Page 352 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

NINE

“Sorry, sorry,” John muttered as he entered the master bedroom of their home. “I didn’t mean to be this fucking late.”

“It’s all right.”

But was it really?

Already, Siena was sitting at her vanity, a silk robe tight at her waist as she removed her makeup for the day and prepped for the night. It wasn’t like they’d had plans today or anything, but he did promise to be home for supper and yet …

It was dark outside.

Even the streetlights were on.

Which meant he undoubtedly missed supper with her because she probably waited for him and when he didn’t even call—because he got caught up in everything else—she just packed it away and readied for the evening. He bet, if he went downstairs to look, he would find a container of food waiting for him in the fridge.

Because that was his wife.

She never complained.

Fuck.

John stood just beyond the doorway with his blazer half on and half off, and sighed. He gave Siena a look from the side where she watched his reflection in her vanity mirror. There was no disappointment or anger staring back, but he didn’t have to see it from her. He felt enough of it for himself to last them both a lifetime.

Nature of the beast.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” he said. “I didn’t think about it, really.”

“It’s okay. I kept busy.”

He had the greatest urge to go to his wife, wrap his arms around her, and hide them both away from the world for the night so that he could remind her of each and every reason that he loved her. But most importantly, for the patience and understanding she constantly showed him.

“Get ready for bed,” Siena told him.

John chuckled, passing another look at the window behind their bed and the darkness outside. “Yeah, I better.”

She tipped her head toward the walk-in closet, and he followed her unspoken order to go. Inside the closet, he changed out of the suit that felt like a second skin a lot of the time. It was only inside his home and on lazy days when he knew he would be doing absolutely no work that he was able to wear anything that wasn’t a fucking suit. Pulling on a pair of sleep pants, he heard Siena speak from the bedroom.

“Where were you today, anyway? You didn’t even show up for lunch at the restaurant?”

“Therapy,” he muttered, “and then work.”

Which wasn’t a lie.

John hadn’t quite decided when he was going to tell Siena about Leonard—and now this new development of Cree—but he would. Soon. Mostly, he wanted to have everything all figured out for himself and how he felt about it before he brought someone else’s opinion into it, even if it was his wife. Siena would understand regardless if he told her now or two months from now, although he didn’t think he would wait that long.

He just … needed some time to process.

What was so wrong with that?

“And everything is good?” Siena asked.

John hesitated before he came out of the walk-in closet. Just long enough to consider his wife’s question and how he wanted to answer it. Was everything good? He couldn’t quite say that and because he didn’t lie to Siena, he settled on replying, “It’s getting there.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

Back in the bedroom, John headed for the bed and pulled the blankets back. Then, he rounded the end of the bed and moved to stand behind Siena as she finished her work at the vanity. It was his favorite part of the day, though he’d never told his wife that, to watch her do literally anything. Even if it was something like prepping for the night. While their life had become busy and chaotic over the last three years, John found peace in remembering the fact that he would soon be home with her—just them together—doing things like this.