back in a few minutes. I scanned over the options, my mind going to the mushroom pasta Matt had chosen for me. It felt significant, meaningful. But at the same time, maybe I was just being too emotional about it. After all, it was pasta with garlic and mushrooms bathed in luscious cream and topped with shaved cheese. There wasn’t a whole lot not to like about that. Maybe I was just putting too much emphasis on him making that choice for me.

I wished I could talk about it with Hannah. This was one of those guy-related dilemmas I would usually go over with her, seeing what she thought about it and getting advice over what I should do. Of course, I couldn’t do that. She would probably think it was a bit suspicious if I asked her if she thought my husband might like me.

My plan was to just try to put it out of my mind and focus on enjoying my day with her. But she wasn’t on the same page. Hannah took a sip of her tea and leaned toward me with a smile.

“So, how is married life? Have you come down out of the clouds yet?” she asked.

I looked into her eyes and saw the genuine interest, the eagerness there. So, I did the only thing I could do.

I lied.

“Not yet,” I said. “Maybe I never will.”

Hannah made the kind of sound people do when they see a particularly wrinkly puppy and let out a sigh.

“You two truly are a fairy tale.”

That seemed like as good a segue as ever.

“So, guess who I heard from the other day?” I asked.

“Who?” she asked.

“Adam.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah. I was at work. Matt and I were in the back, and my phone rang. I didn’t even look to see who it was when I answered, and he just completely laid into me. Screaming and yelling about how I belonged to him and I shouldn’t have gotten married. On and on. It was kind of impressive, actually.”

I laughed, and Hannah shook her head. “Wow. Sounds like someone is a little bit jealous.”

“Maybe just a bit,” I said.

She held up her drink, and I clinked my glass against it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening shopping and bonding. The hours flew, and I felt happy and relaxed by the time I got home. When I went in and dropped my bags, I heard Matt in the kitchen.

“You home?” he called out.

“Nope. Serial killer here to add you to my collection.”

“Okay, well, you’re going to have to wait about fifteen minutes. Dinner is almost ready, and I don’t want it to burn.”

“That’s a big ask, buddy,” I said, walking into the kitchen.

He turned around and grinned. “How’s Hannah?”

“She’s good. That woman can make shopping an Olympic sport. What are you making?”

“Stuffed chicken breast,” Matt said. “It’s one of Tyler’s new recipes. I think he might be angling for a new career as a cookbook author. He keeps giving all of us recipes and asking us to try making them.”

“I don’t mind being a guinea pig.”

We ate dinner, which was absolutely delicious, and settled into the living room to relax. Matt poured us a few drinks, and soon we were laughing and all my inhibitions were slipping away. It didn’t take long before the chemistry between us skyrocketed, and I couldn’t keep my hands off him. Suddenly, I was in his lap and his hands were around my waist, grinding me down into him as we made out.

When we came up for air, I climbed off him and pulled him up off the couch to take this somewhere more comfortable.

I led him into the