Page 115 of The Monster and the Masochist

I analyzed his tone, examining it for anything that might indicate he was trying to make some sort of jab at me, but I found none. The pause was more cautious than anything. Like he was trying to choose his words carefully to avoid picking the wrong ones.

“Yes? And?”

“I, um. I just wanted to say congratulations. You two look really happy together.”

I kept my face blank, even though my eyebrows seemed to want to shoot into my hairline.

That was… surprisingly nice.

‘I don’t trust it,’ my monster hissed. Inwardly, I agreed, but outwardly, I tilted my head in Nolan’s direction.

“Thank you, Nolan. We are very happy.”

He nodded and gave me a tentative smile.

I didn’t return it, but I was feeling like this case would be less of a nightmare if I wasn’t going to be fending off homophobic slurs from both my client and partner.

Now, all I needed to do was get through the rest of this day, and I could go home to my Theo.

I couldn’t wait.

Iwas home later than I would have liked, but still earlier than I would have been if I didn’t have an adorable little masochist to come home to.

When I’d left, I’d been accosted by a mob of paparazzi asking for statements on everything from the new allegations against my client and my recent wedding announcement on Instagram.

While I’d confirmed that I would be representing the reverend in his upcoming defense, I found I grew irrationally irritated whenever someone asked me about Theo.

She was a private and quiet person. I didn’t like the idea of the media sinking their greedy, gossip-hungry hooks into her, so anything regarding my new marriage was met with either one-word answers or a cool ‘no comment.’

By the time I made it back to my condo, I was dead on my feet and completely worn out from the day.

My mood immediately brightened as the elevator doors opened to my penthouse, and I was hit with the warm smell of sautéing garlic and onions.

She was cooking again?

Ughhhh, why did that make me so freaking giddy?!

Usually after work, I DoorDash’d something to my house from one of the only two vegan places in Silent Hollow, and I was more than a little bit sick of eating the same six dishes on repeat.

I rarely had time to cook for myself, so the fact that Theo had sort of just naturally sensed that and fallen into that role made me feel unreasonably happy.

Theo glanced up from what appeared to be a big, simmering pot of pasta sauce as I entered, and the smile she gave me lit me up from head to toe.

“Hey, princess,” she greeted me as I rounded the counter and approached her from behind. “How was work?”

I slipped my hands around her waist and pressed my nose into the crook of her neck, allowing myself a moment to inhale her clean eucalyptus and rosemary scent.

She always smelled like this right after a shower, and I suspected it was her shampoo that made her smell like the most zen yoga studio on the planet.

It settled me more than anything else ever had.

“Awful. My new client is a dick,” I grumbled, squeezing her tighter against me, and she chuckled softly as she continued to stir her pasta sauce, seemingly unbothered that I was plastered to her back like a koala.

“Well, I’m sure he’s no match for you, baby girl,” she hummed, turning her head to drop a kiss on whatever part of my face she could reach as I peered over her shoulder to investigate her cooking.

“Smells good,” I said, finally letting her go, and Theo preened slightly.

“Yeah, I’ve been wanting to try making this for a while. I hope it’s good. It’s roasted tomato spaghetti with spinach and chickpeas… You vegans eat a lot of chickpeas, I’ve noticed.”