AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry.” I said again, not having any words to make it better in this exact moment. She reached over and put her hand on mine.
“I know that Maverick. I only feel enragedforyou baby. Not because of you.” I took a deep breath and nodded my head to her. “I don’t think…” She started, “I don’t think I want to go out to eat tonight.”
“We can’t hide because of this.” I reminded her.
“I know, but I also don’t want to ever feel like we’re putting on a show either. I don’t want to act a certain way with you because someone else dictated it. That feels ingenuine and I don’t want to ever get to a point in our life where we do that Mav. My parents did that my whole life, always acting like they had strings pulling them around, making them dance for other’s entertainment because they cared what others thought of them more than they respected themselves. And look where that has gotten them through the years.”
I leaned back in my seat and watched her open up a small part of her past for me, something that she didn’t like to do often. “Okay. We’ll stay in tonight. We leave the city tomorrow anyway, so it’ll be nice to have tonight with just you.”
“Just me.” She said with a smile. “Think of all the trouble you could get into with just me.” She hinted.
“Oh darling, if you only knew.” I joked and felt at peace with the world for the moment.
Cora was my peace and my safe haven.
I just had to protect her from all of the world’s darkness, so she had peace as well.
Cora stood next to me on the elevator the next morning, riding up to my office wearing a sweet baby pink pant suit with a white lace top underneath and a breathtaking smile. Today was our last day before we got married, and both of us could feel the excitement in the air.
She had refused to let me keep her at home yet again today, after her hair and makeup appointment yesterday morning before her surprise lunch date visit to my office. I had scheduled a massage and nail appointment at our penthouse today but she had gone behind my back and rescheduled it for tomorrow morning at our home in South Hampton so she could come to Hawthorn Tower today and help me button up some lose ends before our week off next week.
And it made me love this woman even fucking more than I already did.
When we walked off the elevator she kissed me on the cheek and went to walk off away from me.
“Where are you going?” I asked her quizzically.
“I’m setting up in the board room down the hall.” She replied with a raised eyebrow.
“You’re working in my office with me today.” I said flatly.
“No, I’d get zero work done if I was locked away in your office all day today and you know it.” She deadpanned and took another step backwards towards the secondary conference room between Reid and Dexter’s offices.
“Cora.” I warned, unmoving from the lobby area of my own office. “I want you close.”
“And I want to be productive.” She said with a shrug of her shoulders before blowing me a kiss and walking away. I stood rooted in place and watched the gentle sway of her hips in that stupidly sweet pink outfit and groaned, to which she laughed melodically as she disappeared around the corner.
“Women.” I muttered in time for Dexter to get off the elevator and see me staring off after her.
“Hmm.” He mused, with a clap on my back as he walked off after her towards his own office. He’d been avoiding me since his little peep show yesterday and I was allowing him to until now. Now he needed to come clean.
“Dex, a minute.” I said and walked into my office, not standing around any longer to make sure he followed. I knew he would.
Even if he didn’t want to.
He walked in after me and shut the door behind him before stopping in the middle of my office with his hand in his pants pocket like he had been standing yesterday outside of my door.
He didn’t say anything as I dropped off my stuff and then turned to face him.
“Did you enjoy yourself yesterday?” I asked him plainly, fighting the urge to smile like smug bastard I was. Finally I gave up the fight and smiled wolfishly at him.
“I should be asking you the same thing.” He lobbed back.
“I had a ball-emptying good time.”
He smirked and looked at the ground. “I had no intention of interrupting. To be honest it took me way longer than it should have to realize what I was hearing. And then I was a little… frozen.” He said, “I guess I’m a bit out of practice.”
My smile fell a bit at the first mention of his love life in years. “You haven’t… since…” I said, feeling shocked and surprised from his statement.
