Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
“Temporary husbands don’t scare me,” he says lightly.
I step closer, just enough to make his posture shift. “They should.”
Graham’s eyes harden. “You don’t know what you’re stepping into.”
I tilt my head. “Try me.”
Graham’s smile returns, too smooth. He steps forward and extends his hand like we’re at a business meeting.
The gesture is calculated. Public. Performative. Meant to make me look like the aggressive one if I refuse.
I take it anyway.
His grip is firm. His palm is dry.
He leans in, voice dropping so only I can hear, pleasant as a threat.
“Temporary husbands don’t stop me.”
Chapter 10
Ellie
Wyatt’s hand is still wrapped around Graham’s when Graham leans in and says something I can’t hear.
I don’t need to.
I can read it on Graham’s face—the calm cruelty, the private satisfaction, the way he thinks he can smile his way through anything because the town loves a man in a suit who speaks in “reasonable” tones.
Wyatt’s posture changes. It’s subtle if you don’t know him. If you don’t know what a firefighter looks like right before he walks into flames.
But I know.
His shoulders lock. His jaw hardens. His eyes go darker, colder, like a switch flips from husband to threat.
My fingers are still curled around Wyatt’s forearm behind his back, and I tighten them without meaning to.
Wyatt releases Graham’s hand slowly. Too slowly. Like he’s deciding whether to break something.
Graham steps back with that polished grin. “Anyway,” he says, loud enough for the shop to hear, “Ellie. We should talk privately.”
I laugh once, sharp and ugly. “No.”
Graham’s brows lift with that fake surprise he does so well. “Sweetheart—”
Wyatt moves before I can speak. One step, and he’s closer. Not threatening on paper. Not in court. But in real life, in a small-town chocolate shop with witnesses and air that suddenly feels too thin.
“Don’t call her that,” Wyatt says, voice flat.
Graham’s smile stays in place. “I’ve called her that for years.”
Wyatt doesn’t blink. “Not anymore.”
Levi, the menace, is leaning against a shelf like he paid for front-row seats. Sadie stands near the doorway, arms crossed, expression calm but eyes sharp like she’s clocking every move Graham makes.
Graham’s gaze flicks to the flannel on my body, then to the way I’m behind Wyatt, and something in his face tightens—just for a second. The mask slips. Possession flashes.
Then the mask comes back.
“You’re playing house,” Graham says smoothly. “This is… cute. But you know she’ll come back. She always does.”
Heat crawls up my neck. My hands ball into fists inside the oversized sleeves. “I didn’t ‘always’ come back. I stayed too long.”
Graham’s eyes narrow slightly. “Ellie. Be careful.”
Wyatt’s head turns a fraction toward me, like he’s checking if I’m still breathing.
I am.
Barely.
Wyatt faces Graham again. “You’re done here.”
Graham lets out a soft chuckle. “Is that a threat?”
Wyatt’s mouth doesn’t move. “It’s a promise.”
The words hit me low in the belly. Not because I’m impressed by posturing. Because Wyatt doesn’t posture. He means what he says, and the certainty in him is terrifying and… something else. Something that makes my pulse jump in places it shouldn’t.
Graham’s gaze flicks to the front of the shop, where the window faces Main Street. He knows eyes are on us. He knows Margie Warner and Mrs. Hargrove are probably vibrating with gossip across the street.
So he plays the gentleman.
He smooths his suit jacket. “I’m here to offer a solution,” he says, louder now, performing. “Ellie’s accounts are in default. The bank has procedures. I can help her if she’d just—”
“If I’d just what?” I snap. “Come beg?”
Graham’s smile tightens. “Come be reasonable.”
Wyatt’s hand slides behind him, palm brushing my hip through the flannel like a silent warning to stay back. It’s not a grab. It’s not force. It’s control.
My skin lights up anyway.
I hate myself for it.
Graham’s gaze drops to Wyatt’s hand placement, then lifts again. “This is getting inappropriate,” he says, voice smooth. “I’ll let you two… do whatever this is. But Ellie, we’ll talk soon.”
“No,” I say, voice steady now. “We won’t.”
Graham’s eyes go hard, finally. “You’re making a mistake.”
Wyatt’s voice cuts in, quiet and lethal. “Leave.”
Graham holds Wyatt’s stare for a beat too long, like he’s trying to measure him. Then he glances at me one last time—like I’m property he temporarily misplaced—and turns toward the door.
“See you soon, sweetheart,” he tosses over his shoulder, just to see if he can still make me flinch.
Wyatt steps forward so fast Levi actually straightens like he might have to intervene. Sadie’s hand shifts, like she’s ready to do something messy.
But Wyatt stops himself.
Barely.
Graham leaves with a smile that isn’t a smile.
The bell jingles behind him like a joke.
The second the door closes, I exhale and realize my whole body is shaking.
Levi lets out a low whistle. “That man is… punchable.”
Sadie’s gaze stays on me. “You okay?”
I swallow. “I’m fine.”
Sadie’s eyes narrow. “Stop saying that.”
Wyatt doesn’t look at me yet. He looks at Levi. “Get out.”