Sinner and Saint

Chapter Eleven

Ten months later...

Darby, Montana

"Are you sure we need that much fudge?"

I looked up at Stellan's question with raised eyebrows. "Yes, we do. I'll eat three-quarters of it myself on my best behavior so count yourself lucky I'm getting extra for you."

"We're not even going to attempt to make it to the new year, are we?" he said in a wry tone as he glanced over the rest of the holiday goodies I was still taking out of my basket and heaping on to the counter. "Between all the sweets and the Christmas meals, we're in for a pancreatic shutdown."

"Now, now, dear," the elderly lady who was ringing our items through said to Stellan with a gentle shake of her head. "We have January to worry about those kinds of things. It's the holidays. Enjoy the food, the festivities and most especially, being in your wife's good graces. If she wants all the fudge she can eat, let her have it."

She winked at Stellan and turned a knowing smile to me, whispering in a lowered voice that was still loud enough for all three of us to hear. "Don't worry, dear. It took my sweet Henry nearly a decade to learn it's just easier to say yes to me. Men need time, that's all."

I blinked and mentally scrambled to decide on a reaction—let out a loud, awkward laugh, sink into a metaphorical hole on the floor, or just roll with it.

Of course, Stellan didn't seem to be having the same dilemma.

His face lit up like a Christmas tree as he draped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in a little. "Giving me plenty of time is something my wife is an expert at so it seems we're on the right path here, assuming you and Henry are still blissfully growing old together."

My eyes widened because what if sweet Henry was already six feet under and we were just reminding this poor but nosy woman of that fact days before Christmas and—

"Oh, yes, we still are," the woman happily answered, her eyes crinkling in the corners. "And that's after six children and eighteen grandbabies. We started young. Do you have any of your own?"

This whole thing was like a train wreck in slow-mo but I was too stupefied to do anything about it.

Since Miami, Stellan and I have carefully skirted any mention of marriage, or any kind of a real next step. Because we know what happened last time and it seemed like neither of us was interested in getting near that kind of pain again.

Limbo has its silver linings—if you look really, really hard.

But Stellan, to my surprise again, didn't seem bothered by it at the moment, because he laughed like he had this conversation with random people everyday.

"Not yet but maybe in a couple of years," he said with a big-ass grin, glancing at me, his eyes teasing. "Maybe when we're ready to share each other with one or two little ones. I understand they can be quite demanding."

"Oh, yes, but they bring you so much joy," the woman said. "Not always a lot of fun but so much joy. And don't worry. It might seem impossible in theory but you find time to make it work. You don't have to stop being selfish of each other."

"Alright, then!" I finally burst out, slapping down some cash and grabbing our bags. "Thank you for the ever so helpful family-planning advice. My, uh, husband and I are going to um, make those babies. Merry Christmas. Bye!"

Do you have brain rot, Kady? Because it sure sounded like it back there.

I ran out of there like I was on fire.