All I can do is stare at her.
Never in all our years of marriage has she pulled away from me. She’s always the first one to forgive, and she hates any kind of conflict. Usually, I can smooth things over, but I’m not sure I’llbe able to this time. I nod and focus on what’s happening in front of us.
Ignoring the looks from my mom, dad, and everyone else, I turn in my seat so I’m facing my wife. Someone puts a plate with a slice of cake in my hands, but I set it on the table beside us. “How was your day?”
She shrugs and picks up a plate with half-eaten cake on it. “Fine.”
I frown at her. “Fine? Just fine?”
Aria always has a story to tell about her day at work. As a physical therapist at the hospital, she meets all kinds of patients, and she usually has something interesting to tell me.
She shrugs again. “Yeah, nothing special today. How was your surgery?”
“Good.” I let out a breath. “I really am sorry.”
She looks around us, and when she sees everyone is busy talking to each other, she tilts her head. “Sorry for being late or sorry for this brick wall you’ve put between us?”
I lean back in my chair, my guard going up immediately.
She’s right. Of course she is. I have put a wall between us, but I can’t tell her the truth because I know I’ll lose her.
“I’ll do better,” I promise her.
She rolls her eyes. “I’ve heard that too many times to believe it, Penn.”
I grab her hand, needing to feel her touch. “Please, don’t give up on me. I’m begging you, Aria.”
One of Skyler’s friends sitting close to us gasps, staring at Aria and me like we’re the entertainment.
At the front of the room, Zach stands and hands Skyler another present to open. There are oohs and aahs around us, and Aria leans in closer. “You missed dinner. Do you want me to order you something?”
Even when she’s mad, she tries to take care of me, and guilt settles heavily in my chest. If she knew the truth, she wouldn’t care about me like she does.
I shake my head. “I’m fine. I ate a sandwich late this afternoon.”
Aria’s smile is soft, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Her fingers twist together in her lap, and I know that look because I’ve seen it too much lately.
I want to fix it. I want to take her away from all of this and spend a week with no calls from the hospital and no one asking us about babies. Maybe then I could remind her how much I love her.
But being alone with her for that long would mean talking. Really talking.
And once I tell her what I’ve been hiding from her for the last year and a half, there will be no taking it back.
“What do you say, Penn?”
Zach’s voice cuts through the room, and I blink, realizing every eye has shifted to me.
Aria goes still beside me.
I clear my throat. “Sorry. I missed that. What did you say?”
Zach grins and gestures between me and Aria. “What about you two? When are you going to add to the family?”
Everyone is smiling at us, waiting like we might make some kind of announcement.
I force a laugh past the lump in my throat and reach for Aria’s hand beneath the table. Her fingers are cold.
“We don’t want to steal your thunder,” I say, keeping my voice easy.
