Probably. It didn't matter. I was leaving anyway.
I shrugged my shoulders and strode across the room to the front door. I was just in a weird mood. A break from work and a little food would do the trick.
My hand closed around the deadbolt. Before I could turn it, he was there, sliding smoothly between me and the still closed door, staring down at me with his heart shining in his blue eyes.
Tyler.
Once upon a time, I would have melted at that look. He was a good actor. I'd give him that. If he hadn't used this look a million times already, if I hadn't found him in our bed with another woman, if he hadn't hit me, I might have fallen for it.
I didn't. I knew the aching love in those blue eyes was false. Tyler only loved himself.
I stared back at him, trying to keep any expression from my face, and waited to feel... something. Anything. This was my husband, the man I'd promised to spend my life with, the man I'd been married to for the last six years.
I got nothing.
No, that's not true.
I felt a faint wave of disgust. Of impatience. Of annoyance at the knowledge that I was going to have to put up with him until he had his say. I was so very tired of adjusting my life to suit Tyler's tantrums.
"Parker," he crooned, raising one hand to trail a finger down my cheek. "Tell me what I need to do to make this right and I'll do it. I love you, and I know you love me."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I wanted to slap him. To scream how stupid he was and how I wasn't doing this anymore. Somehow, I held back. His face inches from mine, I couldn't help but be aware of how alone we were, the thick door still bolted shut behind me.
"Tyler, it's too late for that. I'm sorry."
The last part wasn't a lie. I was sorry. Sorry I'd stayed for so long. Sorry he was a shitty husband. I was sorry about a lot of things, but not about telling Tyler it was over.
I took a step to the side, relieved when he turned, but didn't follow. Except now he had his back to the door, blocking my exit.
Glancing out the front windows, I looked for someone, anyone, who might be headed our way, but the grass stretched between the cottage and the house, a sea of emerald green, vibrant in the midday sun. The path winding through the grass was empty.
"Tyler," I said, hiding my frustration behind that serene, polished shell Nash liked to tease me about. "Why are you here? Really?"
Tyler shoved his hands in his pockets, trying for sheepish with a hint of apology. His dark hair fell over his forehead as he glanced up at me through thick lashes, white teeth sinking into his full lower lip. He was painfully beautiful, and I felt nothing more than faint revulsion.
"You know why I'm here," he murmured.
"I don't, Tyler. If there's any chance you think I still love you, you need to understand that I don't. I want a divorce. There's nothing between us anymore."
"Baby," he crooned again, melting away from the door, fluid as a hunting cat, closing the distance between us. "How can you say things like that to me? I never thought you could be so cruel. I love you. I've always loved you."
"And the other women?" I asked, stalling.
"Nothing. Distractions. You know I need sex and you weren't around." He stopped in front of me, his hands coming up to cup my face.
I couldn't let him touch me. My skin crawled at the thought. I dodged, trying to make it look like I tripped on a scrap pile of wood. Tyler's eyes narrowed as he caught the flash of disgust on my face.
I dug in my back pocket for my phone. I'd been trying to play nice, but I was done.
Tyler's hand shot down. In a neat twist of his fingers, he pried my phone away and dropped it into his pocket.
"Uh-uh." He wagged his finger at me like I was a disobedient child. "It was hard enough to get you alone. I'm not going to let you call your watchdogs."
The quiet. The electrician and Billy Bob's mysterious disappearance. "What did you do, Tyler?"
He gave an insouciant shrug, smirking with pleasure at his own cleverness. "There's a problem with the power in the Manor. It’s completely out. You know how these old houses are. I don't understand why your father let it all go."
Neither did I, but that wasn't the point.
