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She sat up a little straighter, picking up on his body language. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Us.”
Her lips thinned as she rolled them. “What about us?”
“Are you happy, Brie?”
She frowned, her shoulders squaring. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s a simple enough question.”
“Of course I’m happy.”
To him, of course was a little like fine. A throwaway comment to avoid an uncomfortable conversation.
“I’m not.”
Brie crossed then uncrossed her legs. Picked up her pen. Put it down. Stared at him as if she’d decided to wait for him to expand or maybe, withdraw his statement.
“I see.”
“Do you?” He leaned his forearms on her desk and knitted his hands together. “When was the last time we had sex?”
She glanced at the doorway, then shifted in her seat. “I don’t think this is an appropriate conversation for me to have while I’m at work, Zane.”
“I agree, but since you’re always at work, even when you’re at home, when would you suggest is a good time for us to have this conversation?”
Her lips parted, and her shoulders dropped a couple of inches. “That’s not fair.”
“I think it’s entirely fair, and if you are honest with yourself, you’ll agree with me.” He rubbed a palm over his mouth. “I tried to talk to you last night, and look where that ended up. You, in my office, working.”
“I had a crisis!” She stood.
He did the same.
“There’s always a crisis. Don’t you see? We’re not going anywhere, Brie.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I want us to go for walks through the park, enjoy weekends away without our phones, sit on the couch laughing at some stupid comedy show. I crave intimacy, closeness, friendship. And I thought I could have all those things with you. But lately.” He lowered his chin, shaking his head. “No, not lately. For months, we haven’t behaved like a couple.”
“My career is important to me, Zane.”
Her cheeks had reddened, and her fisted hands on her hips sent a clear message that she wasn’t in a receptive mood for this kind of conversation. But putting it off any longer wasn’t an option. Not for him. He knew what needed to be done even if ripping off the Band-Aid wouldn’t be easy.
“I know. And I get it. Necron is just as important to me, but you’ve lost your perspective, Brie. Even after dinner the other night, the minute we got outside the restaurant, you were on your phone. You barely said goodnight to Calum and Laurella, too busy staring at that damned screen that’s glued to your hand twenty-four seven.”
Her voice grew more irritated. “I told you what happened.”
“Yeah. You had another crisis.” He stepped around her desk until he was right in front of her. “Don’t you see, there will always be a crisis, always something to drag our attention away from each other. And each time that happens, we have a choice. The problem, Brie, is that you’ve made yours. You’re just not ready to acknowledge it.”
She stared at him for a moment, and then she nodded, a resigned sigh spilling from her lips. “So you’re acknowledging it for me.”
He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “One of us has to face up to reality, Brie.”
She captured his hand, her grip tight. “I do love you.”
“I know. Just not enough, right?”
“I guess not.” She tried to smile, but it fell short. “We did have some good times, didn’t we?”
“Yeah. We did.”
