Her Reluctant Husband by Erica Marselas (books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) 📕

“Of course, I’m on your side.” Annabelle huffs. “But look at him.” She then gives me a full on pout. “His hair and clothes are ruined, and I can see his pecs through his white button down…so.”

“I also don’t know why he is standing out there. I told him I needed space.” This screams stalker. Not what I need.

“Because he loves you.”

“Maybe we could get him to hold a sign or hand out some flyers.”

“You need to go talk to him.”

“We already talked.”

“You didn’t finish. He walked out of the office still looking like some sad puppy. Now he looks like a wet sad puppy.”

“Again, that’s his fault.”

"June, you were willing to move on with him without him knowing the real truth. Now that he knows you can’t forgive him to truly move on? Or I don’t know, at least try to talk and figure out the issues since he’s now willing to listen. Do you know how insane that sounds?”

She’s right. It is kinda insane.

I love my Alex, and crazily enough, I love my stubborn asshole Alex. The one who was mixed up in the head, reluctant to listen because he thought he had all the right answers based on others’ lies. Aside from that one huge flaw, that might not be all his fault, he was still that caring man who wanted to care for me, who wanted me to eat, sleep, and wanted to see me smile. Who tried to hold me during my nightmares. The bubble might have popped, but maybe while I was in it, it wasn’t as rose-colored as I thought.

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I guess I’m always going to worry if I can trust him.”

“And that’s why you two need to fucking talk.”

“Who you telling?” I snort with a mumble.

“Well, if the man didn’t care he wouldn’t have stood out in the rain for you. He wouldn’t try, and honestly, he would have bolted the second he knew he had to marry you. The house is great, but come on, childhood homes come and go. Everything inside would have been taken with him. It wasn’t the house he wanted.”

“You sound like Adrian.”

“I don’t know who that is, but it’s true...deep down he did it because he didn’t want to let go of you. Now, just go talk. You don’t have to go home with him and get naked, but you do need to talk some more. I’ll wait inside for you. Plus, I have somewhere to take you this evening, which will give you an excuse not to go with him.”

“Fine.”

Annabelle opens the front door and pushes me out, but not before shoving an umbrella in my hand. Alex’s poor depressing puppy face lights up with a smile when he sees me.

“Hey, you, hothead,” Annabelle calls out to Alex from the threshold.

“What?” Alex chuckles.

“You’re clear on the fact she wasn’t drunk that night, right?” She crosses her arms and glares at him. “Because I was there.”

Alex nods. “I know now. I was an idiot.”

She squints her eyes at him and then looks at me with a nod. “See. He gets it now. Talk.” She steps back into the studio and closes the door.

I open the umbrella and put it over my head, soft raindrops spatter on the fabric as I walk up to Alex. He gives me a tight smile, and I glance up and down at the soaked man in front of me. He’s a mess.

“Okay, I have to ask, why are you standing out in the rain?”

“You’ll laugh.” He smirks, and steps in closer to me, and he smells of the fresh musky rain and him.

“I don’t laugh.” I flutter my eyes in mock annoyance.

“Alright, hopefully, you’ll smile because I’m going to sound like a giant sissy, but remember before I left earlier, I told you there’s a reason I never forgot you. One of those reasons was anytime it rained in the summer, the second the first drop hit the ground, you were on my mind.”

My lips twitch, and I’m trying hard not to smile. “But don’t you mean only in June?” I say faintly. When the summer rain starts in June, I know my Ju-Ju is just around the corner and everything is gonna be alright. It was a phrase he said often to me when I would come to the house in the summer, but it stuck over time, even after I stayed.

“How about just any time it rains?”

My cheeks heat and I look away from him.

“Did I make my Ju-Ju blush?” he touches my cheek, rubbing my warm skin and I knock his hand away.

“Stop. I’m here to talk. Not…flirt.”

“I didn’t think I was flirting. Just telling you the truth. And I know you told me you need space, but I’ve left too many times when you were hurting, and it didn’t feel right today. I wanted to be able to be close if you needed me.”

“Or change my mind?” I quirk my eyebrow.

He doesn’t say anything but reaches out to my hand and presses a kiss to my palm. I let him. I hate that I love him. “You know I was thinking as I was getting rained on. When we were dancing at the picnic, you mentioned that VP job was all I ever wanted. It’s not true. My thought was on you. I wanted more. That a year wasn’t going to be enough. I get it now. I needed the truth, and considering I couldn’t see through or understand your nightmares, or why you couldn’t tell me what they were about, I’m getting it now. I’m seeing it now and I want to show you, whatever it takes.”

“Actions,” I mumble.

“Actions. I