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Riley
“Do you think she’ll be all right?” I ask for the fifth time even as we enter my condo. It’s just Kyle and me. I finally caved, after Eve and Stasi tag-teamed me and begged me to let her stay the night.
Kyle grunts and shuts the door behind me. “My parents raised five kids. You don’t think they can keep Eve alive for one night?”
I bulge my eyes. “No, that’s not what I meant at all. Your parents are wonderful. I fear that Eve might get … I don’t know. Lonely or something.” I stop talking because I know how silly I sound.
Kyle doesn’t say anything for a long while. He looks me up and down, and I grow antsy underneath the weight of his gaze. He’s my husband and he’s drop dead gorgeous … yet, I hesitate to look at him for too long, let alone touch him.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve come to some sort of stalemate. He’s less openly antagonistic, and I’ve grown used to having him around. But when he looks at me the way he is now, that heated passion that’s always simmering beneath the surface starts to bubble up.
Or maybe it’s solely on my end.
Kyle takes a step forward, our fronts brushing against one another’s. “It’s okay if you miss her,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.
My eyes drop to his lips. How did he know that’s what I was really feeling?
I swallow before saying, “She just came back home.” I still feel like a failure for missing the signs that she wasn’t happy at school.
Kyle lifts a hand and tucks some of my hair behind my ear.
“Do you think she really likes it at Excelor? It’s only been two weeks.”
“I think she told you she likes it. We should believe her.”
My shoulders slump. “The way she keeps everything in, though. How am I supposed to believe her?”
“Truth or dare, Riley?”
I jut my head backwards. His gaze remains unwavering.
“Truth,” I answer without thinking.
“Did you really tell my mother I hated you?”
I nod.
“Why?”
“Because it’s true.”
At least, I thought it was. The way he’s looking at me now, I might not be so sure.
“You probably should,” I say.
“Because you lied to me.”
I nod. “Because I lied to you.”
“Yet, I don’t.”
A wrinkle in his forehead appears. It’s as if his statement perplexes him as well.
“I’m not letting you out of this marriage until I get appointed permanent COO and get the retribution I’m after,” he says.
I wasn’t expecting him to.
“But it’s not like we can’t enjoy some of the benefits of marriage while we’re at it.”
