The Free Pass

Chapter 16

Mallory

Eavesdropping can only lead to trouble. I learned that lesson the hard way.

I couldn't sleep one night while we were at my parents' house. I was restless and had a lot on my mind. I'd spent very little time alone with Shawn that day, since he'd gone golfing with my dad, and my mom and I had spent the afternoon trying to find a dress for me to wear for my wedding.

Because I wanted to spend a little time alone with him, and because I was hoping we could fool around, I crept down to the basement to surprise him.

I got to the landing on the stairs and could hear him talking. He was obviously on the phone. I was going to go back upstairs. I'd just text him and tell him to let me know when he was off the phone. Maybe text something cute and sexy. I honestly had every intention of doing that. Until I heard my name, that is.

"As long as I'm good to Mallory, he'll be fine."

What? What did that mean? He probably meant my dad. There was a pause while the other person spoke.

"Yes. Of course."

Another pause.

"No, and seriously, fuck you for thinking I would."

At this point I knew I should go back upstairs, but curiosity about what was getting Shawn worked up got the better of me.

"A person can change."

Okay...what was said to prompt that?

"It's not going to be easy. I'm sure there will be temptation, especially when I'm on the road."

Shit. I didn't like where this was headed. I was glued to the stairs.

"I hope I can be for Mallory's sake. She doesn't deserve a husband who cheats on her."

And there it was.

They were talking about Shawn's potential to cheat on me.

"I had my last carefree fuck in December. Let me tell you, if I'd known that was going to be it, I would have made a whole week of it."

My stomach turned. I immediately regretted listening to this conversation. I could only hear one side of it, but it was clear that Shawn was questioning his ability to be faithful and that he was unhappy that he was having to settle down.

I crept back up the stairs as quietly as I could. I went into my room and crawled into bed. I tried my hardest not to cry, but I couldn't help it. I was crushed.

I suspected Shawn screwed around a lot. The night we met, he had the confidence of someone who was very skilled at making a one night stand happen. Until now, I had tried not to think about how I was basically taking away a big part of his life. Yes, he'd been the one who proposed to me. I hadn't forced him to do that. It had been my dad who put the idea in his head, though.

Shawn didn't love me, yet he was marrying me. He was giving up a lot more than I was. I loved him. I was actually looking forward to our life together. I pictured us being happy. It's not like I had any regrets about monogamy. It would be harder for him. It was actually kind of unfair to him.

I was up for most of the night trying to work through this. I could call off the wedding. It would be easy enough to do since we were still in the planning stages. I knew Shawn wouldn't let me do that without putting up a fight. He was all in on this marriage even if it was going to be hard for him. Besides, my dad would undoubtedly blame Shawn if I ended things. He still had his threats in his back pocket, ever ready to pull them out in an attempt to ruin Shawn's life. If I canceled the wedding to make things easier for Shawn, I might actual make things worse.