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Will I ever feel that again? Or did I doom myself to a lifetime of mediocrity?

“It’s Wyatt Patterson!” a shriek rings out, and he immediately pulls away.

A group of boys who appear to be twelve or thirteen rush toward us, their phones already in their hands.

“Look! It’s him.”

Wyatt beams at them as he moves in their direction.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Hell, when he played in the pros, it happened all the time. It never bothered me before. He’s always been extremely grateful to his fans.

Just once, though, I wouldn’t mind if he put me first.

Or am I being selfish and unreasonable?

Maybe I am. He is a public figure. Taking pictures and signing autographs is part of the package. Not to mention, he’s taking a break from preparing for the Heritage Bowl to spend Christmas with me.

But will our baby have to suffer through this? Will he put our baby second, too?

“Listen, everyone,” Wyatt says after nearly five minutes. “As much as I’d love to sign autographs and take photos with all of you, I haven’t seen my wife in a few weeks. I’d like to spend some time with her.”

He politely extracts himself from the growing group of football fans and places a hand on my lower back. “Ready?”

“Of course.”

As we make our escape, he pulls a baseball cap out of his bag and tugs it low. It’s not a completely foolproof disguise, but it allows us to reach my car without further interruption.

I pull my keys out of my purse, but before I can unlock the car, he snatches them from me. “I’ll drive.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind. You had a long flight.”

He shrugs. “It was only a few hours. You should relax.” He leads me toward the passenger side and opens the door.

He hasn’t done this in years.

Granted, when we go out together, it’s usually to a public event and we have a driver.

Regardless, it’s nice to know he’s putting in the effort. But for how long?

Will he play the part of the affectionate husband for the time being, but once the baby is born, go back to being the man he’s been?

When I’m nine months pregnant and uninterested in sex, will he find someone else to satisfy his needs? Will Lila show up wearing more ridiculously expensive jewelry?

“You okay, babe?”

I turn to him as he climbs in behind the wheel.

“Yeah.” I force a smile. “Great.”

“Good.” He leans over the center console and gives my cheek a quick peck before starting the car.

Within minutes, we’re on our way back toward Sycamore Falls. The place we met and fell in love.

But everything about this feels wrong. Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen him in almost a month. Or because we haven’t been back here together in years. Or because I can’t stop thinking about Joshua.

I have to, though. Wyatt and I are having a baby. I owe it to the three of us to fix our marriage.

“Where are you going?” I ask a short while later when Wyatt breezes past the turnoff to Sycamore Falls. “Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten the way?”