Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

VIOLET

B eing with Zane might work out better than I originally thought. He seems nice enough and the sex is to die for . I haven’t spent a ton of time with him, but every second I do, I find myself warming up to him more and more.

The looming headache I had earlier has all but disappeared after our morning round between the sheets. I might as well be productive today. I have plans to look at some office spaces and have a ton of things on my to-do list, as per usual. I can be lazy another day.

After returning to my house and showering, I head out to meet the realtor. I arrive at the first location a few minutes early, just as my phone vibrates with a text from Cassie.

WELL?

Well, what?

Don’t play dumb, Vi. How’d it go with Zane? Do you still like him sober and when you aren’t recovering from a migraine?

It went well. Seeing him tonight.

The realtor shows up, so I stow away my phone and get on with my business. I recently had a product launch and it’s doing better than I could’ve hoped for. I need more space to accommodate the orders. If it continues doing well, I need to get a little more official with an office space and some employees.

The fourth location ends up being the one. It’s the perfect size. Back at home, I ignore Cassie’s questions and catch up on some work for my new product. So far, I’ve stuck to digital patterns, but I’m expanding to kits that will include everything needed to complete the pattern as well as designing needle minders.

“Violet?”

I jump up from the desk in my office at the sound of Zane’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” he says as we meet in the hallway. “I tried knocking, using the doorbell, and texting. I think your doorbell may be broken. Brought these for you.” He hands me a small bouquet of daisies.

“It’s okay. I was working and thank you.” For a moment, all I can do is stick my nose into the flowers. No one has given me flowers before. Ever. It’s such a simple gift yet I feel as if he’s given me a hidden treasure. Swallowing hard, I remember he’s here to pick me up and add, “Give me five minutes?”

He nods and surprises me by following me to my bedroom.

“No privacy?” I tease.

“You’re my wife and I’ve seen you naked. I can’t watch you change?”

I laugh. “No, it’s still too soon.”

“How was your day?” he asks, moving the conversation right along.

When I glance over my shoulder, I smile at the sight. Zane sits on the edge of the bed with his gaze on his hands. He’s not actually watching me. I don’t care, honestly, but how sweet that he’s being mindful of my teasing. Just in case.

“Good. Got some work done. You?”

“Good. Excited to see Savannah. She’s a cute little kid and she loves me for some reason. She even named her favorite stuffed animal after me.”

I smile. They both sound sweet.

A few minutes later as we exit my bedroom, the front door slams shut. Graham. He stops short upon seeing Zane with me.

“You finally manage to get a guy to come around more than once, Vi?” he sneers. My body tenses; I don’t understand what I did to Graham for him to hate me so much. All I’ve done is try to take care of him. Hell, he’s twenty with no job and I am still taking care of him.

“Where have you been?” I force myself to ask. He’s been gone for three days.

“Where I go is none of your fucking business.”

I sigh. I don’t even know why I ask anymore. “There’s dinner in the fridge.”

He heads that way and at the last second turns. “I need some more money.”

“For what?” I ask. I put money in his account not even a week ago.

“Because I got shit to buy, Vi,” he replies as if it’s obvious.

“You’ve spent all the money I just gave you? On what ?” I ask incredulously. I should keep better tabs on him. The last thing I need is for him to turn out like our parents. A hand on my waist startles me. I forgot Zane was here.

“What I buy is none of your fucking business either. You gonna give me some or not?” His gaze moves to Zane. “Moving on to married men, Vi?” Graham shakes his head. “Why am I not surprised that’s the kind of slut you are. Him buying you jewelry doesn’t mean shit either. You’re still his piece of ass on the side.”

I blink.

And then blink again.

My eyes burn with the need to cry over how hurtful his words are. Every day, it seems his words get harsher and harsher. I don’t even know why he thinks I sleep around; I don’t bring guys around all that often.

For the billionth time, I remind myself he’s still struggling with the tragedy that hit our family. My soul aches, wishing I knew how to make him happy again. My brother used to be so sweet. I don’t even know if he’s still in there somewhere.

“Talk like that to her one more time and I’ll knock you flat on your ass,” Zane warns.

I grab his wrist, squeezing. I don’t need him getting involved. “Let’s just go.”

Graham, apparently done being an asshole for the moment, disappears into the kitchen. I pull Zane out of the house. Embarrassed doesn’t even begin to explain how I feel right now.

“We’re gonna have words about him at some point,” Zane warns.

“Can we forget it?”

“For now.”

He keeps his promise. Zane tells me a little more about the Rhetts as if he didn’t just witness what he did and soon, he knocks on their door with one hand holding mine and the other holding a big bag of candy. A little girl answers the door wearing a mermaid costume. A smile quickly lifts her lips.

“Z!” she squeals.

“Little Miss, what did we tell you about opening the door?” Ian says as he rounds the corner.

“But it’s Z, Daddy!” she replies with a hint of duh in her tone.

“Yeah, I see that; you still aren’t supposed to open the door. Come on in, Z. Hey, Violet.”

It’s as if Savannah finally realizes I’m with Zane. She frowns. “Who are you?”

“This is my friend, Violet,” Zane tells her.

She eyes me warily before she gets distracted by the candy in Zane’s hand. We don’t make it too far into the house before the door opens behind us.

“Lo-Lo!” Savannah abandons us and runs over to a man who walks in with a woman.

I watch as yet another man who is clearly wrapped around this little girl’s finger greets her as if she is also their favorite person. My chest burns at the sight of all the love in the room. The ache grows when Sydney rounds the corner with a little boy walking next to her, holding her hand.

This is what I miss. Cassie is great and all, but she’s just one person and she’s not my parents. She’s not my grandma. They are all gone. For his attitude, Graham might as well be gone too. It feels like they’ve been gone forever. Like it’s been so long since we were all in a room together, just enjoying time with the people we love. It’s heartbreaking to think I might never experience that again.

“Violet? You okay?” Zane asks me softly. It takes me a moment to realize we’re the only ones left in the foyer.

“Yeah. Sorry, let’s catch up with them.”

He eyes me for a moment before tugging me through the house. Everyone takes a seat at the table and Zane leads us to a pair of chairs.

“What are you waiting on, little Miss?” Ian asks Savannah, who stands off to the side.

“I want to sit next to Lo-Lo and Z.”

Lo-Lo sits across from Zane, but her dad has an easy solution. “Come sit with me then.” He holds his hand out to her and she climbs into his lap as he sits at the head of the table between them.

“Violet, this is Logan, my brother, and his girlfriend, Kayla. Violet is Zane’s girlfriend,” Sydney says.

We exchange pleasantries as everyone seems to dive in to make their plates.

“Did you find an office space, Violet?” Sydney asks. I’m surprised she paid attention and remembered the latest with my job.

“I did, yeah.”

Sydney asks me a few more questions about my work, which leads Kayla to asking more about what I do as well. It’s nice to get to know these people better, especially since they seem to be good friends with Zane. I’m surprised when Kayla takes interest in my work, even asking if I’m looking for help as she’d love to find new part-time work. The interest gives me a little anxiety, though. Hopefully, it doesn’t show. I don’t exactly know any of these people and having someone else get involved in my business is something I haven’t quite got over yet.

Sydney also invites me to an upcoming home game, which I promise to consider attending. I want more people in my life so bad, yet I hesitate to welcome them in at the same time. There were people in my life and they’ve either died or let me down catastrophically. Part of me retains an irrational fear that it’ll continue to happen.

“How was trick-or-treating?” Zane asks Ian. Or maybe Savannah, but Ian answers him.

“The spouses put together like a mini fall festival for the kids, so she got to play some games and then go trunk-or-treating. You had fun, didn’t you, Savannah?”

She nods as she takes a bite of a chicken nugget. It’s kind of surprising to hear a group of spouses put together an event for the kids, but maybe that’s normal with them? No wonder Zane said they were like a family.

After dinner, Zane and Logan end up playing hide-and-seek with Savannah. I help Sydney and Kayla clean up in the kitchen.

“Can I ask a personal question?” Sydney asks me.

“Sure.”

“What made you marry Zane? Like how did it actually happen?”

Kayla gives me a surprised glance, that likely mirrors the look I’m giving Sydney.

“Zane didn’t tell y’all?”

She shakes her head. “He just told us he got married in Vegas. He hasn’t shared many details. Is that the ring?” She nods toward my right hand. When I nod, she adds, “It’s gorgeous.”

“Thanks.” I’m not sure if I should divulge details if Zane hasn’t. “Let’s save the story for another day.” Once I can ask Zane what he wants to share.

Before I know it, we’re heading out. It was a nice night. If I was unsure of Sydney before, I can easily confirm she seems like a nice person after tonight. It’s also clear she and Ian think highly of Zane and wish to see him happy.

It’s not until I realize we’re heading to my house that I feel a tad disappointed to not be going to Zane’s. We haven’t spent any time alone since he’s been home except for last night. But my disappointment was for nothing.

“Can I stay?” Zane asks as he parks in my driveway.

“I’m not sure; you like to keep me up late and leave me tired the next morning.”

That boyish grin appears. “Tired, but satisfied, right?”

With a shake of my head, I laugh. “I have a lot of work to do today still. And there’s Graham.” Surprisingly, his car is home.

Zane frowns. “So…” His voice trails off.

“You can stay as long as you behave.” It’s so easy to fall in bed with him and I really want to get a few more things done. I also don’t want another confrontation with Graham.

Zane crosses his heart. “You’ll barely know I’m here.” As if he’s worried I’ll change my mind, he gets out and rushes around to open my door for me.

Once inside, Zane takes a seat on the couch and I step into my office to grab my laptop before returning to sit next to him, handing him the remote.

“You seem to work a lot,” Zane comments as he turns on the TV and flips through the channels.

“Hazard of being your own boss and only employee. I don’t make money unless I’m regularly tending to my business. It’s bad enough that my migraines get in the way.”

“Do you take vacations? Time off?”

“The first time I purposely took time off in the past five years was for that bachelorette party.” Before I can stop myself, I speak my other thought. “And why would I take a vacation by myself? What would I do with time off? What’s the point?”

Zane frowns. “To relax. Your friend Cassie could go with you.”

“I suppose.” I turn my attention to my laptop.

Only fifteen minutes pass before Zane speaks. “So, ah, would you want to come over to my house for Thanksgiving? My parents will be flying in.”

My chest seizes. “Can I think about it?”

“Absolutely,” he answers easily. He hesitates and then adds, “Graham can come if you want.”

All I can hear in my mind is how his mother is understandably pissed over his recent life choices. Is it really a good idea for us to meet? I don’t exactly have a good answer for my decision either. Nor do I want Graham and Zane spending a lot of time together.

“Can I see what you’re working on?” Zane asks after about another ten minutes.

I raise an eyebrow at him. “I thought I wouldn’t know you’re here.”

He laughs softly. “Right. Sorry.”

I scoot closer to him and show him my screen after finding what I want. “Here are some of my designs. I like to do landscapes, puns, animals, and things for commemoration. And I’ll do some that…that I know my grandma would enjoy doing.”

It’s a little nerve-racking to have him look at what I do. Does he like it? Does he simply want to feign interest?

“That’s pretty cool. People seem to love them.” He points at the reviews and ratings for one of the designs. “Over five thousand for just that one.”

I nod. “I try not to pay too close attention to reviews. I create what I want and if someone else likes it, that’s great. But reading too many reviews just gets in my head and messes me up. If they really have a complaint, they email it.”

“Do you actually stitch any of these?” Zane asks.

“Yeah, come on; I’ll show you.” I stand and lead him into my office. After depositing my laptop on my desk, I motion to the walls. The only thing on the walls are finished patterns I’ve stitched. “I like to stitch each of them to have a photo and it helps with ensuring the pattern comes out the way I want. I have some pattern testers who do it for me too, but I feel better if I do it myself as well.”

“This is pretty cool. What?” Zane asks as I raise an eyebrow at him.

“You honestly like what I do for a living?” No one has ever shown a ton of interest or appreciation for my designs. My grandma would have loved them, though, I’m certain.

“Yeah. I mean, you clearly have a passion for it and anyone who gets to do their passion every day is lucky. Not everyone gets to do that like we do.”

I nod, feeling a little guilty for being skeptical. Zane takes me by the hips and walks me backward.

“I think I need to get more familiar with this room,” he says as he ushers me into the bedroom, closing the door behind us.

“Maybe I’m not done working.”

“Might as well be,” he replies as he lays me down.

I can’t help but laugh at him using my own words against me. Zane explains that he’s leaving tomorrow for a road game and he wants to take advantage of the time he’s with me. How can I say no to that? One of the irresistible things about him is that Zane oozes comfort. I certainly don’t mind spending time with him in whatever way he wants.

In the back of my mind, though, I can’t help but feel like life is going too smoothly right now. When will the other shoe drop and ruin everything?