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“Do you trust me enough to take care of you for the rest of your life?”
“Yes,” she whispers with tears in her eyes.
“Then, no, you didn’t miss anything. We’re on the same page.”
Her mouth moves to mine, and she kisses me sweetly, nibbling lightly on my bottom lip. I grip her ass firmly, pulling her closer.
House or no house, time to move on.
Something’s not right. I notice the minute we get out of bed that Ember is acting strange. For the last few days since the concert, she has been quiet, but I blamed it on the disappointment of the house fire. Even when I told her we were working through the negotiations to follow through on the offer, she didn’t snap out of her mood. I’ve tried to talk to her, but she insists she’s fine.
Today, she plans to work with Randy on some designs for the charity gala next month. This wouldn’t usually make me suspicious, except she’s been preoccupied about almost everything. I’ve walked in on her several times talking to herself quietly, visibly upset. Her smile is forced, and when we lie down at night, she curls into me. I wake up with her the same way; not once has she spread out. Each day when we leave for work, she hugs me a little longer. My gut tells me she’s hiding something.
“Sweetie, I’m leaving. I’ll be home by dinner. If there’s time, I may stop by the fabric market and cut some samples.” She loads her bags and looks at me.
The flash of fear in her eyes tells me she’s lying. I stalk to her and lift her onto the stool.
“You okay?”
“Yes, just tired. I didn’t sleep well, and these dresses are really important.”
“Fuck the dresses. Mom and Evelyn can afford to buy dresses. Tell them it’s too much to take on right now.”
“I can’t do that!” Her eyes avoid mine. “This is an important event, and I already promised.”
“Ember, I’m going to ask you again. Is everything okay?”
She slumps into me and puts her arms around my waist. “Yes, please stop worrying. It’ll be better after today. I promise.”
I nod against her and help her back down. When we get to the door, I kiss her gently and watch her walk to her car. Less than a minute after she pulls out of the parking lot, Finn walks out.
“We doing this?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I hope to fuck I’m wrong, but —”
“I’ve been watching out the window for a few minutes. Saw her face. She’s not herself. Something’s going on.”
I grab my bag and keys then set the alarm. When we get in his truck, I pull out my laptop and log into the tracking system. My heart sinks when I see Ember’s cell signal going in the exact opposite direction of Randy’s office. Finn backs out, and I give him instructions on where to follow.
The drive is quiet, but as soon as Ember crosses over the Alabama border, my anger spikes. “Goddamnit!” I hoped like hell she wasn’t planning to ever come back here.
“She didn’t cross into fucking Alabama, did she?” Finn questions, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
“She sure as shit did.”
“So what’s the plan now?”
“We see if she’s meeting
with her mother or trying to see her piece of shit sister. Either way, I’m going to be with her.” My chest heaves as anger pours out of me. What the hell is she thinking?
“Robbie, I understand you’re upset, but she has her reasons for coming here. Maybe she needs this.”
“I don’t give a fucking rat’s ass what she needs. She lied to me. How can I protect her when she doesn’t tell me her plans?”
He opens his mouth and closes it quickly. Then he hits me hard. “You know Declan had no idea Raven was leaving him. He was too wrapped up in his own shit to look around and see she was miserable. Hate to even ask, but did something happen with the two of you?”
“Yeah, I told her I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her! I asked her to trust me with our future. Is that so fucking bad? Don’t compare my shit to Declan’s monumental fucking screw up. He almost destroyed my sister. I’d never do that shit. Ember is too important to me. If she wanted to come here, she should have told me.”
