Page 22 of Unveiled

She glanced at him over the man’s shoulder, her face twisting into an expression of incredulity. “What? Never mind.” She held up a hand and met the guy’s gaze. “I’m flattered, but I don’t think so. Now excuse me while I go settle my check.”

He threw Jaxon an angry glare before stomping off, and Adalyn turned toward the restaurant, muttering under her breath, “Jerk.”

Jaxon caught her elbow and dragged her back to him. “I took care of it.”

Her pretty lips formed a small ‘O’ before she caught herself, and her face settled back into an expression of annoyance. “Well.” She cleared her throat. “Thank you.”

One foot tapped an impatient rhythm on the sidewalk as if it would magically conjure the valet so she could escape his presence.

The thought alone pissed him off. Shoving his hands back in his pockets, he studied her. “We need to talk, Adalyn. You’re still my wife and⁠—”

Her chest rose on a sharp inhale, and she spun toward him. “I am not your wife.”

He let out a mirthless laugh. “Really? Because I have papers that say otherwise.”

“That’s impossible,” she scoffed.

“Really? You sure about that?”

Her shoulders tensed. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You ever read the documentation that the lawyers sent back?” Though she refused to look at him, he read the hesitation in every line of her body. “You didn’t, did you?”

The blood drained from her face, giving him the answer he’d been looking for. He sighed. “We apparently both forgot to sign one of the documents.”

Cold expression firmly back in place, she glared at him. “Fine. Let’s take care of it, then. I’ll sign it right now.” She began to dig around in her giant purse, probably looking for a pen.

He was tired of fighting. He set a hand on her arm to halt her frantic searching. “Come on, let’s go somewhere and talk.”

An alarmed expression moved over her face. “N-no. I can’t⁠—”

“Adalyn.” She froze at his exasperated tone. Searching her eyes, he softened his voice. “I just moved in, so my place is a mess, otherwise I’d invite you there. Let’s just go back to your place and⁠—”

“No!”

She said it much too quickly, and his eyes narrowed. “You don’t trust me to come home with you?”

“I-It’s not… I can’t…” She stammered over her words and fell back a step, her hand moving to the base of her throat. So she was fine speaking to him in public, but the second he mentioned going somewhere quiet, she freaked out. Why?

She whirled away, stumbling much too close to the curb. He caught her elbow and yanked her back just as the valet pulled up with a compact black car. “Jesus, Addy!”

Tearing herself from his grasp, she practically ran around the vehicle and threw her bag on the passenger seat as she clambered inside. The valet held the door for her and she ripped it from the poor guy’s hands, slamming it shut and throwing the car in gear.

What just happened?

The valet watched with a combination of surprise and dismay, jumping back as she peeled away from the curb. For some reason, Jaxon felt the need to apologize. “I’m sorry.” Digging a twenty from his wallet, he handed it over to him. “She’s a little… frazzled.”

That was an understatement if he’d ever heard one, and he was at a loss as to how to proceed. The look on her face had spoken less of hate and more of… fear? Was she so afraid of him that she’d nearly thrown herself in front of a moving vehicle? Propping his hands on his hips, he stared after the red taillights disappearing into the distance.

He’d give her a couple of days to calm down. Then Jaxon and Adalyn were going to have a serious discussion.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Adalyn bit her lip, blinking away the tears burning the back of her eyelids. This was the absolute last thing she needed that morning. She had been an emotional mess for the past two days, snapping at everyone and ready to cry at the drop of a hat.

Seeing Jaxon the other night had thrown her completely off balance, but that was nothing compared to what she had experienced over the past few days: Nothing. Nada. Not a phone call, no emails, not a visit to her house or the salon.