Page 217 of Say My Name

Dominic

Cliff is due in twenty minutes, and Elena has reorganized the kitchen island twice.

The first time, she moves the prenatal notebook beside the fruit bowl and lines up both our pens along its edge. Five minutes later, she returns the notebook to its spot from breakfast and takes her tea to the opposite side of the island.

I let her finish adjusting the charger connected to her phone before I ask, “Do you want me to put the notebook away?” The question is a placeholder for another one: “Are you okay?”

“No.” She smooths one hand over the leather cover. “Why?”

“You keep moving it.”

“I keep moving everything.”

“You haven’t touched my coffee.”

Her eyes flick toward the mug near my hand. “I considered it.”

“Violently?”

“More as a preventative measure. You’ve had enough.”

I take another drink without looking away from her.

Cliff and Rachel planned this visit shortly after Elena called him from Colorado. The kids have an extra day away from school; Sophie has apparently packed enough belongings for a month, and Cliff wanted the family together before their schedules became difficult again.

He also asked if he could arrive ahead of Rachel and the children.

Alone.

Elena knows what that means. So do I.

She leaves her tea and crosses the kitchen. My hand settles on her hip as soon as she reaches me. She steps between my knees and rests her palms against my shoulders.

“You don’t have to look like you’re preparing to testify before Congress,” she says. I relax my jaw, not realizing I’d clenched it.

“I don’t.”

“You’re wearing the same face you use before a hostile board meeting.”

“That’s my face.”

“No, it isn’t. I’m intimately familiar with several of your faces now.”

My grip shifts on her hip. “Is that right?”

The corner of her mouth lifts, but the tension in her eyes remains. “You know what I mean.”

“I do.”

She studies me for another second. “Are you nervous?”

“Yes.”

The answer surprises her.

I could give Cliff a complete account of every professional safeguard we put in place. I can explain the contract, the independent attorneys, my recusal, and the employment disclosure Elena and I submitted after Colorado. None of it changes that I kept a life-altering secret from my best friend while sleeping with his sister.

Cliff has every right to be angry.