Christmas Amóre

Faithful

We're falling in love.
To me it's perfectly clear
We're falling in love,
It's true this part of the year,
Has something in store for us
We're falling in love
~ We're Falling In Love ~

My eyes blur as I take in the scene before me.

“Nathan?” My voice comes out broken.

His eyes meet mine from on top of the woman's head. The woman who I haven't bothered to look closely at. I can't. It hurts too much.

“Stacey!” The woman in his arms pulls away from him and when I see her face I feel so incredibly foolish and guilty.

Holy cheese and crackers. My eyes widen comically.

It was my bloody sister in law!

I'm still frozen when she wraps her arms around me tightly.

“I just got back! I missed my baby brother so much, I had to stop by to see him. Thank God I met you too. I was going to visit you right after this.” she keeps rambling, her hold on me tight.

“Fee...Fiona.. I missed you too.” I hug her back and meet Nathan's knowing eyes.

“You look good Stacey. Marriage suits you.” She pulls back and smiles at me lovingly.

“Welcome back Fee. I missed you.” I murmur softly, completely avoiding Nathan's eyes. That man seems to know what's going on.

“Now now, I know you came to meet your husband. Seems like you can't stay away from each other. That's good... that's good.. I'm gonna meet my mama before she catches wind of me being here.”

“Go already Fee. You talk too much.” Nathan rolls his eyes as he takes a seat on his chair.

“Meet you guys tomorrow at the family dinner.” She kisses both of our cheeks before leaving with a good bye.

I clear my throat as I look around his office, clutching the flowers tightly. I feel his eyes on me which flatters and unnerves me at the same time.

“You got flowers for me?” he finally breaks the silence.

“A wife can't get her husband flowers? Maybe you'll miss me when you look at them.” I smile and place them on his desk, still evading his searching eyes.

“I do miss you when I'm at work Stace.” I hear the sincerity in his voice.

Our eyes meet.

His smile melts my heart.

“I suppose I owe this visit to Mrs. Bennet?”

I smile guiltily, feeling shame burn my stomach.

“Nathan..” I start shamefully.

“Come here Stace. Let's talk.” he orders sternly which makes my heart race.

I round the table and he instantly pulls me down on his lap. A small squeak flies past my lips. His arms wrap around me as he cradles me sideways on his lap. I place my hand on his shoulder, my thumb stroking the skin of his neck, enjoying the closeness.

“Tell me darling what were our marriage vows?”

I look up at him in surprise. His soulful brown eyes stare intently into my eyes and I swallow hard at their intensity. I've never seen him gaze so serious, so passionate towards me.

“Come on Stace tell me, what did I vow to you?”

No word comes out of my mouth.

“I Nathan Williams took you Stacey Preston as my lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold.”

His gaze intensifies just as his hands pull me tight against his chest.

“You know what that means Stacey? It means that I belong to you just as you belong to me. It means that I'm committing myself to you to fulfill your physical and your emotional needs.”

My face instantly heats up. He takes my hand gently and places it right above where his heart is erratically beating.

“I promised to be faithful to you Stacey and I knew from a long time that the only woman I'll be sharing my body and soul with, will be my wife.” He gazes meaningfully at me and my eyes fill with tears.

“I knew from the minute Mrs. Bennett's name came from your mouth last night that she got in your head. Her husband is a lying, cheating bastard and so she thinks every male out there is like him.”

I open my mouth but he sternly shakes his head.

“I'm not done talking.”

I nod compliantly.

“If you're wondering why I haven't kissed you yet or why we haven't been intimate yet, then it's because I wanted to know each other first before giving ourselves solely to each other.”

“I never wanted you to question us. I never wanted you to think of it as a martial duty. It's important to me and I know it's just as significant to you too. I'd rather earn your trust first.”

I tenderly caress his cheek.

“I trust you Nathan. I'm sorry that I ever doubted you. I want you to know that before this, I never even thought of you cheating on me.”

I pick at the buttons on his shirt.

“I didn't even come to check on you today. It was eating at me and so I wanted to talk to you. But I'm kind of glad this happened cause it brought us so much more closer.”

He nods.

“I know I haven't been the most easy person to be around. To be honest going from having zero relationships to having a wife live with you is kind of overwhelming.”

I place my head under his chin and nuzzle his neck. He shivers slightly.

“I know. To share your space with someone, to always have them around and to be responsible for each other is a big step. Marriage isn't easy but I'm glad to share this all with you.” I answered.

He kisses the top of my head, his hand gently stroking my back.

“Let's go out on a date tonight.” he blurts out after a few minutes of silence.

I pull back surprised. He grins at me, his entire face lighting up.

“Let me take you out on a date Mrs. Williams. Let me get to know you.”

He bumps my nose with his. I laugh and weave my arms around his neck.

“Well, who am I to refuse my husband?”

And so that evening we dress up in our fancy clothes to impress each other and he picks me up from our bedroom with a bunch of the loveliest flowers. We have dinner where we never stop talking and we take a walk through the park, learning little things about each other.

Sometimes being honest to your partner is the easiest and most significant thing you can do for each other.

🤵🧡👰