Chapter 23 - Lev

I thought taking Jenna to the bar downtown had brought us closer together, and it did for that night, at least. But by the next morning, she acted jittery and standoffish again. I woke up to find her already out of bed, which wasn't especially odd since she'd been studying like a fiend whenever she wasn't doing assistant duties or in a class.

Expecting to find her with her nose pressed to either a textbook or tablet, I was surprised to see her sitting on the couch with a big mug of coffee between her hands. It was full, as if she hadn't taken a sip yet, and she stared vacantly out the windows. If it hadn't been so foggy that morning, there would have been a brilliant view of the bay bridge, but I could barely see the neighboring buildings; it was so overcast and bleak.

"Crap weather," I said. "Good morning, anyway." I leaned over to kiss her, and she blinked a few times as if she was dragging herself out of thoughts as deep as the fog.

She forced a smile and looked down at her cup like she didn't understand how it got in her hands in the first place. "Oh, hi. Good morning. What time is it?"

"Still early, don't jump up or anything. Are you worried about that economics class today?"

Her smile became a little more natural. "I would have been, but I woke up to an email saying it was canceled. The professor and the assistant are sick with the same thing, so I have another week to study for that one."

"Good for you, too bad for them," I said, drifting into the kitchen area to pour my own cup of coffee.

She absently shared the class gossip that those two might have more than just a professional relationship. Getting the same cold at the same time was only going to spread the rumor. I nodded and made appropriate noises, but she didn't seem overly concerned about the salacious campus news, only talking to be talking. Her thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

Deciding it wouldn't help matters to act like a mother hen, I didn't ask if anything was wrong. With coffee in hand, I sat a few feet away from her and stretched out my legs like we were settling in for a lazy weekend, not a regular Thursday. If she needed a bit of time to process what she saw last night, then so be it.

Checking my emails put me in a grim mood. Councilman Hardy hadn't answered my last two requests. Not even something from his office saying he'd be back with me as soon as possible. It was starting to feel like I was being ignored. I needed to make sure he was on board with pushing through some new legislation that would make it easier for me to buy some properties I had my eye on, and they would need to be rezoned for business purposes.

"Feel like being my assistant today instead of sitting around?" I asked.

Instead of scowling and insisting she didn't just sit around when she was alone here, her eyes lit up. "Sure. I mean, it is my job, after all."

"School comes first," I reminded her. "If you need to study for your Econ class…"

"I'd rather staple papers together for all eternity," she said, figuring out I was teasing her.

"How about a trip to Councilman Hardy's office instead. His actual office, not campaign headquarters."

He wasn't expecting me, but that was the point. I needed to keep him on his toes and let him know I wasn't someone to ignore. Jenna brightened at the mention of her beloved councilman, and I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. She agreed and jumped up to get ready, the cobwebs clearing from her eyes.

We stopped for bagels on the way since I wanted to make sure Hardy was in his office. It would be just like him strolling in late, or having his secretary try to make that excuse. I had someone with eyes on both his office and campaign headquarters, so knew when he rolled in for the day. As soon as Jenna was done with her cinnamon raisin bagel, with peanut butter of all things, we headed over to surprise my wayward ally.

As much as it put me in a sour mood, I needed his cooperation if things would continue at a fast clip up here. It was always good to have as many politicians and important local business people in your pocket as possible, and most of the time, it was as annoying as herding cats.

"Good morning," I chirped to Hardy's secretary, noticing the way her face went pale at the unexpected sight of me.

It was clear she'd been told to keep me from accessing her boss, but I made it equally clear I knew he was there and I wouldn't be put off. All with a soft tone and a smile, so Jenna was completely unaware of the threatening undertones.

I left Jenna with the secretary while I smoothly barreled my way back to Hardy's office. Witnessing the aftermath of the attack at the bar had been a lot for her, and I didn't want to overwhelm her too much at once by making a shady deal in front of her. Especially not with her hero. For some reason, Hardy was pulling away from me, whereas when I first arrived in San Francisco, he'd been eager to team up. I had to figure out why he was suddenly being such a pain in the ass.

The man had always had his eye on running for mayor and even moving higher in the political sphere, and up until recently, he'd always been a major yes man since I assured him I'd use my resources to get him there. If he stayed in line.

"What's this about?" he asked by way of greeting, acting irritated that I dropped in without an appointment.

I hid my bad mood to find the reason for his change of heart. It was imperative that I knew where all the players stood on the gameboard of my life. Max had been able to get a little bit of information out of the guy we caught at the scene last night and it seemed like things were only going to get worse if we couldn't find out who was ordering the hits.

Hardy's new attitude put me on high alert since it coincided with the most recent attack.

"I hadn't heard from you about the new proposition," I said, keeping my face and tone coldly neutral.

He waved for me to have a seat, but I remained standing, forcing him to either look up at me or jump out of his own seat. He was thrown off, and his irritation turned to confusion, his already florid face turning a brighter shade of red.

"Everything is going along according to plan. I feel confident I have the votes necessary to pass it," he said, rubbing his hand across the strands of hair still clinging to his balding head.

"That's great," I said. "And could have been sent in an email." I let my lip curl into a half smile. I wasn't joking, and he knew it, growing more restless to be called out.

"I've been busy," he said. "I'm busy now."

I raised a brow at the apparent attempt to dismiss me. "Your secretary offered to give my assistant a tour," I told him, leaning against the closed door and continuing to stare him down.

A bead of sweat rose on his brow, and he nodded. "Certainly. She's more than welcome."

He really wanted me gone, though. I gave him a dark glare, not moving an inch as he put his hand on his phone then slapped it down on some papers on his desk. I finally let him off the hook.

"I'll wait for them outside and let you get back to your important work," I said, freeing him to slump with relief.

I could have caused a scene, but I preferred to bide my time until I had more information. So far, there was no evidence that Hardy was involved in the recent attacks, and if he was involved at all, he was most likely just a pawn. Easy to knock out of the game if he made the wrong move. Which he would have done if he had been stupid enough to try to move against me.

In the outer office, I met up with Jenna and the secretary coming out of the break room, heads together in deep conversation as if they'd been friends for years. I smiled broadly at my wife, no longer trying to hide my emotions, as if I could have when it came to her.

They didn't notice me, and the secretary moved on to show her the meeting room. Seeing Jenna's enthusiasm blotted out my bad mood, like the sun finally burning through the clouds outside the windows. I'd scheduled a meeting with Vera after this impromptu visit, but I took out my phone and canceled it. I wouldn't have heard a word she said anyway, not with Jenna waiting patiently in the corner, taking notes.

No, it was turning out to be a beautiful day, bright and clear and not one to waste in an office. The thought of going home to the rather bleak apartment didn't thrill me, and it hit me that it was well past time to start looking for a proper home. One that Jenna could fill up with memories and keepsakes and decorate to her heart's content.

She didn't think I noticed where her eyes went as we walked along the city streets together. I noticed every longing glance into shop windows. When I asked why she didn't start decorating the apartment, she always claimed she was too busy with schoolwork. But I thought it was because she knew it was just a temporary abode for us, and her frugal ways wouldn't allow her to spend money freely yet.

Calling up my real estate agent, she agreed to drop everything to show us some places that afternoon. She rightly saw a huge commission on the horizon and assured us she'd only show us the best houses on her roster.

"We're doing what?" Jenna asked when we were back in the car. Her eyes grew huge, and her mouth temporarily dropped open. "House hunting? Why?"

"We need a place to live," I said. "Don't you want someplace more permanent?"

"I'm, uh, starting to get attached to the views at the apartment," she said, twisting her fingers together.

"Wait until you see some of these views," I told her, writing off her trepidation to that thriftiness that didn't let her immediately accept something from me. I put my hand on her arm. "This is for us," I said.

She relaxed somewhat, but Jenna seemed to go into a shell once Lenore started showing us some of the most impressive mansions in the area. She trailed behind us, not offering much commentary, except to nitpick and find fault in the most minor things.

Each one had more luxurious gardens and grander views than the next. But there were either too many bathrooms or not enough. The kitchen was in a weird spot, or the master bedroom didn't have a balcony. Lenore and I tried tag teaming her, pointing out that any of her qualms could easily be remedied by hiring a contractor, but Jenna didn't think we should have to spend so much money and then have to do construction on top of it.

I was starting to think she was making excuses, pretending not to like the gorgeous houses in which I could easily see us spending the rest of our life together. I started watching her eyes, and they weren't matching up with the discontent coming out of her mouth. For some reason, she was lying, making up reasons to dismiss each place.

Did she still not accept that we were forever?

The way she'd blurted out to Max that we were still figuring things out came back to me. That had almost been our first argument, and now I wondered if that was how she still felt. But why?

I was about to call it a day, to give Jenna some space, but Lenore insisted on the last one, saying she'd been holding it back. As we pulled up the quaint, winding lane that was lined with wisteria trees, Jenna leaned forward a little, intrigued for the first time.

The mansion sat at the end of the private drive, with a tidy brick exterior crawling with ivy and rose trellises. Four big picture windows glistened in the sunshine on the first level, reflecting back the neatly trimmed lawn and flowerbeds. The second level had a wrought iron balcony stretching across the length of the house, lined with potted fruit trees. Jenna's chin was almost on her chest, her longing impossible to hide.

It wasn't the biggest by far, but as we toured the inside, Jenna grew animated for the first time at all the historical charm. The view out the back had us both gasping, overlooking acres of rolling vineyards. She was practically drooling as she struggled to come up with something she didn't like about it. We went back downstairs and outside into a garden that was a riot of color and lush green foliage with stepping stones dotting a path through it to a secret spot with a marble bench and a fountain. Jenna's look told me all I needed to know.

"We'll take it," I told Lenore before Jenna had a chance to come up with some fake complaint. "Make it happen as soon as possible."

She hurried off with glee in her eyes, already getting on her phone as she left us alone in the garden.

Jenna turned to me, her eyes welling up. "Why did you do that?" she asked, a note of desperation in her voice.

I took her by the shoulders, leading her to the bench. Our bench. "I don't know why you're trying to pretend you don't absolutely adore this place. It's clear that you do. I can see it in your eyes."

"Did you even see the price?"

"Doesn't matter," I told her. "The way you looked at it does."

With a long sigh, she had to admit the truth. "It's wonderful. It's like it came straight from my dreams. But…"

I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head. "What's that ‘but' about?" I urged.

She melted against me, wrapping her arms around my middle. "It's nothing. This place is beautiful, and I know we'll be so happy here. I'm just a little stunned, I guess."

Her voice still didn't match her words, sounding a bit off. Could she be worried about the money, or was it something more? Something to do with my own fears that she still didn't see us as being forever? Then she leaned back and tipped her chin up for a kiss, and I chalked up my worries to my earlier paranoia over the councilman.

She was right. We were going to be happy here, blissfully so, and I eagerly lowered my head to claim her lips in our new garden hideaway.