Cheap Love, Cheap Man

I'd taken half the day off specifically to marry Yale Carter, only to find him spending it with Yvonne Chandler instead.

I caught a cab back to the office, and on the way, I spotted the two of them wandering through the food stalls nearby.

Yale had apparently turned into Yvonne's personal ATM. If something caught her eye, he bought it for her, no questions asked.

He'd never once treated me that way.

Yale didn't come home until after midnight, looking happier than I'd seen him in a long time. The smile stayed on his face right up until he turned on the living room light and found me waiting on the couch.

His expression stiffened. "Why are you sitting here in the dark?"

"Waiting for you. Where were you this afternoon?"

"At work. Where else?"

He turned away to change his shoes, and that told me everything. After all these years, he still couldn't look me in the eye when he lied.

"I went back to the office this afternoon. You weren't there."

Yale finally faced me, one eyebrow raised. "I'm your boss. Do I need to clear my schedule with you now?"

I nodded.

"Oh, that's right. You're the boss. Who you go on dates with is your business."

He froze. "Who are you talking about?"

"Yvonne Chandler."

After a long breath, Yale went to pour me a glass of water. "You've got it wrong. Yvonne was a year behind me in college, and she helped me out a lot back then. I'm just looking out for her now. She's good at her job, so I've been giving her more opportunities. That's all."

The water he set in front of me was warm, just as it always was after we argued. That little gesture used to be enough to soften me.

Yale had grown up rich, never wanting for anything, yet somehow he'd become a world-class cheapskate. I'd always assumed something awful must have happened to make him that way. So instead of resenting him for it, I'd tried to be understanding.

After seeing him throw money around for Yvonne all afternoon, I finally understood.

He wasn't frugal.

He was only cheap with me.

I pushed the water back across the table, along with everything he'd just told me.

Yale's hand paused, a complicated look passing through his eyes.

"Are you still upset because I stood you up this afternoon?" he asked. "Fine. I'll make it up to you. Invite your friends out, and I'll treat everyone to dinner. We can announce our marriage while we're at it. Would that make up for it?"