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Annalise smiled. “I’ll just have to count this encounter as a consolation prize.”
“So generous.” He kissed her softly on the mouth. “Yes, I think I’d rather break my fast at my desk. There are lots of things to be done.”
Annalise disengaged her hands from his and went around the desk. She bent to pick up his journal and peered into the page it was open on. It had her name on it. Only it was crossed out.
Blake kneeled before her and reached to take the journal from her hand.
Annalise pulled her hand away. “Wait, what is this?” She peered into the contents and read aloud. “Possible plotters behind my capture.”She scanned the page with her eyes, reading the list of people and the motives until she came to the end.
Annalise. Motive: freedom.
Blake finally leaned in, took the journal from her slack fingers, and closed it.
Annalise turned to him, her eyes wide. “Possible plotters behind your capture? Did you truly think—”
“No!” he interrupted her swiftly. “No, I did not.”
“Then why is my name on it?”
“I scratched it out the next day.”
Annalise raised a brow.
“I was sleep-deprived, tired, and angry. I came home to find you getting betrothed to Kensington. You didn’t seem glad to see me at all. My mind was a jumbled mess. I swear, I never seriously contemplated you might be the one to hurt me.”
Annalise shut her eyes tightly against the burning sensation. The scars on his back and torso, those months, which he had said were too gruesome for him to speak of, he thought her responsible for all of that.
Annalise swallowed and stood. “There is no trust in our relationship at all, is there?”
“I trust you with my life,” Blake said hoarsely. “This was just a mistake.”
I trust you with my life.Did she trust him with hers?
Annalise backed away from her husband. “I am not certain how I feel about this, Blake. In order to put me on that list, you must have thought so low of me. And the rest of those people? They are the closest people to you besides me. How can you be suspicious of them?”
“Kensington is not the closest person to me.”
“He is to me.”
“And that is why his name is on there.” Blake closed his eyes. “I do not want to argue, darling. I crossed out his name too, but I have to be suspicious of people. I cannot be as gullible and naive as—”
He halted suddenly, but Annalise knew what he wanted to say.As me.
“I have to go,” she said and turned to leave.
Blake grabbed her by her arm. “Not like this.”
Annalise took a deep breath. “I need to be alone right now. Please respect my wishes.” She disengaged from his hold and walked away.
* * *
Blake perched on Annalise’s bed later that evening, his arms across his chest. He’d spent a good part of the day running around his cousin’s house, attempting to catch her “gift.” His hands were all scratched up, and he even had a tiny scratch on his face. But it would be all worth it just to see the reaction on Annalise’s face.
When he’d come home, Annalise was still entertaining callers, so he sneaked into her room and awaited her arrival.
The door squeaked open, and Annalise walked inside. Her expression was thoughtful, a few lines on her forehead forming a light frown. But her features cleared the moment she saw him. It was a good sign.
“Apologizing, lately, has been a new pastime for me,” he said. “I’ve been an arse, yet again. But to atone for my sins, I am bearing a gift, and I hope you find it worthy.”
