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“Free!”He whipped around with a harsh laugh. “That’s a funnyword and not one you want to throw around. We are anything but free,darling. I am here inside your room, and we must be whisperingbecause the walls are bloody thin. We cannot even fight-”
“You knowwhat?” Shoving the sheets off her, she put on her robe andbelted it at her waist. “I have work tomorrow, so it’sbest you go home so I can sleep.”
“I am notleaving-”
“I don’twant you here. Go home, cool off, Brennan, and leave me alone.”She hissed. “I mean it. I do not want to be with you rightnow.”
They stood thereglaring at each other, and to her surprise, he got dressed and leftthe room. She stood there for a minute, unable to believe he wasgone. Remembering that she had turned the alarm on, she raced downthe stairs, doing her best to be quiet so that she did not wake heraunt. But he was gone.
He had seen herkeying in the code and memorized it. Pulling the door open, she ranoutside, unaware that she was wearing inside shoes and not a coat.All she saw was the taillights of his car driving away.
She stood therestaring into the darkness before the icy cold bit into her skin.Wrapping the robe around her, she entered the house and locked up.
She was not going tocall him; she decided as she sat in her darkened bedroom with herphone in her hand. He was the one who had to do the calling. BrennanConnelly was entitled, and he had to realize she was not the type ofwoman who would fall in with his wishes.
He was the one whoshould call, and she would not start their marriage being subservientand apologizing for something she did not do.
He did not call, andafter it became clear that he wouldn’t, she settled in andtried to sleep.
*****
He was furious! Notjust with her but with himself as well. He should have been smartenough to know that this would not work. He had pushed her to marryhim in secret, to save her goddamned job. What the hell was hethinking? Walking over to the recessed cabinet, he jabbed at thebutton, and the bar slid out.
Selecting an agedbottle of whiskey, he eschewed the glass and took the bottle with himto the leather sofa near the fireplace. Twisting off the cork, hedrank and felt his eyes watering, his throat burning.
He had left angrybecause he wanted to get out of there. He was supposed to be with hiswife; instead, he was drinking himself into a stupor. He would notcall her, of course; that was how pissed off he was. He would giveher some space; they both needed that, and he had some thinking todo.
Swallowing some morewhiskey, he was about to put away the bottle when the knock soundedon his door. At first, he felt his heart hammering inside his chestas he wondered if she had come to him. But then reasoning asserteditself.
It would not be her.Before he got to the door, he knew who it was. He thought aboutignoring the knocking, but he knew her, and the fact that she hadleft her suite on the other end of the hallway to come over to hissuite meant she was not going until she spoke to him.
And she was going tosmell the whiskey on his breath.
Pressing his headagainst the door, he took a deep breath before unlocking the door.
“Mother, you'restill awake.” Turning around, he headed into his bedroom. “Iwas just about to hit the sack.”
“You weredrinking.”
“I am an adult,and I am not driving.”
“I saw youdrive in, darling. Where are you coming from at this hour?”
Putting the whiskeyaway, he pressed the button, and the cabinet slid back into place. “Iam a grown man and mother, and I hope you remember that.”
“Darling, I amworried about you.”
“Why?”Turning around, he faced her, shoving his hands into his pockets. “That was the very reason I wanted to have my place. You haveno right to barge in here asking me these questions.”
“Darling, Iam your mother-”
“Not my keeper.Look, I am tired, and I have some early meetings tomorrow. So…”
Wrapping the robearound her, she lifted her chin. “You are not him, you know?”
“What?”He stared at her with a frown.
“I know youhave been beating yourself up about that for years.”
