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“Morning.” He turned the page of his paper, but still didn’t look up.
I gaped at him—not that he noticed. “You have your meeting with Clayton today?”
“Correct. I’m leaving shortly and I should be back no later than three.”
I frowned at his cool tone. He still hadn’t kissed me or even made eye contact for that matter. I forced a smile and tried again. “It’s our rehearsal dinner tonight.”
“I’m aware of the schedule.” His eyes scanned the columns of dense text. “Maybe you could attend the entire dinner this time.”
“That’s it.” I yanked the paper out of his hands. “Your brother was upset. I was making sure he was okay?—”
“Barrett’s a grown boy, Rayne. He doesn’t need you coddling him.”
I scoffed. “I wasn’t coddling him. I was being a friend.”
“He has plenty of other friends to help him. You’re the bride. People notice when you disappear.”
“Is that what this is about? You’re afraid people might see me disappear with your brother and think something’s going on between us? Do you know how ridiculous you sound, Hale? I’m marrying you.”
He glanced at Elara’s shoes and folded outfit laid out on the settee to his right. “It’s not that ridiculous to be territorial when it comes to those I love.”
Once again, this was about Jasmine and his father. “Well, thanks a lot. I’m so glad we’re getting married in two days and you still don’t trust me.” I grabbed the baby clothes and headed toward the door.
“I trust you.”
“If you trusted me you wouldn’t be acting this way.”
“I do trust you, Rayne. But you have to understand how your behavior looks to others.”
I slowly turned. He was not doing this to me. Hale was the guy who finally made me believe that I didn’t need to change to suit the world. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Ask me to perform for them.”
“Decorum is not a tall order.”
“Decorum? Gah! You sound like a total snob. He’s your brother, Hale. He’s your brother and he’s hurting. I won’t apologize for comforting him, no matter how weird or scandalous high society thinks that is. The problem is with your perception of the situation, not my actions. You’re making this into something it’s not and now you’re pissing me off.”
“Rayne—”
“No. I get it. Fragile Hale needs to prove his virility.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then what is this? Why don’t you just piss a circle around me so the world knows I’m taken.” I showed him my engagement ring as if flipping him off with the wrong finger. “This isn’t an ear tag, Hale. I’m your partner, not your property. I can talk to whoever I want. And do you honestly think your brother would ever betray you like that?”
“No, I don’t,” he snapped. “But I never believed my father could either.”
“Jesus.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “How many more times are we going to come back to this?”
“As many times as it takes.” He looked away and I understood that these insecurities were as frustrating for him as they were for me.
I reminded myself that we all came with baggage, and I had plenty. We could deal with this—whatever it was.
I never knew what to call it. It wasn’t irrational behavior. Jealousy, yes, but I could sympathize with how he got here. Hale was territorial for a reason. The man had severe PTSD from his father’s betrayal. While he trusted me a lot more than he trusted anyone else, I seemed the exception to the rule. This wasn’t really about trust, though.
It was about saving face. All of it.
