Sleeping With the Enemy

Chapter Eighteen

When we pull up to a red light, I glance over at Sadie, wishing more than anything that I could read her mind. There might as well be a canyon between us. Her legs are crossed, her body angled slightly away from me, and her eyes are set on something out her window as she twists the ring on her finger. She's been quiet since we left the court house, which is so out of character for her. When something is on her mind, she always lets you know. She's never been one to keep her thoughts to herself and it's something I always appreciated about her. At least, she was outspoken until I forced her to sign her name on a marriage license making her my wife when we'd hardly spoken in eight years.

If I'm being honest, flaking out on my parents is as much for myself as it is for her. I haven't told anyone but Alex my decision to marry Sadie in a shotgun style wedding, and I can already guess how my parents will take it. That's something I'm more than happy to avoid for now.

"What are you thinking about?" I gauge her reaction before reaching out for her hand.

"Nothing really." She says quickly, wiping at a tear I hadn't even noticed. "I was just thinking that it was much quicker than I expected. I don't know why. I mean, it's just signing a paper."

I can't argue there. We got to the clerk's desk and they handed us a piece of paper that we both signed, and that was pretty much the extent of it. It makes me sick to think that our relationship was deduced to something like that, but my hands are tied. I don't know how to respond to her observation, so I just keep my mouth shut.

Sadie reigns in whatever emotions she's feeling and clears her throat. When we pass the exit to my parents' house, her brow furrows and she looks over at me. "I thought we were going to your parents."

"They can wait." I say, a small smile tugging at my lips. " We're going to spend the night in the city. I know it's not exactly the honeymoon you've dreamed about, but it's the best I can do."

Sadie bites her lip, fidgeting with the hem of her dress, almost like she's nervous to spend a night alone with me. To be fair, I can't blame her. As a Mafia boss, I should kill her for what she's done. I should cart her into the woods so deep that no one can hear her screams and torture her for days. I should push her to the brink of death and then drop her into the Hudson without another thought of her betrayal. It should be cut and dry, but it's anything but. I'd never do that to any woman, let alone Sadie.

Instead, I put a ring on her finger and I'm whisking her away to the most expensive and luxurious suite at the St. Regis. Even Sadie knows how fucking ridiculous that is, and that's precisely why she she's anxious. She knows what I should be doing and she knows why I'm not.

"You don't need to do that, Brandon." She says quietly.

"I know I don't need to. I'm doing it because I want to." I say. "I meant what I said earlier. It hurts me as much as it does you that we had to do things this way, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to treat our marriage like the real thing."