Torn [SHAWN MENDES]

~24~

LAX is not the best place to hang out if you are a celebrity, so Shawn and Piper waited for Yasmin in the safety of his Mercedes at the arrivals area in front of the airport. Greeting her inside was more romantic and fun, but he wasn't in the mood to be photographed, which had happened when he'd flown home two days earlier.

"Your mama will be out soon," he told his daughter. "She just texted that she's at the baggage claim area."

Piper kicked her legs. "Go!" She preferred being in a moving car than a stationary one.

"Just a minute more, princess."

It ended up being fifteen minutes until Yasmin walked through the automatic doors with one of the airport employees following behind pushing a cart loaded with luggage.

Shawn hopped out of the car to help get her bags in the trunk. "Welcome home!"

"I'm so tired," are moaned before giving him a quick kiss. "I tried sleeping on the last leg of the flight and couldn't."

"Piper is fussy, but I'm sure she'll cheer up once she sees you."

Yasmin got into the back seat so that she could see her daughter. "Hello Pippy! I missed you so much!" She then leaned over and kissed the baby's forehead.

"Ma!" Piper said happily.

"I was worried you'd forget me! When we get home we're doing lots of snuggles."

Shawn gave the young man who had assisted his wife a couple twenties and shut the trunk door before getting back in the driver's seat. "You can sit back there if you want."

"You don't mind? I like being able to look at her."

He gave Yaz a smile in the rear view mirror. "As much as I want you next to me, I'll let Piper have her turn first. Tonight you're all mine."

"I like the sound of that!"

Shawn made a decision after he'd returned home from Canada to focus on his marriage. He'd had a moment of weakness when he saw Taryn, but that was understandable. His emotions were raw because of Earl's death and he'd spoken impulsively. She'd made it crystal clear that his confession changed nothing, so it was time to move on.

His mother drove the point home that staying with his wife while thinking of someone else was unfair to Yasmin. She'd even hinted that if he didn't love her like a spouse should, he might need to consider splitting up. That was not an option because it would impact how much he'd get to see his daughter.

In a way he was stuck, but that was his own doing, and he had to try to make it work for Piper's sake. Besides, he'd been pretty happy before he reconnected with Taryn. There was no reason why he couldn't be again.

"Did you come home with more stuff than you took to Paris?" he asked when he brought the last suitcase into their bedroom after they got home.

Yaz was on the floor with Piper. "I did a little shopping. You'll like some of the things I bought."

"Oh yeah? It's almost time for our little one to go down for the night. You could give her a bath while I order a pizza, and then we can split a bottle of red wine while we have a picnic in bed."

Yasmin's instinct was to say pizza wasn't an option since she had a big gig coming up, but there'd been something off with Shawn while he was in Toronto and she felt a little insecure. He'd gotten irritated with her several times, which was very unlike him, and he'd strangely not mentioned his ex-wife once, even though she knew they'd seen each other. She wanted to be as agreeable as possible. "Pizza sounds divine!"

Shawn was surprised, but also pleased, that she'd consented to his suggestion. An hour later, they were in bed eating dinner and drinking a very fine bottle of Shiraz.

Yaz was exhausted, but she knew she could catch up on her sleep the next day. "You never said much about Earl's service. How was it?"

He finished chewing the bite of pesto, caramelized onion, and fresh mozzarella pizza that was in his mouth. "It was beautiful. His daughter, Mariah, presided over it and said some really comforting things about love and loss."

"Pippy was good?"

"She was perfect, but that's mainly because she slept. Remind me to drop my suit at the cleaners because she drooled on my shoulder after finishing her bottle and it left a spot."

"I'm taking my things in later this week so I'll handle it. There was a reception afterwards, right?" she asked.

"Yes, at the bar Patricia owns. Earl worked there with her after he retired from the construction business."

"What type of bar is it?"

He chuckled. "It used to be kind of a dive, but it became a bit more respectable over time. I don't know if I ever told you, but I used to go there when I returned home after serving my time in prison. Patricia treated me kindly from day one and made me feel safe there."

"I like to block out that you went to jail. It upsets me to think about it." She'd been at boarding school when all that happened, but she vividly remembered when the news of his sentencing broke. She'd cried over it even though he was no longer her crush at that point.

"I know. I'm sorry I brought it up. Remember how much it bothered your parents at first? They probably wanted to lock you in their attic so that you couldn't marry me."

"They got over it once they found out your net worth," she said bitterly before talking a sip of her wine. "Apparently money outweighs image. Not that you'd tarnish my family name any more than I did by becoming an influencer."

"Yaz, you're incredible. Don't ever let their attitude make you doubt that," he told her.

Maybe it was the fatigue, but she was suddenly overcome with emotion. "You're so sweet to me and I love you so much. I'm sorry I wasn't more supportive about you going to the funeral."

"Don't cry, honey! I was on the fence about going, too, and I'm lucky it all worked out. I am really glad I went since I was able to spend so much time with my family."

She wiped away her tears. "It's good you made the trip. I'm sure Earl's family appreciated it, though I'm sure seeing them wasn't easy."

Shawn was certain that "them" actually meant "Taryn," but just like his prison time, his first marriage was something Yasmin liked to pretend never happened. "Are you done eating? I'll clean up," he said as he climbed out of bed.

"While you do that, I'm going to slip into something more comfortable."

He gave her a wink before picking up the pizza box, wine bottle, and glasses and carrying them to the kitchen. The leftovers went in the fridge and then he took the other stuff out to the recycling bin in the garage. As he closed the lid, he realized that trash day was tomorrow, so he wheeled both bins up the driveway to the edge of the road. He walked through the house making sure all doors were locked and engaged the security system by the front door. On his way down the hall to their bedroom, he got aroused by the thought of having sex with his beautiful wife. It had been weeks since he'd had any relief, and he believed intimacy would be good for their marriage.

The lights were dimmed in their bedroom, but he could make out her body on the bed. She was wearing a black negligee and nothing else, which added to his excitement. As he approached her, he heard her slow steady breaths and upon closer inspection, he saw that she was sound asleep. Shawn grabbed a blanket from the closet and covered her up before getting undressed, brushing his teeth, and crawling in bed next to his wife. He pushed thoughts of another woman from his mind as he took care of his needs with his own hand.