“This is why I love you,” Alex replied, putting an arm around my shoulder so he could tuck me against his side. “Because you see through all the bullshit into the heart of things.”

“You’re so full of crap,” I muttered, unable to keep the smile off my face.

“And that’s why you love me,” Alex replied.

*  *  *

The next week was a blur of school, work, and packing. Alex mentioned not telling our families about our marriage until we were all settled in, and I gladly took the reprieve. I struggled with how I was going to break the news to my aunt. My uncle was the calmer of the two, and I knew that even though he was going to be disappointed in how I’d gone about things, it was my aunt who was going to be the angriest. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation at all, and the longer I waited, the more anxious about it I became.

By the next weekend, Alex and I were tripping and stubbing our toes against boxes, but all my things had been moved into his apartment across town. We were officially living together, and though I’d been nervous about it at first, I was thoroughly enjoying it when I woke up pressed against his bare back.

“Hey, roomie,” Alex mumbled, lifting my hand to kiss my fingertips. “Sleep good?”

“Yes,” I murmured against his back. The skin was smooth under my lips, and I kissed him there once, then twice. Yeah, I was enjoying married life very much.

“We need to call our families today,” Alex said, stretching his arms above his head. “Waiting a few days so we could get settled in is one thing, but waiting any longer makes it look like we were hiding it, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” I replied, my voice coming out like a croak. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Let’s do breakfast first, though,” he said, kissing me quickly before he hopped out of bed. “I’m starving.”

I watched his bare ass leave the room, then fell back against the pillows and stared at the ceiling. It was judgment day, the day I’d spent all week trying to ignore.

I forced myself out of bed and took a shower, barely noticing my surroundings as I rehearsed exactly how I was going to break the news to my family. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t imagine our conversation ending in anything but tears. I hoped, though, that Aunt Adinah would at least let me try to explain before she completely lost her composure.

“You hungry?” Alex asked, standing in front of the stove in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. “I’ll make you an omelet.”

The idea of food made my stomach roll, and I shook my head. “No thanks.” I’d been dealing with a nervous stomach all week, and this morning was no different.