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It was nothing like how he was feeling now, seeing his wife in the flesh.
Carefully pulling away so he wouldn’t disturb the twins’ sleep, he pressed a finger to his lips, knowing his wife would understand. Pollyanna only nodded and disappeared back into the hallway.
After ruffling Ella and Dio’s hair goodnight, he left the twins’ bedroom and came down to see Pollyanna waiting for him at the living room.
“I don’t always come home this late,” his wife said, biting her lip.
Her tone was defensive, and Kyr knew she had been expecting him to call her out for not being there when the twins needed her. Shaking his head, he said quietly, “I know that. You didn’t really think I wouldn’t be keeping tabs on you?”
She gave him her blowfish look again, and his heart cracked a little.
Theo.
How he missed that look. Sometimes, he wanted to see it so badly, he would end up dreaming it, only to wake up a second later. It was as if God was punishing him even in his sleep, making Kyr feel that he didn’t even have any right to dream about his wife.
“It’s not that I distrust you or anything,” he elaborated, not wanting to have any misunderstandings between them. “But you know how much of a control freak I am, and I don’t think that will ever change. I just need to make sure you and the children are safe.”
Pollyanna slowly nodded. “I get it.”
He hesitated then continued, “I wouldn’t have come here if Annalisa’s nanny hadn’t asked for me to drop by. Apparently, the twins had watched some kind of horror short on YouTube, and it’s gotten them frightened out of their wits.”
“I know.” For a moment, Pollyanna completely forgot about everything between them, with her mom’s cap on. “Ella’s texts were pretty descriptive, and even though Dio tried to play it cool, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out he was bothered, too.”
“I made sure to save the title on my browser.” Kyr took his phone out as he spoke. “I think we should check it out, too, see if we need to use stricter parental controls on their browsing.”
Knowing he was right, she reluctantly moved closer, just enough so she could see his screen, too. She caught a glimpse of the title and realized it was an indie production.
Lights Out – Who’s There Film Challenge (2013).
Her eyebrows shot up when she saw that the video was just less than three minutes.
And this had scared her normally outrageous twins?
The video started playing.
And Kyr dropped his phone at the end of the film with a string of Greek expletives.
Pollyanna couldn’t help it. She tried to cover her mouth and keep it down, but the giggles came out.
Kyr’s hazel eyes were shooting daggers at her.
“Sorry.” She tried to swallow her laughter back but it was no use, and it started all over again, making Pollyanna double over. “Oh, God, if you could see the look in your eyes.”
Kyr’s irritation died as he watched his wife laugh with tears in her eyes.
This, he couldn’t help thinking.
This was the Pollyanna that had captured his heart, the Pollyanna that had breathed new life into him.
This was the Pollyanna he had fallen in love with – and would always love.
Her laughter died, and she looked at him, visibly disconcerted, as if having just realized he had been staring at her all the while. He turned to face her fully, but she quickly stepped away, as if the mere thought of having them touch was unbearable.
Without meeting his gaze, she said with a rush, “Thank you for coming and helping with the twins. I’m sorry I wasn’t here, but I promise it won’t happen again so...” She gestured to the door vaguely. “You can leave now.”
He breathed hard. “Polly—-”
“Please.” Her voice had become cold and stiff, and she hadn’t even needed to force it. Somewhere along the line, it had happened, and she had become who she was supposed to be.
Someone who was strong.
But when she heard the door close behind Kyr, she couldn’t stop herself from sinking to her knees and crying.
She was strong.
She was strong now.
But why couldn’t she feel glad?
Why couldn’t she feel proud that she was strong now?
Why?
IT CHAFED AND OFFENDED Pollyanna, the way she couldn’t get her husband out of her mind, and in her desperation, she began to do something that she never in her life thought she would want to do.
She began to flirt with another man.
Adrian was the rakishly handsome nephew of one of her repeat clients. A year younger than she was and a shameless playboy, he was also outrageous in the way he expressed his admiration for her. Ever since meeting Pollyanna, he had begun to drop by her Athens office several days a week, asking her out for coffee or sometimes even just for a walk around the city.
