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“I can’t believe you live right next door!” I yelp when Kira opens the door. “How did I not know that?”
“Because you’ve been conversing with my husband all this time, and men are useless at sharing information.” Kira rolls her eyes and pulls me into a hug. “Boys. They never change.”
I squeeze back, making eyes at Dominik over her shoulder.See?my wagging eyebrows say.I told you I’d be here alone. I told you he wouldn’t come.
I’m gloating, but it’s only because it’s my only consolation. Some sad, buried part of me still wishes Arsen was next to me.
Dominik ignores me and ushers us both inside so he can shut the door.
“It’s not much,” Kira says, looking around her house with anxious, wringing hands. “But we like it.”
Kira and Dom’s place is probably one-tenth the size of Arsen’s property, but it’s sweet and cozy. The perfect first home for a young couple just starting their family.
“It’s gorgeous, Kira. Really. I love it.”
“I can’t even take credit for the design,” Kira admits, leading me into their living room. “Arsen gifted us the cottage when we got married.”
“That was… nice of him.”
The ever-growing cynical part of me wonders if he wasn’t just trying to keep his employees close. Can’t blame the commute for your tardiness if you live a stone’s throw away.
Or maybe he really did whack Kira’s Nana and this house was the consolation.
I’m studying her face, trying to catch a sign of the complex feelings Dominik hinted at earlier. But before I can see anything, a dark, silky voice murmurs from the corner.
“I’m nothing if not nice.”
I whirl around to find Arsen lounging in an armchair, a drink already in his hand. “You’re here!”
Dominik fires back the sameI-told-you-solook I was giving him a moment ago before he walks into the kitchen.
“Of course I’m here.” Arsen glides over and wraps an arm around my waist. “We were invited.”
Kira is watching us carefully, so I sink deeper into Arsen’s side. To keep up appearances.
I press a hand to his chest and ignore the trembling in my fingers. “Well, yeah. I just assumed you were busy tonight. That’s all.”
Arsen holds my tighter. “I’m never too busy for you, my dear wife.”
Our eyes lock for a few seconds too long. The tingling in my hip has nothing to do with pain, and everything to do with the way he’s holding me.
Just tight enough to be possessive.
Just gentle enough to be caring.
Before I can read way too much into why Arsen is here at all, Kira claps her hands together. “Now that I have you both here, why don’t I give you a tour of my favorite room in the whole house?”
“Lead the way.” I rush off after her, mostly to get out of Arsen’s reach. I like it a little too much to allow his hand to linger.
But the moment I walk into Kira’s favorite room, my stomach lurches.
The nursery is as gorgeous and cozy as the rest of the house. There’s a crib and a rocking chair with a woodland mural on the wall and hand-painted details on the drawers and shelves. I can see Kira and Dom in this room, their baby in their arms. They’ve put so much love in here already; it’s soaked into the wood, the floors, the air itself.
“Wow,” I breathe, a catch in my throat. “It’s perfect, Kira.”
“I’m sure your nursery will be twice as lovely.”
The smile she gives me makes me want the soft, white carpet under my feet to open up and swallow me whole.
