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ChapterTwo
Laz stood on the other side of the kitchen island and stared at Journey. Clearly, he had heard her wrong. That had to be it because there was no way she would cancel their plans.
“What the hell do you mean, you have to go to work? Journey, we just talked about this. It’s family day. We both agreed to take the day off!”
“Shh, keep your voice down,” she murmured and glanced into the family room where Arielle was watching cartoons. “It’s only for a few minutes. An hour, tops. I have to do—”
“Fuck that.” Laz stabbed a finger in her direction. “You don’t have to do shit. You—”
“Be mad all you want, but don’t youdarecurse at me!” she snapped, only loud enough for him to hear, then closed the gap between them. “There are some parts of my job that I can’t just turn off. You know that.”
He tried to never disrespect her, or talk to her in a way that was brazen, but he was struggling to keep his anger at bay. Every damn weekandweekend, she gave one excuse after another for why she couldn’t do something that involved him and their daughter.
He was sick of it.
Sick of her canceling outings.
Sick of her calling him in a panic when she couldn’t pick Arielle up from daycare on time.
And sick of her putting him last.
He couldn’t keep doing this. She either wanted to be married—or she didn’t.
“Babe, I’m sorry,” she said. “I know it seems like I’m always putting you and Arielle last.”
“Because you are, Journey,” he seethed. “You’re the smartest woman I know. How is it that you can’t see that?”
Her gaze dropped to the floor, and he watched her as she nibbled on her bottom lip, struggling for something to say. Laz’s heart clenched as disappointment engulfed him. It seemed as if he and Arielle didn’t matter to her.
When they married and promised to love each other until the end of time, he meant it. He meant every word of his vows, and no one could ever say he wasn’t living up to that commitment. And though Journey had never planned to get married, Laz believed she had meant her vows, too. Granted, one of the reasons they’d married was because she’d gotten pregnant, but the number-one reason was because they loved each other.
Her actions lately had him doubting everything. There wasn’t much that frightened him. Yet, the idea of losing his wife or having to walk away from their marriage scared him to death.
His gaze traveled the length of her. Journey was such an amazing woman—beautiful inside and out, intelligent, and sexy as hell. Her hair hung loose in big curls, and though she didn’t need makeup, it was applied flawlessly.
When it came to work, she never stepped out of the house without looking totally pulled together. Today was no different.
She was wearing the hell out of a navy-blue suit. The jacket molded over her full breasts and tapered in to show off a narrow waist. The slim-fitting skirt stopped just above her knees and revealed the best pair of shapely legs he’d ever seen on a woman. They were accentuated by the high heels that matched her suit.
When his buddies teased him about marrying up, Laz couldn’t even argue that fact because it was true. Journey was everything he thought he’d never be able to have. With his bad-boy rep around the city, no one was more surprised than him when they’d started dating. Especially since she had once told him that she wasn’t ever getting married. It just wasn’t something she had planned for her future.
But getting married and settling down with one special woman had been important to him. He’d been engaged years before meeting Journey, but his fiancée at the time had been murdered. He never thought his heart would recover from that, but then Journey came along.
They were as different as apples and broccoli, which had been extremely evident when they first met. Laz had been a detective with Atlanta PD, and she was a prosecutor. Where she followed the law to a T, he skated on the edge of it, pushing boundaries left and right to put as many bad guys behind bars as possible. She was sweet and kind. He was tough and brash at times.
By all accounts, they shouldn’t have been attracted to each other, but fate stepped in. Now Laz physically ached, knowing that they were drifting apart.
Journey huffed out a breath. “Do you think I like canceling on you and my daughter or disappointing you? I don’t. You should know that it has to be extenuating circumstances to make me do that to the two most important people in my life.”
Laz turned away and pulled down a travel mug from one of the upper cabinets. Then poured coffee into it. “Quit lawyering me, Journey. Save your closing statements for the courtroom. I’ve heard this all before. Yet, here we are again—you canceling plans.”
“This case has hit one brick wall after another, and I was losing hope. But a witness has come forward. I have to talk to her today, Laz. You know how important it is to speak to them as soon as possible.”
As a former detective, yes, he knew better than anyone the importance of hooking a witness. That still didn’t mean he liked her putting work first.
“I promise it won’t take long.”
“Right now, Journey, your promises don’t mean a damn thing. Last month, you promised to attend your sister’s barbecue. Last Sunday—your day off—you promised dinner out with me. And less than an hour ago, you promised that you were going with us to the celebration. What am I supposed to tell Ashton and Dani?”
