Chapter 5

I smileat the text Dylan just sent me and I feel myself blush. I think about what we did this morning. We've been together so long and he still makes me blush. I have no idea how, but that man always gets to me. My body is once again sore all over.

You'd think we were newlyweds with the way we've been going at it. He not only made love to me last night after we"d put the boys to bed, but again this morning. He had me pinned to the wall right before I was about to leave. I can still feel his cum inside me. He refused to let me go clean myself off. I like the idea of walking around smelling like him for the rest of the day, so I didn"t put up much of a fight about it. I acted innocent, which I'm pretty sure he saw right through.

I redden all over again at the thought. I've been walking around all morning like this. Not that anyone would know.

"What has you blushing?"

I glance over at Nancy, who's going over the papers I just gave her. We've got a shipment of books coming in that we need to make room for. I have a list of recommendations on the ones I think we could donate to find space.

She wiggles her dark eyebrows at me and I laugh. I like Nancy. She's sweet and easy to talk to. She stands out at the library because she doesn"t dress like any librarian I've ever seen. She looks like a pinup girl. She's different and as much of a Potterhead as I am. In fact, I think she might have me beat.

We are both at the main desk where you check library books in and out. This is pretty much her workspace and desk.

"My husband." I smile.

Calling him that always makes me preen. People told us we'd never make it. That our love was too young. But I knew they were wrong. Even after Dylan graduated and I was still in high school, the girls at school would try to fill my head with all kinds of doubt. But I knew one thing about my man. I always have his attention. He's paid attention to every breath I've taken. It drove me crazy, just as much as I loved it. We'll last forever. I know it to my soul.

"How long have you two been together?"

"High school sweethearts," I say, and laugh at her shocked expression.

Her eyebrows lift. "Losing the V-cards to each other and everything?"

I bite my lip and nod. This is another thing I like about Nancy—she just says or asks whatever she wants. It's refreshing. Plus, I can tell she's genuine with her questions, and there's no judgment.

"Damn. One dick for life. I could dig that if it was the right dick."

I burst out laughing but quickly cover my mouth when I remember I'm in a library. I look around, not seeing anyone around. I've noticed this place doesn't get busy until later in the afternoon.

"Are you married?" I ask once I get my giggles under control.

"Nope, just me and my cat. Only one though, so you can't call me a cat lady just yet. Maybe in a few years." She smirks.

I wonder if she means she's getting married in a few years, or if she'll be a cat lady by then. Either way she smiles so she must be happy about the future.

"My husband is up to something," I confess.

I put my phone back in my pocket and lean my hip up against the counter. Today I went with pants. I love to wear dresses, but I was worried I might get put back in the basement and pants would be more efficient down there.

Though after spending the morning working side by side with Mark, I wish I could go back to the land of the dust bunnies. He's a lot to get used to. He asks me a million questions, which is distracting when I'm trying to work. Not to mention I always feel like he's hovering over me. I'm not sure if it's because I'm new or he thinks I can't do my job. Either way it's annoying.

I've never given personal space much of a thought before. Normally it's only my husband or the boys who are in it, and I don't really care. Maybe I'm just not used to people being around me anymore. The only job I ever worked was in college at a bakery. I spent most of my time alone in a kitchen listening to audiobooks while decorating cookies, and I only did it part time over the summers.

"Go on." Nancy turns her chair to look at me as if I'm about to give her juicy gossip.

"He's been really cool about me having this job. A little too okay with it."

"That's not like him?"

"It's hard to explain. My husband can be a caveman when it comes to me. He likes having all of my attention and I like giving it to him. When I first told him about looking for a job, he got all pissy. But then it was like a switch flipped and he was completely fine." Now I'm wondering if I'm pissy because he isn't doing his caveman thing.

"If I remember right, you haven"t worked in years?" she asks. Nancy was the one who interviewed me for the job.

"Nope. I got pregnant right before college graduation with our twins. The two of them and my husband have been my life."

I smile, missing them right now. I keep wondering what they're doing at this very moment. I know Dylan is at work and the boys are at school, but I still feel like I'm missing out. I hate that I wasn't there last night while they were making the posters. The boys hung on me like they hadn"t seen me in years after I got home. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love every second of it. They are getting big and I worry about them not giving me affection like they do now as they grow up. I've been trying to soak it all up.

"So you wanted more than just to be a mom and wife? I get it."

"No," I say instantly, taken aback. I rush to defend myself. "I love being a wife and a mom. I just didn't think they needed me like they used to. My husband has been working a lot more, and I needed something to fill my time."

"Interesting," Nancy says, more to herself than me.

"What?"

"What else has he been doing that's odd?" she asks.

"Last night he seemed flustered, which isn't like him. He was just acting different," I admit.

"Emily." I turn at the sound of my name to see Mark coming towards us. I force a smile, trying to be polite.

"Hey."

"I'll need you to stay late tonight. There's an event over at the Carlton and I thought we should go over and say hello to a few people. A lot of the people there make donations to the library." He adjusts his tie that's already perfectly straight. It's just something else he does that annoys me.

"Okay," is all I can come up with. I don't want to go somewhere with just him. I know Dylan wouldn"t like it either. It almost seems like a date or something. "Nancy, you're coming, right?" I throw out really quick.

She opens her mouth to respond, but Mark cuts her off. "I can only bring one person."

"Didn"t want to go," Nancy mumbles. I second that.

"Take a long lunch to run home and change into something more suitable. We'll leave here around five thirty." He turns, dismissing us.

Crap.

I remind myself this is my job and I have to go.

"He's been here a hot minute and I already can't stand his ass," Nancy says from behind me. I second that but keep it to myself. I pull my phone out, checking Dylan's schedule to see if he can pick up the boys, but I see he's booked up all day. I text our babysitter and see if she's free.

She responds instantly, telling me she'll pick up the boys and not to worry about paying her. She says we overpaid her yesterday and it's not a problem.

What? I narrow my eyes at the phone. "What are you up to, Dylan?" I mutter.

"Who? The husband?" Nancy asks, clearly having heard me.

"Yes. He used our babysitter yesterday, but he told me he picked up the boys."

"An affair!" Nancy gasps dramatically, and I burst out laughing. I laugh so hard tears start to leak down my face.

"Yeah, right. My husband would never cheat," I say, one thousand percent certain that's not it. "No, he's up to something else." I think I'm going to go on a little mission to throw him off his game.

"It's cute how well you two know each other." She says it like she really means it.

"I'm going to head to lunch. Will you drop those on my desk when you're done going over them?"

"Sure." She picks up the papers and goes back to reading them.

I head to my office and am thankful Mark isn"t there. I grab my purse then head out. I make a quick stop at the house to change, still annoyed that Mark asked me to wear something nicer. I know I have pants on, but they're dressy.

I find a black sleeveless dress that falls to my knees. It hugs me at the top but flares out at the bottom. I have a jacket that goes with it so it doesn't show too much skin. I slip my flats off and put on a pair of heels. I reach under my dress, pulling my panties off and putting them into my purse, coming up with an idea.

When I get to Dylan's office I see his assistant Jonathan is typing away on his computer. He does all of Dylan's paperwork because Dylan can't stand it. You'd be surprised how much there is when it comes to construction. Dylan's company started out as just light remodeling. Now he custom builds million-dollar homes. My man has come so far. I remember many nights staying up late with him, planning projects and doing the paperwork myself. It got to be too much with having newborn twins. When we finally found Marie, who was his assistant for the last five years, she was a godsend. But she moved across the country to be near her grandchildren and I still miss her like crazy.

"Mrs. Wallace," Jonathan greets me. He's always way too dressed up, in my opinion. Today he even has on a bow tie. You'd think he worked in a law firm or something. Not a place where men come in covered in dust and dirt half the time.

"Hi." I give him a little wave before heading towards Dylan's office.

"He's not here, ma'am," Jonathan says with a little hesitation in his voice.

I stop, turning to look at him before pulling out my cell phone. Jonathan might annoy the crap out of me, but he always has Dylan's schedule marked down with everything.

"I don't know where he is, ma'am," he adds. Then he mutters something about my husband randomly disappearing. "Would you like me to pencil you in?"

"Pencil me in?" I roll my eyes at him. Turning back, I head for Dylan"s office. I pull my panties out of my purse and toss them onto his desk before grabbing a pen and paper and leaving him a note.