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“Are you sure nothing is wrong?”
Aside from the fact that you walked in twenty minutes after I fucked your best friend—while I was still catching my breath—and brought a pizza covered in anchovies you hate because I like them? No, nothing’s wrong.
“Everything is fine,” I assured him. “I don’t know why you keep asking me that.”
Calder pointed his eyes to my plate. “Maybe because you’ve been ripping that crust apart for five minutes.”
I followed his gaze and froze. There had to be thirty tiny pieces scattered across my plate. I had no idea I’d even been doing it.
Calder shook his head and sighed. “What’s going on, Talia? I feel like you were doing better, starting to settle in, and now we’re back to square one.”
“I’m sorry. We’re not. It was just a long day.”
“I thought you got off early because they were cleaning the carpets.”
Shit. “I left the office early. But I worked when I got home, too.”
He leaned back in his chair, studying me. “Are you sure whatever’s bothering you is just work and being homesick?”
“Of course. What else would it be?”
“I don’t know.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “But whatever you’ve got must be contagious. I saw Rafe on my way in, and his mood matched yours.”
My eyes widened. Oh my God. My hands started to shake, so I tucked them under my thighs, pinning them in place. Stop this, Talia. Get it together. This man is the one good, steady thing in your life. You can’t lose him.
I pushed back from the table before he could read anything else on my face and slid onto his lap, curling one arm around his neck. “Hi,” I said, pressing a kiss to his mouth.
He stiffened for a half second—barely long enough for me to feel it, but I did—before his hands settled on my hips. “Hi.”
I buried my face in his neck, unable to look him in the eyes. But once I was there, panic set in—could he smell Rafe on me? I held my breath, seconds from unraveling.
“You’re acting weird, Talia.”
“I’m not.” I kissed below his ear. “I just needed to be closer to you. It makes me feel settled. Grounded.”
Calder’s grip tightened. “I got you. Even when I’m not holding you, I’ve got you, Talia. You know that, right?”
I swallowed and tasted salt. “I do.”
He pulled back, forcing me to look at him. “You’d tell me if something else was going on with you, right?”
“Nothing else is going on.” The words came too fast. Denial always did…when it was a lie.
“Tal—”
“I’m sorry, okay?”
He searched my face. “What are you sorry for?”
For a split second, I considered coming clean, telling him my sins and begging for forgiveness. But I chickened out just as quickly.
“I’m sorry for being a shitty girlfriend when you’ve been nothing but good to me.”
Calder rested his hands on my shoulders. His brows knit together. “Jesus, Talia. You’re stiff as a board. Are you sure—”
“Can we not do this again tonight? I’m fine. Really.”
His jaw flexed. But after a moment, he nodded. “Sure.”
