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“Seriously cute.”
“I’m not scared of your brother.”
“You don’t need to be. He’d never harm you. Dax is no angel, but he’s no monster either. Still, he has a way of getting whatever he wants. He convinced you to marry him, didn’t he? That’s evidence of it right there.”
Point well made.
∞∞∞
Entering the villa later on, I stopped in the doorway of the living area as I clocked Dax sitting on the sofa, a hardcover in hand, with Gypsy curled up against his thigh. Both man and animal looked up at me. Gypsy did no more than blink at me before again closing her eyes. Dax, however, focused on me in his usual intent way.
“Hey,” I said, flicking his book a brief glance. I’d learned he was well-read. He largely stuck to works of non-fiction, though he did enjoy horror novels. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be home.” Mostly because he’d left before I woke, and I hadn’t heard from him throughout the day.
“I’ve only been back an hour. I …” He trailed off as his gaze fell to my bandaged wrist, and his face darkened. “The fuck?”
“I didn’t hurt myself,” I quickly assured him when he shot to his feet. “It’s just a tattoo.”
His brow denting, he placed his hardcover on the coffee table. “A tattoo?”
“Yeah. Caelan did it for me.” I crossed to Gypsy and scratched her head. “He wouldn’t accept payment,” I complained, “so I’m going to have to sneak money into his wallet the next time he’s here. He says hi, by the way.”
“You went to his shop hoping he could squeeze you in?”
“No. I had an appointment. I made it last week.”
There was a beat of silence. “You never said anything about it.” There was an accusatory note in that otherwise flat statement.
I double-blinked. “You’re never interested in what I’m doing.”
“What gave you that impression?”
Was he serious? Because helookedit. Which was weird, considering … “You communicate it well.”
He arched a questioning brow. “How, exactly?”
“Whenever I told you in the past that I was going here or there, your only response was a hum. Half the time, you didn’t even look at me. I got the hint that you didn’t care to hear where I’d be going or what I’d be doing.” I gave him an easy smile. “It’s fine. I’m not upset about it.” Disappointed, maybe. Even a fake friend might ask if you had plans.
“What you do is of interest to me,” he stated firmly.
“I’m not saying you don’t wish to hear about itat all. You listen when I later tell you how my day went. I’m saying you don’t wish to hear in advance what my plans are. If you did, you’d ask. You never do. And like I said, it’s fine.”
Pausing, I tipped my head to the side. “Your brothers didn’t mention my appointment to you? Drey said you had lunch with them a few days ago. I suppose they just assumed you knew about it.”
“How did Drey know?” Dax asked, his eyes going flinty.Someonewas feeling left out, apparently.
“I bumped into him when I went to see Harri at her doggy day care center—he was there with Sabre who, on another note, is in fact a complete nut. Anyway, Drey asked if I’d be working this weekend. When I said no, he asked how I planned to spend my time off.”
It was nothing short of sad that his brothers showed more interest in my life than Dax did. And maybe he was considering that, because his lips pursed in thought and his gaze turned inward. Right up until the doorbell rang.
I felt my brows meet. “Are you expecting anyone?”
He gave his head a small shake and strode out of the room. I slowly trailed behind him, wondering if maybe it was Rafael Cabello—the guy was a regular visitor. I heard the front door creak open a mere moment before I reached the living room doorway. From there, I watched as a figure practically launched themselves at Dax with a squealed, “Hi!”
I halted, taken aback as slim arms looped around his neck. Slim,femininearms. An ugly lance of dark emotion stabbed my chest.
From this angle, I couldn’t see the woman’s face—it seemed to be pressed against his chest—but I already wanted to slap it.
I also wanted to slaphim.He was letting her touch him … why? Had he forgotten he was married? Did how I might feel about this not matter?She’d better be a freaking relative of his or I was gonna make that motherfucker bleed.
