It takes me ten minutes to get to Eleanor’s apartment. I grimace at the dirty stoop and the unlocked door to the building. Of course she picked a place without a doorman. I grit my teeth and try to keep my shit together because if I go in there demanding that things get done, it’s not going to go well.
I bypass the elevators and climb the stairs, and when I reach her apartment, I knock on the door and then stuff my hands in my pockets. A few seconds pass and then the door opens.
I have to suck in a breath. It feels like I haven’t seen her in weeks when in fact I just saw her this morning. She doesn’t know I saw her, but I follow her most of the time, always needing to know she’s safe.
Her blond hair is in curls over her shoulders. I let my gaze travel over her pretty face, her form-fitting shirt, and the jeans that hug her just right. When I look into her face again, her cheeks are pink, and she backs up. “Come in.”
I walk past her, and she looks behind me. “Where’s everyone? Where’s your entourage?”
I stand a few feet away from her. “I came alone.”
Her forehead creases. “Was that safe to do?”
I blurt out a laugh. “Funny that you are asking me that. Do you think it’s safe for you to be here in this apartment building by yourself? The front door is unlocked, and there’s not even a doorman. Anyone could come up here and?—”
She raises a hand to stop me. “Okay, if you came to pick apart my living situation, then you can just leave.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “No.”
I shift my stance, feet apart, unwilling to move. “I’m not leaving until we resolve this.”
She rolls her eyes and walks past me. She sits down on the couch and gestures to the chair across from her. “Have a seat.”
Instead of sitting across from her, I sit on the cushion beside her and put a hand on her knee. “First of all, the most important thing is that we love each other and we’re going to get through this.”
She nods.
I squeeze her knee. “Okay, talk.”
She opens her mouth and then closes it again.
She shoots to her feet and walks over to the big bay window. She looks out on the city, and it’s on the tip of my tongue to warn her and have her step back. She’s a Kingston, and she shouldn’t be standing in front of windows where people have access to her.
Instead of saying any of that, I stand up and join her. “Ellie… talk to me.”
She blinks. “Do you know the last time you told me I was pretty?”
I jerk, surprised. I think back, but I don’t remember the last time I said it. “I don’t know. But I think it every day.”
She just blinks at me, and I put a hand to her waist. “Is that what this is about, Ellie? Because I don’t tell you you’re pretty?”
She steps back from me. “That’s not it. And don’t make me sound ridiculous. I wouldn’t leave my husband of thirty-five years just because he forgets to tell me I’m pretty.”
I put my hands on my hips. It’s either that or I’m going to drag her flush against my body. “What is it then?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “It’s a lot of little things, but it all adds up, and I can’t just keep ignoring them.”
I blow out a breath. “What else?”
She looks at me, guarded and tense.
“What is it, Ellie? We’re not going to fix this if you’re not willing to talk about it.”
She lifts her chin at me. “Are you seeing someone else?”
My mouth drops. “What? You think I have another woman?”
This time, she crosses her arms over her chest and avoids my gaze. “I don’t know what I think. All the late nights. Heck, some nights you don’t even come home. What else am I supposed to think?”
