Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
And yet, it hurt Quinley that the moment had had such an impact on him. Her cat was equally wounded by it.
Little rattled Isaiah. Little caused him to freeze. And never in a public setting so damn crowded would he not protest to Quinley leading as they waltzed through a store. But he hadn’t said a word when she’d drawn him outside.
Understandable. Completely. Utterly. But it still hurt.
“Let’s go home,” he said, his lips grazing her ear.
Sighing, she pulled back. Neither of them said another word as they made their way to the nearby elevator, or as they descended to the underground parkade.
With every step they took, she pretended her chest wasn’t aching. Pretended her eyes weren’t burning. Pretended her throat wasn’t thickening.
Reaching the car, he unlocked it with the key fob. “Get in, I’ll put these bags in the trunk.”
Mutely, she did so and then clicked on her seatbelt. She heard his phone chiming as he rounded to the driver’s door. Opening it, he answered the call.
He kept his phone volume lowered enough that shifters couldn’t overhear his caller’s side of the conversation even with their enhanced hearing. But she sensed from Isaiah’s responses and queries that it was Deke regarding an enforcer-related matter. It seemed that he intended to update Isaiah on incidents he’d missed.
Isaiah paused the conversation long enough to link his phone to the car’s Bluetooth, and then he continued the call as he drove. His voice was slightly stiff, but he otherwise sounded remarkably normal.
The phone conversation didn’t end until shortly before they arrived at the cul-de-sac. She opened her mouth to speak … but didn’t really know what to say. She couldn’t relate to his pain; wouldn’t have felt the same depth of it in his shoes.
But she didn’t think it wise to just pretend it away. That wouldn’t help either of them. And she didn’t want him holding his feelings inside.
Once they’d parked the car in their driveway, he scooped the bags out of the trunk and carried them inside. As they hung their coats on the rack in the hall, she asked, “Are you okay?”
His gaze snapped to hers. “Yeah.” He looked genuine. Sounded genuine. But she wasn’t convinced. She didn’t see how he could possibly be “okay.”
Following him into the living area, she said, “I don’t want to pretend that that didn’t just happen; that we didn’t see her. Let’s not do that.”
He shrugged, setting down the bags near the armchair. “I confirmed it was her. What else is there to say?”
Maybe nothing. Or maybe he just didn’t want to speak his thoughts to Quinley, worried it would make her feel bad. He wouldn’t want to hurt her.
She appreciated his sensitivity, yes, but she didn’t like the idea that he might be ignoring his own pain. Didn’t like that he’d refuse to process it in order to dance around her feelings. “Do you need some space?”
His brows flew together. “Fuck, no.”
“I can go on a run,” she offered, “or spend some time with—”
“No.” He came right to her, his expression sober. “The one thing I’ll never need from you is space.”
“I wouldn’t mind,” she assured him.
“I would.” His gaze sank into hers, uber serious. “Really, I’m good.”
“You’re mad. You’re hiding it pretty well, but I feel it.”
“Yeah, I’m mad. Mad because you and me were having a good day, and life decided to throw a glass bottle in our faces. Now you’re upset, and I don’t like it. I know how it is to stare at the person who would have claimed your mate if circumstances had been different. It isn’t fun.”
“No, it’s not. But seeing her had to have been harder for you than it was for me.”
He gave a slow shake of the head. “Remember Zaire came here but you were more bothered about how I was feeling? It’s the same situation right here.”
“You went so still.”
“Shock.”
“Right.”
Isaiah tensed. The softly spoken word hadn’t been sarcastic, but it was laced with resignation. As if she’d decided to give up on trying to reach him. Like she thought he’d simply clammed up.
In hindsight, he could have handled the moment better at the mall. He’d just been so caught up in his battle with his cat that he’d been careless with her. Shock had contributed to that, yes, but it wasn’t an excuse. She’d been rocked by it all, too. Rocked and upset and dismayed.
Yet, she hadn’t pulled away from him at the mall. She’d hugged him. Comforted him. Put him first. Even now, she was still more concerned about his feelings than her own.
That was his Quinley. That was who she was.
He hadn’t thought she’d assume that he’d be so impacted by the sight of Lucinda and her fiancé together. He had figured that, given how she reacted whenever Zaire was near him, she’d understand that Isaiah’s only thought would be for Quinley.