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But tonight, she was nowhere in sight.
This, combined with her disappearing act last night while I’d been asleepandher weird behavior in my trailer, had me wondering if she was more like Ariel than I’d thought.
Ariel had had the amazing ability to blame everything going wrong in her life on me. Critics didn’t like her latest film—my fault. Journalists referring to her as Kingston Grier’s wife—my fault. (I actually agreed with her on that one and condemned it on my social media. Ariel was her own person and should’ve been respected as such.) The studio passed on her audition—my fault.
After raging at me, which always escalated into insane claims I couldn’t track, she’d lock herself in our bedroom and refuse to come out. She’d stay in there for days, only letting our housekeeper in. And she’d scream bloody murder any time I tried to talk to her through the door.
To say the least, the thought of knocking on Briar’s door stirred up a whole hornets’ nest worth of feelings.
Besides, we’d already blurred so many lines. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable in what was supposed to be her domain. We hadn’t talked about how this would go exactly, but I wasn’t going to be the one to go to her.
If she wanted me, she had to come to me. That was the only way this would work given our power dynamic and my ghosts.
All twisted up inside, I did the only thing guaranteed to cheer me up—I checked on Zoe. She was fast asleep in her toddler bed,her tiny body zig zagging across the bed. She wasn’t a gentle sleeper. A few times I’d come in to check on her and her feet would be on the pillow.
I grinned down at my little girl, my heart completely full. Damn. I didn’t need the reminder of why it was important to get my life sorted out, but it didn’t hurt either.
“Oh, sorry,” Briar whispered from the doorway, one hand on the doorjamb the other behind her back. “I heard something and thought I should check on Zoe.”
“She’s asleep,” I whispered back as I smiled down at my daughter. I bent down and brushed Zoe’s hair off her face. Her brow wrinkled and her lips pursed. With one last look, I turned back to the doorway and found it empty.
I quietly rushed out of the room and caught Briar on her way into her room.
“Uh, can we talk?” I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling all kinds of uncomfortable.
“Yeah, sure.” Briar smiled up at me like nothing was wrong as she reached for my hand. “Come on.”
“Um, I think it might be better if we talk out here. Or in my room? Whichever you’d feel more comfortable with.”
“Your room is fine. Is everything okay?”
I kept her hand in mine as we walked down the hall to my room. “That’s what I was going to ask you. You weren’t waiting for me downstairs like usual tonight. And earlier today you rushed out of my trailer like the hounds of hell were chasing you. What’s going on?”
Briar laughed. “I do sound off kilter when you piece it together like that.” She stepped up to me and wrapped her arms around me. “Earlier today I was nervous and afraid I’d slip up about our new arrangement in front of Zoe and Adam. You were just looking so delicious all fresh from the shower. And I’m not an actor like you. It’s gonna take some practice for me to pretendlike everything’s normal when what I really wanted to do was lick you all over.”
I hummed in the back of my throat as I nuzzled the side of her neck. She might not have been an actor, but the girl had a way with words. “And tonight?”
“I got into this romance book I was reading and lost track of time. I meant to be downstairs but given what I was reading…” She trailed off and gave me an adorably embarrassed shrug.
I pulled back and took in her flushed cheeks and the way she wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Sounds like a great book. Looks like it made you feel some kind of way. Maybe you could lend it to me when you’re done?”
She huffed and turned even redder. “Why are we talking about this? Like you’d read a romance novel.”
I shrugged. “I don’t really have a lot of downtime. But if it’s gotten you this worked up, it’s a book I definitely want to read. Never thought I’d say this, but I’m kind of jealous of a freaking book.”
Briar huffed. “I was rereading one of my favorite romances.”
“Rereading? You’ve read it more than once? Does it get you this worked up every time?” I grinned. “I’m just teasing you, sweetheart. You don’t have to lend it to me. I can afford to buy my own ebooks. What’s the title?”
“Love Stormby Susan Johnson.” Briar pushed out of my arms. “The hero is kind of a dick throughout the book. Kind of like how you’re being right now.”
“Wait, what? I was just teasing you, Briar.”
“And I don’t appreciate being made fun of for what I like to read. It’s not all that different from slut shaming. Don’t do it again.”
I nodded slowly. Clearly I’d stomped all over a sensitive subject. “Noted. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
