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I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Me, too.”
* * *
I made it home early in the afternoon. Linda left a note saying she’d taken the kids to see Felicia and to keep the twins company and out of trouble.
I picked the newspaper up from where I’d left it on the floor early in the morning. It’d been ages since I’d read the paper and had a cup of coffee, and at the moment it sounded like the perfect thing to do.
I was curled up on a couch in the library, coffee at my side, when I flipped to the political section. I almost missed it. If it hadn’t been for the paper crinkling up at just the right spot, I never would have seen it. But the paper crinkled and as I was straightening it out, I realized my thumb was beside a picture of Nathaniel.
My hands shook as I looked closer. He wasn’t the subject of the picture; that honor belonged to the council member who’d just been accused of misuse of public funds. Nathaniel simply had the misfortune of being seated nearby in the photograph of a fund-raising dinner. Nathaniel and his dinner date, that was.
Charlene. She was gorgeous in that naturally beautiful way some women were born with. I remembered from seeing her in person, but it was even more obvious from the profile picture. And while that was irritating, it was the look captured unknowingly by the photographer that made my chest tight. Nathaniel and his date were gazing into each other’s eyes, completely oblivious to their surroundings.
I set the paper down. Was it taken the day I saw them in the bar or some other time? I couldn’t make out exactly what Nathaniel was wearing, but I assumed it was taken in Delaware.
I didn’t like the thoughts forming in my head. While I knew, I knew, he would never cheat on me, the fact remained he’d had dinner, or lunch, alone with a woman and he hadn’t told me about it. That itself didn’t sit well.
Circumstantial evidence, one part of my brain said.
Still pretty damning, said another.
I should call him. Call him up and talk about it. But the more I thought about, the less it sounded like a good idea. There wasn’t any way to bring it up that didn’t sound accusatory. And we’d already fought over her once. Besides, I knew it was nothing.
The sound of Linda pulling into the driveway caused Apollo to bark and I decided to think about Charlene and Nathaniel later.
* * *
I found my chance to bring it up later that night. I’d put the kids to bed and everything was quiet. Nathaniel was in his office working. I picked the newspaper up from where I’d left it on my desk and opened it to his picture.
He looked up when I entered the room. “Abby?”
I put the paper down so he could see the picture. “Was this taken while we were in Delaware?”
His eyes widened as he looked down. “Damn, I didn’t see a camera.”
“Really? That’s how you’re going to answer? You didn’t see a camera?”
He picked up the paper and looked closer. “Yes, this was taken while we were in Delaware.”
I crossed my arms and waited.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he continued and he sounded tired. “We’ve already argued about her once. I really don’t feel like rehashing it again.”
I sat down in the leather chair across from his desk. “Then let’s not rehash it. Tell me what your business is with her.”
His lips pressed together tightly and for a long moment, I thought he wouldn’t say anything. But then he sighed. “I offered her a position.”
I shot up. “You what?”
“Running the nonprofit.”
Shit. It really was the nonprofit. I started pacing. And he’d offered her a job? She was never going to go away and I’d have to hear about her and talk with her and be sociable. “Why would you do that?”
“You know, I don’t make it a habit to routinely question you on your business decisions.” He narrowed his eyes. “Sit down. You’re giving me a headache.”
“No,” I said and stood behind the chair, holding on to the back. “She’s trouble. Why would you hire trouble?”
“She’s exceptionally qualified and is looking to diversify her résumé. It wouldn’t be for a long period of time.”
“I think it’s a bad decision.”
“I don’t think it’s your concern. But if you must know, she’s the best person for the job, is willing to take it on, and can make it into something I can’t.”
“And you know she’s not going to cause anything but problems for us.”
He didn’t say anything, just looked at me. There was disappointment in his eyes. “What’s your problem with her? I’ve never seen you like this before. You don’t act like this around women I’ve played with.”
“Those women are in the past. She’s right here, in the flesh, and she’s now.”
“Are you afraid I’m going to be tempted to do something with her?” he asked.
I thought about that. “No,” I said, honestly. “It’s her I don’t trust.”
“I’m with women all the time. Every morning you say good-bye to me and I’m willing to bet you never think I’m walking out that door to fall into the clutches of the world’s most evil women.”
So what was it about her that rubbed me the wrong way? “There’s something about her I don’t like. I can’t put my finger on it.”
He sighed and shuffled the papers on his desk. “You’re going to have to find a way to deal with it if she accepts the position.”
I snorted. “Mark my words. You’ll regret this.”
“Thank you so much for your insight. Your warning is duly noted.”
He said it with a hint of sarcasm and that just made me angry. I thought about what I could say to make him as angry as I was. “I don’t want to wear your collar this weekend.”
But my words didn’t have the desired effect on him. He calmly looked me in the eyes. “That won’t be an issue. I’m not going to allow you to wear my collar until you work through the trust issues you have with me.”
“What?” I asked, certain I’d heard him wrong.
“You can’t wear my collar if you don’t trust me. So until you can once again believe that I’m trustworthy, you won’t be wearing my collar.”
“It’s not the same.”
“It is,” he insisted. “You have to trust me in all things before you accept my collar. There’s no room for doubt.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
It was like he didn’t hear me. “And I was going to tell you later, but I’ll go ahead and tell you now. I’ll be home late tomorrow because I have a late meeting with Charlene.”
“You’re meeting with her?”
“I’m expecting her to accept my offer.”
There was little else he could have said that would have made me angrier. “So will you be going out to dinner after to celebrate?”
“Damn it, Abby.”
“I think it’s a reasonable question.”
“I take issue with your definition of ‘reasonable.’”
“And yet you haven’t answered my question.”
“No,” he said in a cold voice. “I’m not having dinner with her. I’ll be coming home to my wife and children. Because that is what I want and this is my place.” He stood up. “Why don’t you go on to bed? I’ll be in the guest room tonight.”
