Vienna’s interrupted sentence is still running in my head as we walk inside on the carpeted floor, following the staff who leads us to our reserved table. It doesn’t take long for us to place our orders because my wife seems to have memorized the menu.
She asks permission to take pictures of the café and of our food. Once she has a yes, there’s a nonstop whir of her camera throughout the evening. She’s in her element, and my heart warms, watching her enjoy and living her dream.
I’m taking a sip of my second coffee when she places the camera on the table and picks up her fork to cut through her strudel.
Vienna releases a deep sigh. “I have a confession to make. When you first mentioned a honeymoon in Dr. Allen’s office, I didn’t like it. Like at all.”
“W-why?” I place my coffee cup onto the table.
“I thought you were trying to fulfill my death wish or something.” Her chin drops, almost to her chest, shielding her from me. “Like help me cross an item off my bucket list.”
This is the second time she’s referred to a fucking list. Suppressing the bubbling agitation within me, I grab her hands, which are holding the edge of the table too tight. “I told you th-there’ll be no bucket lis-st.”
“But what if I already have one?” The melancholy that was absent in her gaze throughout the day returns.
I swallow deep, not knowing how to respond. “Vienna,” I murmur, shaking my head.
“I know I shouldn’t think like this, and believe me, I’m not looking forward to dying. I’m sure it’s not something I’d enjoy.” The tiny smile on her face loosens some of my bunched muscles. “But accidents happen every day, even under the hands of the world’s best surgeons.”
Her truthful words crush a part of my heart into pieces, rattling my core. She squeezes my hands. “Will you please see my bucket list?”
Before I can tell her that I don’t want to look at that goddamn thing, she pulls a piece of paper from her purse. Purple flowers run along the edge of the paper, which tells me it was taken from her idea notebook.
“Are you s-sure you want to do th-this here?” I cock my head around. Wouldn’t she want her first memory of this place to be happy and not painful?
But she gives me a carefree smile in response. “My bucket list is like me.” She flattens the paper on the table before us, but my conflicted brain can’t look away from her. “It’s fun, sassy, and flirty. This is me on a page, Zane. Don’t you want to know me better?”
The excited gleam on her face forces me to tear my gaze away from her and look down at the paper.
1. Marry the most handsome man in the world. ??
2. Have mind-blowing sex with my husband on my wedding night. ??
My lips curl into a smile at the list before me. I was expecting items like run a marathon, get a degree, learn a new skill. But as she said, Vienna’s bucket list is perfectly unique…like her.
3. Go on a honeymoon in a private jet to the city of my dreams. ??
“Th-this isn’t a bucket lis-st.” I raise an eyebrow at her. “You jus-st wrote down th-things you’ve alr-ready done.”
She bites her bottom lip, unsuccessfully trying to hold back a smile. “Then you haven’t read it all. Go on.”
4. Join the Mile High Club.
Jesus!
“This was inspired by Zach, of course,” she whispers.
“Of cours-se.”
5. Go on a date to my favorite café and end the day with orgasms—too many to count!
I suck in a breath before briefly glancing at her. My pounding heart wants to know everything she desires.
6. Have sex under the stars.
7. Enjoy a night free of doubts and fears with my beautiful husband and our fur babies as we lie on the porch.
7. Try anal with my husband and decide if I like it.