Free Winter Wedding (Blythe College #5) by Rochelle Paige Page B

was for us and not our parents, but she smiled and said that she enjoyed spending the time with her. It was nice seeing them grow closer, but with my mom in charge the wedding, had turned into a weeklong affair with hundreds of guests. Alexa had explained to me that she liked being able to make my mom happy, and as long as she got to be my wife at the end of it all, it didn’t really matter to her if she had to play dress-up for all my parents’ friends.
    We coasted along for the next couple of months until Alexa started to grow increasingly quiet. I knew something was bothering her. I just couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. I had no doubts about her love for me, but there was a distance between us lately, like she was putting up a wall of some kind. One I was determined to tear right back down because I would never tolerate anything coming between the two of us—not even her own stubbornness in holding whatever was bothering her back from me.
    Tonight, I was going to get to the bottom of it before Aubrey showed up tomorrow and consumed all of Alexa’s time with more wedding stuff. So I grabbed my phone and shot off a text before setting everything up for a romantic dinner for two.
    Me: Don’t make any dinner plans.
    Alexa: Okay. Why?
    Me: Because I said so…
    Alexa: Who died and made you the boss of me?
    Me: Nobody needed to die. I’m already the boss.
    Alexa: Really? Says who?
    Me: Says you.
    Alexa: LOL This oughta be good. How exactly do you figure that?
    Me: See that ring on your finger?
    Alexa: Yeah… So?
    Me: My stamp of ownership.
    Alexa: Bahahahaha! NOT!!!
    Me: But you’re still coming to dinner with me, right?
    Alexa: Yes.
    Me: Getting my way = I’m the boss.
    Alexa: If that’s what it takes to make you sleep well at night, who am I to argue?
    Me: Love you.
    Alexa: Love you too!
     
    My parents let us move into the guesthouse on the property to give us a little more privacy than my room would have allowed. I’d slacked off lately in the romance department, and we hadn’t enjoyed a lot of alone time together. Well, other than sex of course. Even with the walls Alexa had erected, she was still mine when we were in bed together each night. It was the only time I felt close to her anymore, and as much of a pussy as it made me sound, it just wasn’t enough.
    Now, my fucking dreams were full of visions about making her my wife. Me, the guy who used to be able to pick up any chick he wanted at a party to take home for a quick fuck. A tough-as-shit rugby player. All of that ended the moment I laid eyes on Alexa. Now, I just wanted to watch this crazy girl walk down an aisle to me so I could give her my name.  And I wanted her to be over-the-fucking-moon happy while she did it. How sappy is that shit?
     
    ****
     
    Glancing at the table, I checked to make sure everything was in order as I heard Alexa’s steps nearing the house. Candles were lit. A bottle of her favorite white wine was chilled and ready to go. Our places were set, ready for the food that was staying warm in the oven until it was time to serve it. By the time she got the door open, I had plugged my phone into the sound system so music was playing softly in the background.
    “Wow,” she murmured as she glanced around the room. “Did I forget a special occasion? It’s not your birthday. Or our anniversary.”
    “I really must be an awful fiancé if I can’t surprise you with a nice dinner without having a specific reason for doing so,” I told her as I guided her into a chair.
    “Not awful. Just a very busy one lately,” she corrected me.
    I pulled the dishes out of the oven and set them on the table. “That’s just it. You should never feel like I’m too busy to make time for you. Especially not right before you’re about to marry me. I want us to start off on the right foot with each other, not to act like an old married couple before we’ve even exchanged our vows.”
    “I don’t think old married couples do what we did