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She waved the now half-eaten piece of bacon in front of me. “I didn’t realize I’d said fighting words.”
I snatched the bacon and polished it off.
“Hey! Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had food like this?” She leaned back in the diner booth. “It’s so good, but I think I’ve overdone it.”
“And you’re admitting that?”
She used to eat heartily. I didn’t like the idea of her not getting the proper nutrition. She’d always been thin, and she still was. But why didn’t she eat?
“It’s the sugar. And the grease.” She looked down at her mostly empty plate. She’d demolished the blueberry pancakes. Actually, it was more like she’d had syrup with a side of pancakes.
“Do they not have good food like this in London?” I pushed my plate away.
“I try to take care of myself.” She wiped her mouth with her napkin. “And I know me well enough to realize if I have all the things I’m not supposed to, I can’t stop.”
Somehow I felt like that applied to me too.
But I didn’t mind. Maybe that meant she wouldn’t be able to let me go.
“I doubt you wanted my thoughts about proper nutrition.” I had plenty of opinions on that, but was sure she didn’t want to hear them.
“There are only days until the wedding.”
I had the sudden urge to turn over this table and thrash the entire restaurant.
She’s your wife.
That eased my temper a fraction. Legally, she was, but that wasn’t enough.
“What’s smarter?” She continued as if a war weren’t taking place in my head. “To keep behaving normally? Or to take charge?”
“Is ignoring your father’s phone calls normal?” I inclined my head toward the device, which lit up again.
I couldn’t imagine Ma calling me like that under any circumstance unless it was a dire emergency. What did her father do to her? What kind of power did he have over her?
“Not really.” Her shoulders slumped.
I couldn’t stand that anyone had the ability to diminish her fire.
“What’s the end game here?” I was playing blind but had no doubt I was definitely a player.
“Freedom.”
The word was spoken so softly, I almost didn’t hear it. I reached for her hand. My instinct had always been to protect her. Always. And now, it had just ramped up another notch.
I’d had one conversation with her father and understood her fear. Power radiated from him. But I intended to have another one with him and soon. What he’d allowed to happen to Beau—tomy wife—was unacceptable.
Gently, I squeezed her uninjured fingers. “It’s yours. Take it.”
“It’s not that simple,” she whispered. “I have to be smart. He’s always five steps ahead.”
Had she lived with this fear all her life? As I dug through memories from long ago, I realized that yes, she had been scared of him back then too.
She was mine now. Even if it was only temporary. And I’d protect her with everything I had.
“Stop playing his game.”
She gaped at me.
