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But it had been some time since all this went down. Time for her to find a job. Time for her to get her shit together.
Instead, she seemed to dump it on her kids.
He wondered what she was up to this time.
He had this thought as he shrugged on his dress shirt.
That was when it hit him.
The large closet had three walls fitted with railings, shelves and drawers. There was a big built-in safe hidden behind a section of railings. There was a long bench down the middle to sit on when you put your shoes on, or as Elsa used it, to throw her clothes over and dump her handbags on. There were jewelry drawers and a free-standing full-length mirror that was a statement piece, angled in a corner.
He had clothes he left there, like he had the same in LA. The amount of which had never taken up even a quarter of the closet.
They’d moved most of Elsa’s clothes, shoes and accessories over so her mother had space to move her stuff in and Elsa had her things at Hale’s. Her belongings didn’t take over the rest of the closet, but she was definitely a presence.
And now it looked like people actually lived there.
He could even smell her, a mingling of her many perfumes.
No. A mingling of her many perfumes, her natural scent, with his cologne and his scent.
It was Saturday night. They’d been in New York for five weeks.
It was the longest stretch he’d spent in one place since he inherited his father’s holdings.
He looked at Elsa’s things displayed in his closet, smelling her entwined with him.
In the last five weeks, he’d cooked more than he had in years. He’d fucked way more. He’d managed to find the time to read two entire books. Jadyn had called him when a friend of his pulled a hamstring, and he’d asked Hale to jump in as a replacement on their team for a league basketball game. Hale had said yes. Elsa had come with him, and she and Gemma sat together, watching and cheering their men on.
Hale hadn’t played a team sport since he was fifteen. He didn’t want to say it was a blast, because that would mean he’d have to admit he missed it.
But it had been a blast, and he was kind of bummed Jadyn’s friend was fit to play the next game.
In that time, Javier Rojas also said yes, and he was going with Hale to Munich.
Hale had cats. They were officially Elsa’s. They were absolutely both of theirs. Or at least Cheddar was his, and Frosty was hers, but since Cheddar was Frosty’s, the circle was complete.
Hale had a girlfriend.
No, he had a partner.
He had a life.
He had a life with Elsa.
He came out of his thoughts as she walked back in, some of her hair still up in curlers, some of it down.
She was no longer on the phone.
He started to button his shirt.
“Do I wanna know what that was about?” he asked.
“No,” she answered, spritzing with perfume.
“Tell me anyway,” he ordered.
She moved to a section of the closet that had a rail, pulled out a long blue dress, lots of sequins, one shoulder bared, cutaway back, and she hung it on a valet rail.
