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Me:Whatever. (Eye roll emoji)
Him:Try that in front of me and your eyes will be rolling into the back of your skull for sure. See you at six.
“Woo hoo!” I bounce out of the bed and don’t reply. When I open the bedroom door slowly, I see Patricia walking upstairs with my lunch tray. “Kieran and I are going on a date tonight.” I take the tray from her and put it on Kieran’s bed.
“Could be why he looked so happy this morning.”
“He looked happy?”
“Aye. The other mornings, I didn’t even want to ask him any questions. Anger hummed off his skin.” The note of fear in her voice sets me back.
Probably from his nights at the black sites. Nights he might have gone to the club to work off the anger and aggression. I stole that outlet from him, demanding he honor his vow to me. A request he agreed to when he could have blown me off.
“Thank you, Patricia, for bringing me my meals, but you don’t have to keep bringing them up here. I like this bedroom, but I want to start working down in the library again.”
“Can I give you a word of advice?”
I exhale. “Please.” Although I’m not sure where she’d start.
Looking around, she says, “This was his parents’ bedroom. It was the biggest, of course, so he wanted it. He asked me to hire a decorator to change it up, new wallcoverings and new furniture. But…”
“But…”
“This is for a bachelor.” She looks at her phone. “I’ll call the decorator back to make it how you want it. For both of you. But now, you have a date with your powerful, handsome husband. Are you excited?”
“I am. Do you know if Christian will be coming with us?”
Patricia stiffens but doesn’t say anything.
“What…what happened to him?”
She clears her throat. “It’s best you ask your husband.”
“Have you seen Christian? Please answer me. Is he hurt?” I now have these horrific images of him walking around with either a busted-up face or on crutches from a broken leg. Or maybe he’s smoking a cigarette with his left hand because Lachlan cut off his right.
“I’ve not seen him, missus.”
My stomach twists.What have I done?
“Kieran does what he thinks is best,” she says quietly. “I don’t question him. My other advice is that you don’t either.” She leaves, and I’m gobsmacked.
Feeling sick, I amble down the hall toward Shea’s bedroom, the elation of going out tonight deflating like a week-old party balloon.
Patricia said Kieran had been unhappy all week. I didn’t even think about Christian. The blood on his clothes every night. The anger coming off him. Oh, no. But today… Today he sounded happy. Maybe Christian’s on another assignment. Maybe they gave him a timeout. Maybe he quit because of what I did after realizing if it happened again, they’d certainly hurt him.
I hope he quit. I hope that’s all it is.
Opening the door to Shea’s room, the air feels stale now, or maybe it’s my mood. I consider for a second if I should move back in here. But that feels wrong. I like sleeping with my husband. I like how it feels to be held all night. Plus, a wifeshouldsleep with her husband.
The other night, he said we need to communicate better. I need to ask him directly what happened to Christian.
In the closet, I stare at the dresses hanging on the rack. It lifts my mood a little more because Kieran wants to take me out. He sounded happy and wants to be with me.
The blue high-neck, high-slit dress he bought me really hugs my curves. Will he like that for our date? I loved how I looked in it. He did buy it, after all. Then again, things got a little chaotic after the man with the knife came at me. Maybe he doesn’t remember the dress. I want to wear it, and that’s all that matters to me.
With it hanging over my shoulder, along with a pair of silver heels and my makeup bag in the other hand, I traipse back down the hall to Kieran’s bedroom, where all my toiletries are. I set them up next to his in the bathroom like we’re a real couple.
My parents didn’t share a bedroom. Hadn’t for as long as I could remember. Patricia said this was hisparents’bedroom. That meant his father didn’t pack his wife off down the hall to another room.
