The Perfect Husband by Lynn Dare
Cecilia
“Oh, shit on a shit stick,” I groaned as I read the text again.
Cami:Cruz may have let your secret spill.
Of course he did. Like Mom, Cami could get information out of anyone. Seriously, I was pretty sure Cami had worked for the mob at some point. Okay, maybe not the mob, but she was the mother of three boys, so it was sort of the same thing.
I texted her back.
Me:I don’t know what you’re talking about.
“What’s wrong?” Harley leaned over, trying to look at my phone. We were sitting in his apartment that I still thought of as Ellie’s from when she lived here. Talk about weird.
I held the phone to my chest. “None of your business.”
“I’m your husband.” He flashed me a cheesy grin. “Everything about you is my business.”
“Not how it works, buddy.”
“How would you know? Have you ever done the whole marriage thing before?”
My phone buzzed again, but I leveled him with a glare. “No, have you?”
“Well…” He scratched the back of his head. “No.”
We were both in over our heads. I rolled my eyes and looked down at the new message.
Cami:You mean you didn’t get married and forget to tell Mom?
“Oh, God.” I slapped a hand over my eyes.
“What?” Harley snatched my phone. “Someone die? Who’s Cami? She hot?”
I lowered my hand and scowled before yanking my phone back. “Cami is my older sister, my married,older sister.”
“There are more of you Cabots than just you and Cruz?”
I hadn’t come here to have him drill me with his constant questions, and just… interest wasn’t helping the turmoil Cami just unleashed. “There are five of us.”
I ignored his surprised intake of breath as I stood and started pacing in front of the couch. The apartment was mostly bare because he’d never fully unpacked, and now, he wouldn’t.
That was why I’d come. I checked my phone when school ended today and had a text message with three words. You. Me. Roomies.
At first, I’d responded by telling him it would happen over my dead body. But the more he explained his thinking, the more I knew I didn’t have a choice. Well, I did, but I already made it when I asked Harley to keep up this fake marriage.
“Can you stop moving?” He stood. “You’re making me dizzy.”
“I’m thinking.”
“You’re worrying.”
He was right. I plunked myself back on the couch and replayed my sister’s words. You didn’t get married and forget to tell Mom?
It wasn’t that I’d forgotten. She was the last person I could imagine lying to but also the one I wanted to really see me differently. I wasn’t her screwed up daughter, always failing at love.
“It sucked lying to Cruz and my friends, but…”
Harley sighed and perched on the arm of the couch close to me. “I know what you mean. Lying to Hadden was awful, and I haven’t been able to face Kennedy. She’ll see right through me.”
I turned my head, resting my cheek in my hand. “Do you still love her? Kennedy?” I didn’t know what made me ask the question, but the answer felt important.
Harley was quiet for a long moment. “Not like that, but she’s still my best friend.”
“Yeah.” I blew out a breath. “What are we doing, Harley? Have we made a giant mistake?”
He slid from the arm to squeeze in next to me, our shoulders pressed together. It was the most time we’d spent together without arguing. Well, the most sober time. “I don’t know.”
I laughed. “That’s no help at all.”
“There’s no going back now.”
“You’re right.” I sat up straighter. “Okay, grab your keys.” I pushed to my feet.
“Where are we going?”
“To face the firing squad.”
I slid my arms into the sleeves of my lightweight jacket and walked out into the cool evening air. Kennedy was walking up from the bookshop after closing and lifted a hand in a wave.
When she saw Harley join me, she winked and walked inside.
I’d barely processed how relieved I was Kennedy was okay with this. That was my biggest fear. Now, I had another one. I shot a text off to my brother as I waited for Harley to unlock his car.
Me:Wish me luck. I’m headed toward Cabot Island with a motorcycle in tow.
He’d know what I meant. I was taking Harley to see Mom.
He didn’t respond, but I expected he was busy at his restaurant.
My leg bounced the entire drive to my parents’ house, and even Harley was quiet. I could see the nerves in the tension of his jaw, the way his fingers clenched around the steering wheel.
Taking pity on him, I reached out to grip his arm. “Don’t worry, my parents will love you.”
He offered me a tense smile. “What do I say to them? Will they ask about grandkids or details of our relationship or—”
“Harley.” I couldn’t help laughing. “It’s like you’ve never met a girl’s parents before.”
His hands clenched tighter, and my eyes widened.
“Wait, you haven’t, have you?”
His jaw tightened. “I’ve spent most of my life with the same girl, and Kennedy didn’t have parents to take me home to. My parents sort of become hers.”
I sat back in my seat, realizing for the first time just how out of his depth this man truly was. He’d only had one big relationship. I’d had more than one a year. I suddenly felt bad for dragging him into my mess. Harley was the kind of guy who deserved some epic love story.
Me? I deserved some epic cats.
“Okay.” I needed to make this better for him. “You’re lucky my sisters won’t be there. None of them live at home. It’s just Mom and Dad. He’s the easy one. He’ll just be happy to add another man to his side. Growing up, we girls always outnumbered the boys, but as we get married and have kids, the balance of power has shifted.”
“Balance of power?” He laughed. “You make it sound so dire.”
“Oh, it is. Just make sure he knows you have a job, are good to your parents, and don’t like clowns.”
“Clowns?”
“It’s a thing with an ex. He doesn’t know the whole story—because gross—but let’s just say I told him we broke up over a disagreement about the worth of clowns.”
“I’m going to need the whole story on that one.” For the first time on the drive, he seemed to relax.
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “Two words, Harley. That’s all you get. Clown. Sex.”
“That’s definitely not enough.” He was enjoying this.
“Live with it, hubs, because your wife is keeping that story locked up.”
He shook his head with a laugh. “Okay, what about your mom?”
“The only thing she’ll care about is if you love me.”
An uncomfortable silence stretched between us. How were we going to pull this off? My mom was perceptive. She was a romantic, wanting each of her children to experience the kind of love story she had with Dad. It probably killed her that two of her four daughters were still single at our ages.
Well, one now. Guess I no longer qualified.
It was fully dark when we pulled up outside my childhood home. A single streetlight cast a halo of light on the driveway.
I stopped when I noticed too many cars in front of the house. A groan rumbled through me.
“What?” Harley stepped up to my side, brushing a hand through his dark hair.
“Cerisa is here.” Her ruby-red Kia sat halfway up the drive. “Well, we’re here.” No turning back now.
At the door, Harley slid his hand into mine, and I flinched at the contact without meaning to. He tried to pull back, but I gripped his hand. The action was right. We needed to appear together. Even if his hand was too warm in mine.
I brushed away thoughts of other parts of his skin that had been coming back to me from our night together and rang the doorbell. I didn’t have to. I grew up here, but it was the last wall between me and my family.
What sounded like a herd of elephants ran to the door and yanked it open, bringing us face to face with the only family members who never saw me as anything other than perfect—my nephews.
“Celia,” David yelled, launching himself at me.
I caught him in time to see his younger brother, Damien, try the same thing before tripping forward. Before he could fall, Harley caught him.
“Whoa there, little man.”
Daniel, the oldest of the three, stood back. “Are you coming in, Aunt Celia? Everyone’s been waiting for you.”
Harley and I shared a look before I turned to Daniel. “Define everyone.”
Chatter drifted out from the living room, and I closed my eyes for a brief moment. “Harley.” I released David and reached back for my husband’s hand. “Forget everything I told you before. Nothing about this will be easy.”
We let the boys lead us to where the rest of the family sat around the living room, chatting as if that was perfectly normal on a weekday for them to gather.
And by rest of the family, I meant everyone. Cami gave me an apologetic smile from where she sat with her husband, Alex.
Caydence, once my only ally in singledom, let her eyes roam the length of Harley.
Cerisa and her fiancé, Eric, sat talking to Cruz and Ellie. I was really off my game, missing all their vehicles parked along the street.
And then, there were Mom and Dad, looking a bit confused.
All talking ceased when they noticed us standing here. I scanned my family, letting my eyes settle on my only brother. “You.” He was the only person who knew we were coming.
Cruz didn’t even look guilty. “Sorry, Celia, I was just so excited for your news that I figured you’d want all your siblings here to witness Mom’s reaction.”
“You’re a dead man, Craig Cabot.” I let go of Harley and lunged at my brother, tackling him back onto the kids’ beanbag chair he’d been sitting in.
“Celia,” he wheezed. “I did you a favor.”
“Fight!” David yelled before landing his entire weight on my back, pushing all the air from my lungs.
Daniel joined the pile on Cruz before little Damien waddled over. My mom snatched him before he could get hurt in the wrestling match.
“Cecilia Cabot!” Mom’s voice cut through the din.
I froze, glaring down at my brother who hadn’t stopped grinning.
Cami and Alex plucked their two oldest sons off us, and I narrowed my eyes. “Sleep with one eye open, brother. I’ll get you when you least expect it.”
I rolled off him, landing on my butt on the floor. Lifting my eyes, I found Harley looking down at me with one eyebrow raised. “Welcome to the Cabot house?”
With a soft chuckle, he held one hand out for me. I gripped it and let him help me to my feet. Straightening my clothes, I turned to my mom, ignoring my siblings. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, Mom, she says.” Mom shook her head. “As if her brother didn’t get everyone to crowd my house last minute, stating Celia has some big news. I didn’t even have time to make snacks!”
Despite the nerves in my belly and the irritation at my brother, I laughed. My mom was big into feeding people, whether they wanted to be fed or not.
“Come on, Celia.” That was Cerisa, her high-pitched voice grating in my ears. I’d never forget everything I’d heard her say about me. “We don’t have all night. Tell us whatever boring news you have. Who is this guy?” She stood and walked around us to look at Harley. “Your newest fling?”
Fling. Fling? Ugh, I wanted to prove her wrong. I shot Harley a look that hopefully conveyed everything I wanted him to know. Cerisa was the main reason I asked him to pretend.
Harley slid an arm around my waist, his gaze meeting Cerisa’s hard eyes. “Actually, I’m her husband.”
Silence.
Not even the toddler made a sound.
And then, all hell broke loose.
My family shouted questions at us from a hundred different directions. They all blended together in a raucous symphony of shock.
At one point, I caught Cruz’s eye. He leaned back with his hands behind his head, looking way too freaking satisfied. I mouthed the words, “Dead, asshole.” He only grinned.
Ellie sent me an apologetic look, but she couldn’t control Cruz. He was a Cabot, and we were a wild bunch.
The shouted questions continued. Harley’s grip on me tightened until he finally shouted, “I hate clowns!”
Everyone stopped talking then. My siblings all knew the whole story of my ex wanting me to dress up like a clown in the bedroom. Every single one of them burst out laughing.
Dad, completely oblivious to the truth as always, said, “That’s good, son, because Celia does, too.”
Cruz laughed so hard he started choking.
In the middle of all of this, I didn’t see Mom get up and walk from the room. When I looked for her, she no longer sat next to Dad.
I shimmied out of Harley’s grasp, knowing I was a crap wife for leaving him alone in the lion’s den, but it was time to be a daughter. As I headed for the kitchen, I heard Dad say, “So…”
“Harley,” Cruz said. I hadn’t even told them his name.
“Harley.” Dad nodded. “Do you have a job?”
I didn’t hear Harley’s answer, but I knew Dad would like it. He respected the arts and anyone who could make a living at it.
I found Mom furiously washing dishes that looked like they’d already been cleaned. I didn’t comment on it, instead, picking up a dish towel to begin drying. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you ahead of time.”
Mom didn’t look at me as she handed me a ceramic bowl.
“Mom, we didn’t plan it, I swear.”
Still, nothing.
“Can’t you just be happy that I’m not one of those people you say don’t get to fall in love?”
That made her stop and turn to me with glassy eyes. Maryanne Cabot was crying. I didn’t think I’d ever seen that before. “Cecilia, why would you ever think you weren’t meant to fall in love?”
“Well…” I kicked a toe against the floor. “I heard you and Cerisa talking.”
Her face blanched. “Oh, sweetie. I was simply explaining to your sisters that a person didn’t need to fall in love to be happy.”
Her words, the words that caused this entire mess. They didn’t even mean what I thought they had. “But Cerisa…”
“She’s just bitter because Eric is dragging his feet on setting a date. Honey, you know better than anyone your sister has a tendency to say things she doesn’t truly believe.” It was true. Cerisa had always been like that.
Mom put soapy hands on each of my cheeks. “Your problem, Celia, was never that you couldn’t fall in love, only that you fell too easily. Tell me that isn’t what happened here.”
I snorted. “Nothing with Harley is easy.”
She rubbed suds on my nose. “Good, it never should be. You have to understand how sudden this is for all of us. You’ve never even mentioned his name.”
Here was where I had to lie to my mom. “He’s the ex of a friend of mine. We kept our relationship a secret after we met at the bowling alley.”
Her brow creased. “The last time I tried to get you to go bowling, you claimed you refused to die from smelly shoes worn by strangers with foot fungus.”
Oh, right. “I… Okay, fine, I went once for a work thing and saw Harley there. So, I went back because, Mom, have you seen him?”
That finally made her smile. “He’s a pretty one.” She rinsed a plate and handed it to me. “But why did you move so quickly? I’d have liked to watch my girl get married.”
Guilt gnawed at me. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I’m really sorry, Mom.”
She waved away my apology. “All that matters is you’re happy. You are, aren’t you?”
Harley’s voice drifted through the doorway as he chatted with my dad. I still hardly knew the guy. We didn’t get along a lot of the time. But shocking the family who always saw me as the screwup was kind of fun.
“Yeah, Mom.” One corner of my mouth turned up. “I’m happy.”
She gave me a sad smile. “Well, you might want to go save that husband of yours from the inquisition.”
I walked back out into the living room, but she didn’t follow me.
“We’ll have a celebratory barbecue.” Dad’s face lit up.
Harley was now sitting beside him as if they were old buddies. “That sounds great, Mr. Cabot.”
Dad gave him a pointed look. “When you marry into this family, I’m no longer Mr. Cabot. Call me Ralph.”
I took a seat next to Cami, who held a sleeping Damien. “I don’t like how chummy they look.”
Cami laughed. “Get used to it. Dad and Alex call each other just to chat.”
I watched them closely, taking in the way Harley gave my dad his full attention, the way he seemed engaged in the conversation. For a guy who could barely speak to me without teasing and arguing, he was sure different here.
Ellie joined me and Cami on the couch. “Harley handled meeting the parents like a pro.” She laughed. “The first time I took Cruz to my parents’ house as my boyfriend, he could barely get a word out—and he’s known them most of his life.”
Cami and Ellie continued talking, but my gaze drifted to the doorway Mom still hadn’t come through. The lie ate at me, not only because lying to her hurt, but because the lie itself hurt her. I’d gotten married without telling her—my mom. And now, I was lying about the true nature of that marriage.
I couldn’t help feeling like whatever I did just let her down.