He wanted to make her happy. It was that simple.
But he wasn’t going to be put in a position where he never knew if a sponge, or worse, was going to come at him.
Was he demanding and intense? Yes, he was. He couldn’t change that, and he was honest about it, had been from the first minute he met her. But he was also fair, helpful, polite. So he liked to think. So why was Shawn fighting him so hard at every turn? It was like she was determined to wrest power from him.
“You okay?” Nolan asked him, appearing in the doorway. “You look like you could chew glass and like it.”
Rhett shrugged. “I don’t know, man. Why didn’t you warn me that marriage was complicated?”
Nolan’s eyebrows shot up. “Because I didn’t know you were going to elope about three minutes after meeting Shawn. If I had, I might have suggested you wait a month or twelve and get to know her before getting hitched. But you did, so you’re in it now. What’s going on?”
“I feel like Shawn is trying really hard to hold on to her independence and prove that she can’t be controlled. But I don’t want to control her. I just want to be partners, and when you’re partners, sometimes one is the leader and sometimes the other is, depending on the situation. It’s natural.” That was what he had seen with his parents’ and his siblings’ marriages, and he wanted that for himself. He wanted to lead their intimate sexual relationship and let her lead the rest. Why was that so difficult? Hell, he’d think a woman would jump at that.
“You’re right, it is. But maybe because this is a brand-new relationship, you’re going to need time to sort that out. Moving in together is a big step, let alone getting married, so cut Shawn some slack.”
Nolan was right. Especially considering they weren’t really even married. What the hell did Rhett really expect from her? “You’re right. And I am figuring her out, that’s for sure. She’ll be here in a few minutes because she feels guilty about getting short with me last night. She’s the kind of woman who throws something out there in anger and impulse, then immediately does something thoughtful that’s totally unrelated because she feels bad.”
“I think she and Eve are friends for a reason. They’re similar personality types. But I don’t get the sense Shawn worries as much as Eve does.”
“Oh, I think she worries plenty.” Rhett dropped the box on the floor and lifted the mattress from his bed off of the box spring so he could start to disassemble the bed frame. “Funny, neither of us married a woman like our mother. Momma never worries. She has total confidence the world will bend to her will.”
“Ha, that’s true. But I’m not surprised you didn’t. You’re basically Mom, you know. I’m more like Dad. But I have a need to mediate, calm things down. I think Eve and I are a good fit that way.”
Rhett realized that marriage had already changed his relationship with his brother. They were talking man-to-man, friend to friend, instead of big brother to little brother, or adult to child. As of yet, they’d barely even made fun of each other in the last hour. It was nice to be able to share with Nolan, yet there was a limit to how long they could talk about their feelings without a drop in testosterone.
“I am not my mother. That’s disturbing.” He shoved the mattress against the wall. “Now are you going to stand there and scratch your nuts, or are you going to help me?”
Nolan grinned. “Definitely nut-scratching.”
His sister Jeannie and her husband, Mark, were in the living room, picking through the remains of Nolan’s old furniture that Rhett had inherited and no longer needed. They were trying to furnish their finished basement on a budget. Rhett figured when he and Shawn divorced and he moved out of her house, he would just start fresh with new stuff. It would be a small reward to himself for surviving the six months intact.
The doorbell rang. “Come in!” Rhett yelled as loud as he could, already wresting the box spring up.
They could hear Jeannie greeting someone and Nolan took the box of clothes and went out into the living room, leaving Rhett alone with the box spring, which, while not heavy, was awkward for one person to maneuver. “Thanks, dick!” he called at his brother’s retreating back.
Nolan’s response was his middle finger thrown over his shoulder.
Yep. They were back to being brothers.
A second later, Shawn’s head popped into the bedroom. “Hi,” she said, sounding breathless, her dark blond hair tousled from the wind.
Rhett smiled at her because, the truth was, he was glad to see her. He liked the companionship between them, despite the speed bump of the night before. He wanted their relationship to work. He didn’t know what he meant by that exactly, but he did. He wanted to be with her, in some legitimate capacity, for whatever time they had together.
“Hey, beautiful, how was your day?” He slammed the box spring against the mattress propped against the wall, and bent down to get his wrench out of his toolbox.
“It was good.” She sounded surprised by that fact. “Eve had some great suggestions for PR, and I posted the job listing for a marketing rep. I cleared more stuff with the lawyer, and I signed vendor contracts for the season. How about you?”
“I slept in. It was awesome. Then I worked out. And now here I am, breaking down a bed I don’t need.”
“What are we going to do with that and the furniture in the living room?”
“Oh, my sister is taking the couches and my other sister is taking the bed. And yet another sister is taking the kitchen table. All I have is my clothes and some sports equipment. Once I put out the word that I had free stuff up for grabs, the Fords descended faster than a hot knife through butter. It’s one of the pluses of a big family.”
“Oh, okay.” Shawn was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, her arms across her breasts. “Aren’t you going to, uh, wish you had that stuff later?”
He liked the jeans she was wearing. They were snug, and her hip was jutting out to the right as she leaned on the door frame. Her breasts were pert beneath her fuzzy gray sweater, and she was wearing shiny lip gloss on her full lips. Abandoning his Allen wrench, Rhett decided he needed to kiss her. She just looked too juicy and irresistible. As he stood and moved toward her, he shook his head.
“It’s old and it was Nolan’s. I’m not particularly worried about it.”
For a second she looked like she wanted to bolt, obviously aware of his intent. But when he put his hand on the back of her head and gently massaged her scalp, urging her to him, she gave in with a sigh. The kiss had his eyes drifting closed, his body leaning in to Shawn. God, she tasted good. Felt good.
He didn’t want to argue with Shawn. He wanted her to smile at him, with that special smile she had where her mouth was wide and her eyes crinkled in amusement. He wanted to settle down into their relationship and just enjoy each other. So maybe he was like his mother in that regard, because he wanted what he wanted and he assumed he was going to get it.
“Thanks for coming to help,” he said, brushing his lips over her jaw. “Did you meet Jeannie and Mark?”
“Yes,” she said, her neck tilting back. “They’re very nice.”
“Jeannie wants to talk to you about the wedding party, or reception, or whatever we’re calling it.”
“Oh, Lord,” was Shawn’s opinion. “I’m sorry this has spun so out of control.”
“I don’t mind.” He didn’t. Because if he were honest with himself, and he always was, he wanted it to be real. He knew that he could be happy with Shawn, and he wanted this to be real. Wanted to work toward ensuring that it was. “But I understand how you’re feeling. It’s a lot to take in. Just let my sisters and mom handle the whole thing.”