Page 180 of Stranger to Love

"Well," I said, my voice dropping to that low, suggestive hum as I started to climb the steps backward. "Since Richard is officially gone and we have the entire house to ourselves... I was planning on spending the rest of the day completely naked. Does that make up for the masked killers?"

Carrie froze at the foot of the stairs, her breath hitching. Her exhaustion vanished instantly, replaced by the woman who looked at me like I was the only thing in the universe that mattered. Her gaze darkened, a slow, hungry fire igniting in her eyes as she watched me retreat upward.

"Suddenly," she rasped, her hand gripping the banister as she followed me, her pace quickening, "I find I have a very strong interest in horror films. Lead the way, Alex."

Chapter 38

Alex

A month had passed, and the rhythm of our new life had mostly settled into a luxurious, slightly surreal routine.

I was currently in the kitchen, humming to myself as I pulled a pasta bake out of the oven. It was a basic, homely meal—nothing like the five-course culinary tours Carrie usually put me through—but it was a surprise.

Cooking was one of the few things I’d managed to reclaim. Carrie still treated the housework like a forbidden zone for me, a fact I’d learned the hard way a few weeks prior. I’d had a late start at uni and nearly tackled a stranger who walked into the kitchen, only to realise it was the cleaner. I’d spent ten minutes in a defensive crouch with a toaster in my hand before the poor woman explained who the fuck she was. Carrie’s apology that night had been... thorough. Definitely worth the initial heart attack.

But as I set the table, the familiar silence of the house started to grate on me. Behind the heavy oak door of her office, Carrie was in another late-night meeting.

It was the same pattern every fucking evening. By day, she was the formidable Dr. Carter; by night, she was commanding boardrooms and consulting on international fucking mergers. I loved her ambition—I really did—but lately, I felt the drain of it. I didn't move in here for the Mercedes in the drive she insisted she buy for me or the high-end skincare in the ensuite. Those were bonuses, sure, but they weren't her.

I wanted the woman who hid her face during cheap slasher movies. I wanted the woman who commanded a kitchen like a professional chef, and then slipped on her reading glasses to lose herself in a book in bed. I wanted her time.

The "Dr. Carter" diet was great, but I was starving for an evening where she wasn't checking her watch or answering a "quick" email from fucking Singapore. I’d decided that that night, the shopping sprees and the grand gestures weren't enough. I’d give all of this back in a heartbeat just to have her fully present.

I heard the office door finally click open. A moment later, her footsteps echoed down the hallway—slow, heavy with the weight of the day. She wandered into the kitchen, already reaching for her phone, her eyes scanning a notification.

"The house smells wonderful, darling," she murmured, not looking up yet. "Give me five minutes? I just need to send a quick follow-up to—"

"No," I said softly, stepping into her path and gently taking the phone from her hand.

Carrie blinked, finally focusing on me, her expression shifting from "Corporate Powerhouse" to "Confused Girlfriend."

"Alex?"

"The phone stays on the counter," I said, my voice steady despite the flutter in my chest. "The pasta is ready, and I need to talk to you, Carrie. Not Dr. Carter. Not the board member. Just you.”

Carrie gently placed her phone face-down on the counter, her eyes never leaving mine. For a woman who had spent the last hour staring down academic boards and corporate executives, she suddenly looked incredibly small. She nodded, a ghost of a smile touching her lips.

"Of course, darling," she said softly.

She took her seat at the dining table, looking down at the pasta bake. It was a far cry from the pan-seared sea bass or truffle risottos we usually had, but her eyes softened as she took in the steam rising from the dish. I saw that flicker of vulnerability—the raw, unpolished version of Caroline that she kept locked away from everyone else in the world.

She straightened her posture, but her hands were clasped tightly on the table. "So," she said, her voice laced with a tremor of worry that made my heart ache. "We need to talk?"

I took a deep breath, reaching across the table to uncurl one of her hands and lace my fingers through hers. "We do. But it's not a bad thing, Carrie. I just... I need to say this."

I looked around the room—at the designer lighting, the sleek appliances, and the keys sitting on the sideboard to a car I could never have dreamed of driving, let alone having parked outside.

"I love everything you’ve done for me," I started, my voice steady. "The cars, the clothes, the way you protect me—it’s amazing. And I know you do it because you want me to feel safe. But Carrie, I didn't move into this house for the Mercedes or the 'princess' treatment."

Carrie swallowed hard, her thumb brushing nervously against my knuckles. "I know that, Alex. I only wanted to—"

"I know what you wanted," I interrupted gently. "But lately, I feel like I’m living with a ghost. I wake up, and you’re already in the gym or the office. I come home, and you’re behind a closed door until nine o'clock. I’d trade both of those cars in the driveway just to have two hours of you sitting on the sofa with me without your laptop."

Carrie’s expression faltered, her eyes shimmering with a sudden, painful realisation.

"I've been trying to provide," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I thought if I made your life perfect, if I cleared every obstacle, then you’d... you’d be happy."

"I am happy," I insisted, leaning forward. "But I’m happiest when it’s just us. Not the provider and the student. Just us. I don't want more things, Carrie. I want more time. I want the woman who gets scared of the stupid horror films I make her watch, and the one who sits in bed with her reading glasses on, laughing out loud at her books. I want the woman who’s actually here."