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“Sounds like personal experience,” Gate observed.
“It is,” Jenna nodded.
“Anna used to have girlfriends,” Gate mused.
“She had compound friends. That’s different,” Jenna corrected.
Gate frowned, “It is?”
“Think about it from her perspective,” Jenna explained, waving a handful of forks. “You two were married, you loved each other, but those compound women were only friends with her to solidify their place in the pack. Maybe even to get closer to you. Those relationships were probably more about you than her.”
Gate’s frown deepened, “I’ve never thought about it that way.”
Jenna lifted a shoulder and quit with the fork waving, “Even if your relationship was solid, that’s a lot of pressure. And now….”
“Gonna be hard for her to come back,” Gate finished.
“Nearly impossible,” Jenna agreed, sliding into the space just below Talon’s shoulder that looked like it was created just for her.
“Giving you the truth, Gate,” Talon broke in, “assuming coming back is something she’d even consider, with what she’s seen around the compound, there’s not really any reason for her to want to.”
“Gonna take a big statement,” Gate thought out loud.
“Huge,” Jenna said. “Like whatever kind of statement you’re thinking, make it bigger. I don’t think she’ll make it through dinner.”
Gate sighed and looked around the kitchen, “Mind if I just pack hers up and take her home?”
Jenna left Talon’s side and started reaching into cabinets for containers. “No problem. I’ll pack enough for two, and then whatever happens, happens.” She threw an encouraging smile over her shoulder.
Gate leaned his ass against the counter of the island, crossed his arms over his chest, and wondered why he’d thought this would be easy. Maybe because things between him and Anna had been when they were younger. Or maybe they’d been easy for him and he’d never really thought about what the compound had been like for her.
He’d treated her like his queen. And as far as he knew, so had everybody else. But maybe that hadn’t been the case at all.
And when he thought about how successful she was now, how professional, how accomplished, he couldn’t imagine her ever wanting to come back to a compound full of groupies he’d passed time while she’d been gone, whether they’d been divorced or not.
Fuck, but he was in a hard spot.
And that’s when a ringtone erupted from the purse she’d left in a chair off the kitchen.
Gate crossed to the chair and looked down.
Brent.
Anna must’ve heard the ringing because she flew down the stairs, face composed, and held her hand out for the phone before she even reached Gate.
Gate pulled the phone out of Anna’s bag and handed it to her.
“That’s our 911 tone,” she said by way of explanation.
Anna swiped across the screen to answer, “What happened?”
Gate watched her frown. And then frown some more.
“I’ve got it,” she went on. “No, I’ll go. Yeah, I’ll let you know.”
Anna ended the call and turned to Jenna, “I’m so sorry, but it’s an emergency at work, and I’ve got to go.”
Jenna crossed the kitchen with a paper sack full of take away containers, silk flowing behind her. “Of course.” She passed the sack to Anna, “Is there anything we can do?”
