Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Sometimes I wonder if you actually love my cooking or you just love food.”
His arms were spread over the sides of the tub as he lounged there, most of his chest exposed above the water line. “I do have a soft spot for pizza. It’s the kind of food that’s never bad.”
“Fair,” I said. “I’m glad you rehired Aldo.”
“I never really fired him. After you left, I went downstairs and told him to put his stuff away.”
“Good.” I’d felt terrible that I was responsible for what happened. If I’d just listened to Aldo, he wouldn’t have lied and gotten himself canned. “I felt so bad.”
“Don’t. He shouldn’t have lied, especially about something like that.” He grabbed his wineglass and took a drink. “I told him he would be unemployed if he ever chose to speak on my behalf that way again.”
“He was probably just afraid of your reaction when I broke down your door—”
“I don’t care. It’s unacceptable to tell my wife I’ve been unfaithful when I haven’t been.”
That made me feel wonderful…and also shitty. “So…you weren’t with anyone else?” I assumed that was the answer, but I wanted to know for certain.
His beautiful eyes suddenly turned hostile. “You have a lot of gall to ask me that.”
“I assumed no, but I just wanted to—”
“You didn’t assume if you had to ask,” he snapped. “And no, there was no one else. There’s never been anyone else since the moment you agreed to marry me.”
My eyes dropped to the bubbles on the surface. “I wasn’t with anyone—”
“I assumed so.” His deep voice commanded me to look at him again. “That’s what trust looks like.”
Everything had been perfect the last two days, but now it all went to shit. “I didn’t mean to offend you—”
“But you did.”
“We weren’t together. It’s not like you would have been cheating—”
“Physically together or apart, we’re together as far as I’m concerned.”
“I just want to make it clear I wasn’t accusing you of anything,” I said. “So please stop jumping down my throat.”
He looked away, grabbed his glass, and downed the rest of the contents. He returned it and stared at it a moment longer before he looked at me again. A slow breath moved into his chest and then out again. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
The tightness in my chest evaporated.
“That was a hard time for me. Anytime I think about it…” He looked at the empty wineglass again.
“It’s okay.”
Silence trickled by, and he stared at the open bottle of wine like he was considering pouring another glass, but his mind must have been somewhere else because he didn’t reach for it. “What are your plans for the restaurant?” Maybe he asked because he really wanted the answer, or maybe he just wanted to change the subject.
“Um, I kinda dropped everything this last week. But I signed a lease for that hole-in-the-wall we saw together.”
He looked at me again. “I thought we agreed a bigger place was more suitable.”
“The bank wouldn’t give me a bigger loan than what they offered, so that was all I could afford.”
“We’ll cancel the lease.”
“That’s not how it works. I’m committed for the next year.”
“That’s a problem I can fix.”
“How?”
“Money.”
“Axel, it’s fine. I don’t mind opening a smaller place, and I’d rather not waste money.”
“You’ll waste more money running that little place and expanding later rather than doing it right from the beginning. I really think your food deserves something much grander, something that attracts the wealthy people of this city. That hole-in-the-wall place blends in with everything else on the street. It’s saturated. You need something that stands out.”
“I think it’s fine—”
“Well, I don’t,” he said. “My family and I own lots of businesses throughout the city, so I know a thing or two about this sort of enterprise. Let me help you.”
My arms crossed over my chest under the water.
“You wouldn’t have signed that lease if things had been different.”
If my father hadn’t sabotaged my life.
He never actually said the words, but it was clear in his gaze.
I stared at the surface of the water because I knew it was coming. Could feel it in the air, the tension that was about to combust out of nothingness.
“Baby—”
“I’m not ready.” I swallowed, feeling the burn in the roof of my mouth.
He stared at me in silence, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine as the seconds ticked by. He inhaled a slow breath. “I’m sorry, but you need to face it. As much as I’ve enjoyed this honeymoon, we have to get back to reality.”
I locked my gaze on the water, fighting back the anguish that started to flood my veins. “I can’t.”
“You can,” he said gently. “I’m here with you.”
I closed my eyes for a moment before I lifted my stare.
His gaze was patient. Loving. Kind.
“I know how hard this is for you,” he whispered. “I wish…I wish it weren’t true.”