AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, Reed, you seriously can’t blame—”
But he was already walking out of the bedroom, heading down the hallway to the stairs, his footsteps echoing behind him. Mikado hopped off the bed and followed Reed down the stairs.
This was all wrong. So wrong.
Nikki felt miserable. Her heart was heavy, her head ached, her shoulder began to throb and she was pummeled with guilt. Throwing herself back against the pillows, she closed her eyes and fought tears. She’d never been one to cry, but now her throat grew thick and her eyes burned. She blinked and dashed the tears away. If she hadn’t gone against Reed’s orders, if she hadn’t gone to the Beaumont estate, if she hadn’t slipped and fallen, if . . .
“Stop it!” she said aloud, and sniffed back any remaining tears. Weeping wouldn’t change things. Bawling her eyes out wouldn’t help. She was and always had been a woman of action. Could never lie around idly. Not even now. She threw back the covers and got out of bed to walk into the adjoining bathroom. Using her good hand, she splashed water on her face over the sink, then caught sight of her reflection. Mussed red-blond hair, green eyes puffy from lack of sleep and the sudden spate of tears, her freckles still visible in her flushed face. Not a good look. But did it even matter? Probably not. Still, she glared at her image and said, “Get a grip, Gillette.”
Back in the bedroom, she found her robe slung over the back of a chair and slipped her good arm through one sleeve, letting the other sleeve hang over her shoulder with the sling. She couldn’t cinch the damned thing around her waist, so the robe gapped slightly, billowing behind her as she headed downstairs.
She found Reed in the kitchen.
He hadn’t turned on any lights, but a bit of moonlight filtering through the windows offered a weak, bluish illumination.
Reed was drinking.
Seated on a barstool at the kitchen island, a half-empty bottle of scotch and a short glass filled with ice cubes and dark liquid on the counter in front of him, he glanced up as Nikki approached. “Figured I’d have a drink in her honor.” He held up his glass. “Or two.”
“Sure.” The digital readout on the stove glowed a soft blue. 4:17. The dog had settled into a bed near the back door. “Sounds like a good idea to me.” Leaning a hip against the island, she added, “I think Morrisette would’ve appreciated it.”
“Damned straight, she would.” He took a long swallow, then slammed his glass down with a hard smack against the counter. Ice cubes rattled and danced. A bit of scotch sloshed over the rim.
“I would join you, but . . . well, the baby.”
“Yeah.” He nodded as if lost in thought. “Right,” he finally said. “The baby.”
“Our baby.”
“I know.”
But that was the end of the conversation; he was somewhere else.
A silence ensued, stretching long between them. Awkward. Almost intimidating. The clock counting off the minutes.
For once, Nikki was at a loss for words. To fill the void, she opened the refrigerator, the light from its interior illuminating a swath of the room. “Maybe you’d like a couple of eggs and a slice or two of toast? Or something?” She glanced over her shoulder. “It is morning, y’know.”
“Yeah, I know.” Another swallow, another noisy drop of his glass onto the counter top. “And it’s too late to be drinking. But . . . what the fucking hell? Right?” He drained the glass as she retrieved a carton of eggs from the fridge, let the door close, then switched on the light over the stove.
“You’re serious about making breakfast?” He let out a snort. “Unreal.”
“I just thought it might help.”
“Well, you were wrong.” His eyes were like lasers as he looked at her. “Nothing’s gonna help. It’ll all just take time.”
“Then come to bed.”
“Won’t be able to sleep.”
“There are other things we could do,” she said with a flirty lift of her eyebrow, giving him the look he usually found irresistible.
“You’re injured,” he reminded her, nose in his glass, and polished off his drink.
“Oh, I think I can manage.” She managed a bit of a smile, a little
come-on.
He eyed her in disbelief. Uncapped the bottle. “Not now.”
