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He laughed between panting, bracing against his side of the desk in the hallway. “They were taking too long. I needed space to see what I was working with.”
“As I recall, you have a very vivid imagination.” I arched a challenging eyebrow at him.
Grinning, he raked a hand through his black hair, massaging his scalp. “That’s swimming in bourbon right now, thanks to you.”
I scoffed and folded my arms over my chest. “Are you telling me the infamous Dorian Montclare actually has a hangover?”
“Yes, yes I am.” He chuckled and slumped against his side of the desk with a groan. “Could go for a little hair of the dog when this is all done.”
“Absolutely. First, we need to get this thing out of the way. So, in or out?”
“Can we switch sides? That might help.”
Snickering, I just couldn’t help myself. “I didn’t know you liked to flip, Dor.”
He paused, the double-meaning of what he said sinking in. When he got it, he gaped at me. “Goddamn it! That isnotwhat I meant!”
Leander’s voice cut through my reply. “What the hell…?”
A second later, he came into view behind Dorian, the planes of his face sharp.
“My love!” I jumped up onto Irene’s heavy-ass desk and walked over the top, nimbly avoiding the carved section with the tiny drawers and letter holders. Leaping past Dorian, I angled myself straight into Leander’s arms with a wide smile. “You’re home early. I wasn’t expecting you until Friday.”
“We finished early. I thought I’d surprise you.” He set me on the floor, his brows knitting together as he glanced at Dorian. “Who is this? And what have you done to the house?”
I hit my forehead lightly with my palm. “Manners, I apologize. Leander, Dorian Montclare — our architect and a friend from the city. Dorian, my husband.” I kissed Leander’s cheek and took his hand, dragging him down the hall to the west wing. “Come see what we’re planning.”
Dorian followed after us, explaining his vision for the second floor as we went. I didn’t hear a word. My attention was focused solely on Leander’s guarded expression.
“We’re going to move the master bath here,” Dorian said from the hallway, gesturing to the blue bedroom. It had been completely emptied of its furniture already, along with everything from Leander’s room and the bathroom. “We’ll tear out the old bathroom and combine these two spaces. Now, do you want your reading nook to be on this side of the house, or the other side?” Dorian turned to Leander expectantly.
Leander, in turn, looked at me with furrowed brows, a touch of panic in his eyes.
“Can you excuse us?” I smiled at Dorian and dragged Leander down the hallway again, ducking into the red guest room. I should have re-considered the minute I spied the rumpled comforter and the fact the pillows were all over the ground. I knew what it looked like, or what itcouldhave looked like, and I didn’t need Leander getting the wrong impression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, closing the door behind us.
Naturally, his attention fell to the bed. I’m sure he’d already taken note of Dorian’s suitcase in the corner. His breathing turned shallow, his knuckles cracking as he balled his hands at his sides. The fact he and I had officially moved into his room weeks ago (with the new mattress) must have been irrelevant to whatever he was thinking now.
I bit my lip, but didn’t say anything. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest and waited. Unlike him, I’d been completely honest about my life prior to Easton. If he had a question, he better ask it instead of rehashing our fight from Chicago.
Leander ran a hand through his curls, cupping the back of his neck while he continued to stare at the ground. “I know we talked about remodeling, but I didn’t think it was happening right now.”
That wasn’t what I was expecting him to say, but I was relieved his concerns were only about the house. “Have you changed your mind?”
“I don’t know.”
“Say the word. I’ll tell the movers to bring everything back in, right now.”
“What about the trust?” He turned to me, but his eyes were too busy darting back and forth to actually see me. “They’re going to know I’m not living here. Everyone in town is going to know. You can’tnotknow with a project this big. If Oswald finds out, he’ll take me back to court and I forfeit everything.Everything, Bennett. I nearly lost it last time with the murder charges. If I—”
“Breathe.” I took his face in my hands and met his wild gaze. “Everything is fine. Everythingwill befine. I’ve looked over the documents. You’re not violating the terms of the trust.”
He grasped my wrists, not calming in the slightest. “How do you know? I mean, how can you be so certain?”
“A trust is contract, Leander. And what is my specialty?”
He exhaled a breath, nodding. “Contracts.”
