Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Feeling my nose wrinkle, I shook my head. “I don’t think we can make this work.”

“Me neither.” Sabrina waved a hand at the function room we stood in, which was much like a contemporary ballroom. “This place is perfect for their vision, but it doesn’t have ample space for seating—they have a huge guest list.”

I nodded, worrying my lower lip. “If they’re willing to shorten the list, we could make it happen. I’m just not sure if they’ll agree to.”

“They might. I mean, it seemed like they had their heart set on throwing the party here.”

“That’s true.” A set of three siblings wanted to throw a wedding anniversary shindig for their parents, and they hoped to hold the event here, where their parents’ wedding reception took place. “I’ll call them later and see in what ways they’re willing to compromise.”

As we exited the room and began a slow walk down a very grand hallway, Sabrina said, “It is a beautiful venue. It reminds me a little of where you got married.”

“It has the same timeless vibe,” I agreed.

It would be exactly three weeks ago tomorrow that I made my vows to Dax. At this point, I was settled in my new home—as was Gypsy, though she sometimes visited Alicia.

Dax and I had fallen into a steady routine. We ate breakfast together, went to work, came home, had dinner while sharing anecdotes about each other’s day, and then generally indulged in some alone time to wind down.

I usually watched TV in the living room or did a little reading in my office. He typically either went for a swim or spent time on his laptop while relaxing on either the patio, our bedroom balcony, or his own home office.

Then we’d go to bed, and he’d fuck me like he had no other purpose in life.

“I haven’t yet convinced Marleigh to let me name her baby,” said Sabrina, pulling me out of my thoughts.

The absurd statement made me smile. “I doubt you will.”

“We should remain hopeful.”

“Why would I hope she allows you to do it?”

Sabrina threw me an “Are you dumb?” look. “You know how she and Ollie are. They’ll name the baby something boring and old people-y. Like Bessie or Reginald.” She shuddered.

“There’s nothing wrong with those names.”

“Boring and old people-y,” Sabrina repeated. “She and Ollie should leave it up to me—I will give the baby an awesome name.”

“I really don’t see them handing you that power, but keep nagging them if you must.”

“I must, or the child will be bullied for life.”

“Speaking of your sister … Don’t forget we’re taking her shopping for baby stuff this weekend.” Alicia and Harri would also be coming with us.

“There’s no chance of me forgetting it—I’m looking forward to it.” Sabrina grinned, joining her hands together. “I can’t wait to be an aunt. It’ll be—”

“Well, look who it is.”

I almost stumbled on hearing the familiar male voice. No. No, not that creepy dick.

Clad in a tailored suit, Jenson was strolling out of a room up ahead where a cocktail party appeared to be taking place. A cluster of just-as-smartly-dressed males followed behind him.

Sabrina quietly groaned. “I can’t stand this weirdo.” She’d come across him a few times while visiting me in what used to be my home.

“I don’t know anyone who can.” As he was blocking my path, I reluctantly slowed to a halt and gave him a sedate smile.

His own smile, by contrast, was wide and intimate. “Addison, how’re you doing?” he asked, moving closer.

“I’m fine.” I tensed when he draped an arm over my shoulders—I repeat, draped an arm over my shoulders—as he turned to his pals.

“This is Addison Mercier, Dax’s wife,” he told them with the familiarity of someone introducing their sibling. “I have the pleasure of saying they’re both friends of mine.”

Friends? Snort. Not even close.

Sabrina bugged humor-filled eyes at me and then looked away, most likely struggling to hold back a laugh.

See, this was a “thing” now. People who I only peripherally knew would not only act over-the-top friendly with me, they’d introduce me astheir buddy to others—always being sure to add that I was Dax Mercier’s wife. Basically, they liked to insinuate to others that they had a connection of sorts to him.

Sabrina had been right when she’d predicted that my marrying Dax would positively impact Sapphire Glade. It was nice and all, but I wanted people to hire us because we deserved it, not because they wanted to score points with Dax. Some would even enquire as to whether he’d turn up at their event.

Why the hell would he?

I smoothly stepped out from under Jenson’s arm and gave his associates a polite smile. “It’s nice to meet you all. This is my friend, Sabrina.”

The men greeted us both warmly, and two seemed somewhat amused. I got the impression that they knew Jenson was full of shit.

He refocused on me. “How is Dax? He looked well the last time I saw him.”

“When was that?” I asked.

His mouth bopped open and closed. “Recently,” he finally settled on.

“Ah. Well, he’s doing just fine.”

Sabrina pointed at Jenson. “You look familiar … Were you at their wedding?” she asked, knowing full well that he wasn’t.

Jenson parted his lips to speak … but didn’t say a word. Well, to deny his presence would beg the question of why he didn’t get an invite, being our “friend” and all.

“No,” I replied for him. “He’s my old neighbor.”

Sabrina clicked her fingers. “Ah, that’s right. I knew I recognized him from somewhere.”

I patted his arm. “It was good seeing you again, Jackson.”

His eyes flared. “Jenson.”

I gave a fake wince. “Right, sorry.” I flashed his friends a brief smile. “Enjoy the rest of the party.” I quickly made my escape.

Beside me, Sabrina huffed. “Name-droppers are just plain sad.”

“At least he’s stopped being creepy—small mercies and all that. Alicia said he doesn’t bother her anymore.”

“Well, that’s something.”

Outside the beautiful building, I practically wilted under the August heat. Both of us eager to get out of the sun, we strolled down the path that cut through the manicured lawn and then hopped into my car.

Folding her arms, Sabrina angled her body to face me better. “So … now that our workday is pretty much over … I think it’s a good time to bring this up.”

Reversing out of the parking space, I shot her a confused glance. “Bring up what?”

“The thing is … I think Dax might have something against gay people.”

I brought the car to an abrupt halt. “What?”

“He turns down my every ‘let’s go on a double-date’ suggestion.”

Sighing, I drove forward. “It’s not about you, let alone the fact that you’re gay. He gives not one fuck about that.”

“So what’s the problem, then?”

My hands flexing on the steering wheel, I elaborated, “He simply has no interest in going on dates.”

Sabrina stared at me for a long moment. “I don’t get it,” she finally said, her hands slipping to her lap. “Why not? It’s not as if he’s a hermit or social nightmare.”

“No,” I agreed, pulling out of the lot and onto the main road, “but we don’t do couple stuff.”

“No couple stuff?” Sabrina’s voice rang with astonishment. “At all?”

“You do remember our marriage is no more than a business arrangement, yes?”

“Well, yeah. But he promised that you wouldn’t have a cold marriage.”

“He swore that we would spend time at home together like a normal couple, and we do. As we pre-agreed before marrying, we eat together, we talk, we have sex. He’s living up to his end of the bargain, just as I am mine.” It wasn’t exactly his fault that—with the exception of when we were in bed—it all felt forced and sometimes even awkward. “He didn’t promise me romance, and I didn’t ask for it. We agreed we’d be friends, though.”

“And are you friends?”

“Yes. Sort of. Okay, not really.” We didn’t joke and laugh together. Didn’t have meaningful conversations. Didn’t reach out to each other throughout the day by phone. “But we’ll get there eventually.”

I’d made the occasional overture, but he begged off whenever I suggested we go for a meal or to the movies. He didn’t accept my invitations to watch TV with me. He redirected the conversation if I brought up a too-personal subject matter. And if I texted him during the day with random news, he never texted me back; he waited until we were both home and then responded verbally.

In other words, at the moment, we were pretty much bed-buddies who lived together.

“Maybe things will change once you’re more comfortable with each other,” Sabrina suggested. “You’ve only been married, what, three weeks? Not that it isn’t possible to build a friendship within that timeframe, but it often takes a lot longer.”

“Yup, especially when you’re dealing with someone as insular as Dax.” Stopping at a red light, I cast her a sideways glance. “Did you really think he was homophobic?”

“No, I thought he probably just didn’t like either me or Tamara.”

I frowned. “Then why didn’t you just say that?”

“I felt like being dramatic. You know how I am.”

I rolled my eyes. “You were never right in the head. Even when we were kids, something was wrong upstairs. We all saw it.”

She smiled. “You love me anyway.”

“I don’t know what it says about me but, yeah, I do.”

Once I’d dropped her off at the parking lot outside our office building, I drove straight home. Pulling up outside the villa, I saw a familiar car parked beside Dax’s vehicle. I knew the car belonged to Blake, so he was either here alone or with Kensey.

They came to visit regularly, as did my own parents. They were all basically keeping an eye on things and making sure Dax and I weren’t already on the path to divorce.

My sisters—who loved the villa and were thrilled whenever I invited them over for a girls’ night in—also came often to check how I was doing. But, unlike my parents and Ollie, they didn’t come expecting to discover that the marriage was beginning to go sour. My sisters were far more positive about the whole thing.

Entering the house, I heard muffled voices coming from further inside. I tracked them to the kitchen. Both Dax and Blake sat at the table, a steaming mug in front of them.

As they looked my way, I smiled and said a simple, “Hey.”

Blake’s answering smile was strained and distant. “Hello, Addison,” he greeted politely. “You look well.”

“As do you.”

“Want coffee?” Dax asked me.

I gave a brief shake of my head. “I’m good, thanks.” I would have stuck around and chatted with Blake awhile if his body language wasn’t so stiff and … not quite unwelcoming, but unreceptive. He might be perfectly civil toward me, but he hadn’t quite accepted me yet. “I’ll be in my office if you need me,” I told Dax. With a quick wave to Blake, I left the room.

In my office, I set down both my satchel and purse and then roughly kicked off my shoes. Though I’d known to expect this, it was somewhat annoying that both my father and Blake persisted on withholding their blessing when it came to the marriage. What was the point in it? Any silent protests would amount to absolutely nothing—the deed was done, the papers were signed, the vows were taken. Done deal.

I reached into my purse to dig out my phone … and failed to find it. Remembering I’d left it in one of my car’s cupholders, I padded out of the room. As I neared the kitchen, Blake’s voice drifted to me …

“I don’t have a problem with her, son. She seems like a nice girl.”

I stopped where I was, placing my hand on the hallway wall.

“My problem is you’re both stuck in a marriage where you’re each competing with a ghost,” Blake added.

I frowned. Uh, I wouldn’t have said that. I didn’t compare Dax and Lake at all. I didn’t cling to Lake to avoid moving on. But … I couldn’t be sure Dax operated the same way, could I?

“That’s not good for either of you,” Blake went on.

“Neither is wandering through life alone,” said Dax.

I silently winced. His failure to deny the whole “competing with a ghost” thing … yeah, ouch.

A sigh. “Couldn’t you have at least picked a woman from your past who actually feels something for you? Like Angel, or maybe—?”

“Dad, what’s done is done. There’s no point to this conversation.”

Absolutely no point. And who the hell was Angel?

“It can be undone,” Blake persisted. “There’s such a thing as divorce, you know.”

“Yes, there is. But I don’t want one.” A long pause. “What’s your real issue with Addison being my choice?”

“Look, Dane doesn’t have a healthy respect for all laws, but can we say the same about his daughters? Your mom gets that I’m never going to turn to the cops for shit. She accepts it. She accepts that there are things I won’t tell her—whether it relates to my businesses, my contacts, or how I make a problem go away. You don’t know Addison well enough to be sure she can do the same for you. You don’t know you can trust that she won’t betray you.”

Actually, yes, Dax did. He knew better than to think I would ever do something as—

“Time will tell, won’t it?” said Dax.

The comment was a slap. Okay, I got that he didn’t trust easily. I wasn’t expecting him to have total faith in me—especially after all Brooks had told me. But I would have thought that Dax would know I was far too loyal to fuck him over in such a way.

It stung, but I hurt for him as well. Life had taught him to expect betrayal and condemnation. And that was exactly what he did.

I crept past the kitchen, retrieved my phone from my car, and then returned to my office.

It must have been about half an hour later that Dax came striding into the room. Lounging in my armchair, I looked up from the book I was reading.

His hands in the pockets of his slacks, he arched a brow. “You ready to eat yet?”

“Whenever you are,” I replied, injecting a breezy note into my voice as I strived to hide the hurt I still felt. “I’ll go with meatloaf and the usual trimmings I like.”

His mismatched eyes drank in my face, narrowing slightly. “Are you all right?”

Ugh, there was rarely any fooling him. “Yup,” I lied. “Your dad left, I take it?”

Dax nodded. “Just now.” He paused. “I made it clear that he needs to stop acting so distant toward you. He assured me that he would. I believe he meant it.”

“Time will tell, won’t it?” Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. In doing so, I’d pretty much announced that I’d eavesdropped on his conversation.

He went motionless, his eyelids dropping even lower as realization dawned on him. “Addison—”

“I’m not mad,” I assured him. “Offended, maybe, because I’m a loyal person—no one whose loyal likes to be seen as anything else. I get that you don’t know me well enough to trust me. I get that it’ll take time for you to realize that you can. But in the meantime, I ask that you try not to expect the worst from me.” Fuck my voice for cracking just a little.

He stared at me, his tongue poking into the inside of his mouth. “It isn’t really anything personal.”

I heaved a sigh. “I know.” But it stung nonetheless. I cleared my throat. “I’m going to finish this chapter while you order dinner. I should be done before it gets here.” Hint, hint—leave. There was nowhere for the conversation to go.

His chin dropped slightly for the briefest moment. “All right.” He walked toward the door but then stopped and looked over his shoulder. “I know you’re a loyal person, Addison. But you’re married to someone who has a different moral compass than you. Mine isn’t weak, but it follows another set of rules. Right now, you think you can live with that. And maybe you can. But maybe you can’t. It isn’t that I expect the worst from you. It’s that I don’t know if you can deal with the worst parts of me.” He then breezed out of the room.

∞∞∞

Unhooking a tiny outfit from a metal bar a few days later, Sabrina cooed, “This has got to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

It was in fact super cute. I’d noticed it before we entered—it was featured in one of the window displays. If I didn’t already have three bags of stuff from other stores, I might have bought it.

Harri cast her a swift glance. “That’s about the twelfth time you’ve said that.”

Sabrina lifted her shoulders. “Everything here is just adorable.”

Very true. The popular boutique sold children’s clothes of all sizes. Some items hung on racks while others were folded and piled on either shelves or tables. Little mannequins stood on rises sporting colorful outfits.

The store was bright, courtesy of the large glass-front windows and the florescent lighting. Elevators and stairways led to higher levels.Salespeople wearing headsets walked around, talking with customers and fixing displays.

The scents of new clothing, floor wax, and air freshener were strong in the air. Cheery music played low. The mishmash of voices echoed throughout the space. Babies babbled or cried in their strollers.

“There’s no point in buying newborn-sized stuff, Alicia,” Marleigh advised as my sister fingered a multipack of tiny sleepsuits. “Babies grow so fast they’ll hardly get any wear out of small outfits.”

“Just so you know,” began Alicia, flicking through the rack of sleepsuits, making the air ring with the scrape of metal on metal, “Ollie was a big baby.”

Marleigh tensed. “What?”

Nodding, I adjusted the position of the shopping bags handing from my arm. “Ten pounds eight ounces.”

Marleigh did a slow blink, her hand flexing on the handle of her wheeled basket. “You’re lying.”

Stifling a smile, I shook my head. “Nope.”

“It’s true,” Harri confirmed. “Mom complains about it now and then.”

Her shoulders dropping, Marleigh let out a little whine. “Hopefully the baby takes after me.”

Sabrina snickered. “You weighed almost nine pounds, so …”

Marleigh groaned. “I don’t want to get split in half.”

“You won’t.” Sabrina tossed an arm over her sister’s shoulders. “Now, tell me what in the store you’d like so I can mentally note down a possible lists of gifts for your baby shower.”

Marleigh looked at her askance. “It won’t matter how nice you are, I’m not going to let you name my child.”

Sabrina frowned. “Oh, come on.”

“No. And I mean, no. Now, onto better things …” Marleigh scooped the merchandise from her basket and quickly flicked through them. “I’m definitely getting these, they’re too cute to put back.”

“I’ll stick with these booties,” said Alicia, holding them up. She glanced in the direction of the checkout counter. “The line is a little shorter now than when we first walked in, thankfully. Not by much, though.”

Looking at Marleigh, I gestured at her basket. “Give me that, I’ll put it back for you.”

With a grateful smile, she passed it over. “We hopefully won’t be long.”

“I’ll go pee while you two pay,” Harri declared.

The three women then swanned off.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sabrina flared out the skirt of a little flowery dress. “I swear, my ovaries melt whenever I look at baby clothes. My biological clock starts ticking even louder. Do you still want seven kids?”

Recalling my childhood plan, I chuckled as I began wheeling the empty basket along the faux wooden floor. “I haven’t wanted that many since I was at least eleven.” I stacked the basket on top of the pile near the propped-open door and then returned to my friend’s side. “I think three is a nice number, but I wouldn’t be opposed to having more.”

“Tamara wants two,” said Sabrina. “I don’t really care how many we have or—dear Lord.” She grimaced at her reflection in a wall-mounted mirror. “Could no one have told me that my bangs are all frizzy?” she demanded.

“It seemed more fun to let you find out the hard way.”

“You suck.”

Chuckling again, I fingered the soft cotton sleeve of a white tee that was positively adorable. I’d hopefully be returning to the boutique at some point in the not-so-distant future to shop for my own baby. The thought warmed my chest and made my lips curve.

I glanced to my left as movement caught my eye … and I happened to clash gazes with Felicity through the store window, who stumbled to a halt on the sidewalk, her lips firming.

My smile faded. Ugh. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with her crap.

I mentally urged her to keep walking, but there was no such luck. She strode inside, her shoulders stiff, her chin up.

“Wonderful,” Sabrina uttered.

Wasn’t it just.

Felicity stopped directly in front of me, and her gaze dropped to the tiny t-shirts I was looking at. Her eyes met mine again, hard and scornful. “That explains why my cousin married you—and with such speed. You’re pregnant.” She sniffed. “I should have guessed.”

I thought about correcting her assumption, but I owed her no explanations. So, instead, I gave her a soft, mocking smile. “Now let’s be civil, Felicity. We’re practically family.”

The corners of her eyes tightened. “I’ll bet you got pregnant on purpose to trap him.”

“Not all women have to manipulate men into committing to them.”

An amused snort popped out of Sabrina.

Felicity looked me up and down, her top lip curling slightly. “You would have had no other way of making him tie his life to yours. Dax is so far out of your league he’s a mere dot on your horizon.”

“As you can surely tell, I’m terribly hurt you have such a low opinion of me,” I said, my voice bone dry. “It’s gonna keep me up at night for certain.”

Sabrina gave my shoulder a pat. “At least you have Dax to fuck you back to sleep.”

“There is that,” I said.

Sabrina tilted her head at Felicity. “I would have thought you’d be relieved that Addie’s quite clearly moved on from Grayden. Oh no, wait … the idea that she’s not pining after your man is something you actually detest, isn’t it? There’s no joy in ‘winning’ when you’re the only one taking part in the competition.”

Felicity gave her an oh, please look. “It’s obvious she only ensnared Dax to get Grayden’s attention.” Her gaze cut back to me. “You thought he’d leave me, rush to your side, and offer you everything if only you’d walk away from Dax. I’ll bet you got quite a shock when he didn’t try to stop the wedding from going ahead.”

I let out a bored sigh. “Such a thought-provoking parable. I suppose I also thought that Grayden would totally raise the baby you’re convinced I conceived to trap Dax.”

“I suspect you would have insisted on it, since you would have wanted to use the child to get money from Dax.”

“You know, you’d have made a kick-ass detective.”

Sabrina barked a laugh and turned away.

Her cheeks reddening, Felicity blasted me with a harsh glare. “You won’t convince me that you’ve quite simply fallen out of love with my husband.”

“Ex-husband,” Sabrina helpfully chipped in, but the bitch ignored her.

I exhaled heavily. “If the only way you can feel satisfied in your relationship is by believing that someone else wants your partner, fine, believe it. Believe I crave Grayden with every fiber of my being. It doesn’t bother me none. Because the truth is, Felicity, at the end of the day … you’re irrelevant to me.”

“To the world,” Sabrina added under her breath.

Noticing that my sisters and Marleigh were making their way over, I smiled at Felicity. “Now, I hate to cut this short, but we have to bounce.” I did not want any kind of stressful scene to play out in front of my pregnant friend.

Alicia glanced from me to Felicity, her eyes narrowing. “All good here?”

“All is far more than good.” I gave Felicity a friendly nod. “See ya around. Stay classy.” With that, I walked out of the boutique.

Outside, Alicia sidled up to me. “What happened in there?”

Sabrina relayed the entire thing as we strode along the sidewalk, passing store after store, dodging pedestrian after pedestrian.

“She’s such a skank,” sniped Alicia.

Marleigh hummed her agreement. “The woman needs a good kick up the ass.”

“Preach,” said Sabrina, high-fiving her sister.

Harri nudged me with her elbow. “Are you going to tell Dax?”

I rubbed at my neck. “Yes. I’d rather not, since it will lead to inter-family conflict, but I promised I’d let him know if she ever came at me again. I’m surprised she did.”

“I’m not,” said Marleigh. “She probably figures that being his relation will save her.”

Maybe. “Then she’s in for one hell of a shock.”