Page 67 of Taming Her Temptations

“What’s going on?” I ask, warily. I don’t think he would ever hurt me, but I also have been consistently surprised by the lows he can reach.

“Can we talk inside?” His voice is pleading, and he looks exhausted.

“What makes you think you can show up here and ask anything of me?” I cross my arms. Even though he’s looking worse for wear, I’m not capable of feeling pity for this man anymore.

“Would you believe me if I said it was life or death?” He can’t even look at me, just at the gravel on our driveway as he shuffles his feet back and forth nervously.

“Jesus Christ, Steven.” I sigh and grab my keys out of my purse. “Fine. Come in. My dad will be home soon though, so make it quick if you don’t want to get reamed out by a man who has only ever been nice to you, even when you didn’t deserve it.”

He just nods, and it’s an unsatisfying answer. I want to see him cowering in fear or crying in shame. But I’ve learned to not expect satisfaction from Steven a long time ago.

I guide us to the kitchen, and he lowers himself heavily onto a dining chair. He looks around nervously and picks at the cuticle on his thumb. He’s anxious.

“Spill it, then.” I lean against the refrigerator with my arms crossed.

“I fucked up bad.” He sighs. “Really bad.”

“You’ve got to be more specific, and preferably tell me something I don’t already know.”

He’s silent for a long time, steadying his breath.

Just to speed him up, I debate telling him how much I already know. But I bite my tongue, in case it would tip him off to save his sorry ass.

“Well, it’s not going to be a secret for much longer,” he throws his hands up in surrender. “I got in a bad situation a few years ago,” he starts, sounding exhausted. “There was an investment that I thought was a sure thing. I lost a lot of my clients’ money.” He takes a deep breath. “A lot.” He emphasizes.

I just stare at him, unsure what he wants me to do with this information. I wrack my head to think if there was one point he started acting differently with me, so maybe I can pinpoint when it happened. But we had been disconnected for a long time. It could have happened at any point and I wouldn’t have noticed.

“But I didn’t tell any of them, thinking I could make it back.” He shakes his head. “I’ve been driving an out-of-control car since then, pretending the steering wheel works.”

“So you did what, Steven? Stole? Lied? Cheated? And why the hell are you here telling me?”

He looks at me, surprised. I’ve never taken that tone with him before, always the agreeable wife. Even when I learned about Madison, I was pretty much stunned speechless.

Well, get used to it. Or actually, don’t, as I have no plans to be in your life anymore.

“I did what I needed to do,” his tone changes to venomous as if somehow this is my fault. But I know the truth is he just can’t stand being called out.

“You’re going to need to do better than that, Steve. What did you do? I already know about the non-profits.”

Another look of surprise from him.

Yeah, I’m not the docile little creature you think you know. Get used to it already.

“Yeah,” he nods his head finally, after some consideration. “I skimmed some off the top from the non-profits. I’ve had to find money where I could. I even tried selling some of your ridiculous handbags that you insisted you needed.”

The pieces fall into place. That’s why he didn’t let me retrieve anything from the house. He was desperate and was afraid I would take something of value to him.

“Rube,” he says now, his voice softer. It unnerves me. “I didn’t want you to be on the sinking ship with me. I pushed you away so you wouldn’t fall with me.”

I roll my eyes at this one. “So you’re telling me you cheated on me for my own benefit? That’s a new one, Shithead Steve. Apparently, new lows are still within reach for you.”

His face hardens again, and the anger is back in his eyes.

“Fine, don’t believe me. But you’re going to help me with something.” He says, sounding a little too confident for a man who’s played all his cards and should have been kicked off the table a long time ago.

“Levi probably told you it’s a high-risk pregnancy for Madison?” He says Levi’s name like a swear. He watches me, waiting for my response.

No, Levi didn’t tell me that. I don’t think that would be something he would hide. But on the other hand, he might not want to talk to me about the pregnancy, thinking it would upset me.

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