Page 51 of Love Without Demands

But when I opened the door, it wasn’t the guys from across the hall.

“What the hell is going on, Lehra?” Dwight asked, storming into the room.

Nicolette popped awake with a little squeak from Dwight’s volume, and I glanced back to see her and Gianna scrambling from the beds.

“We’re just gonna, um, go across the hall,” Gia said, grabbing shirts from her suitcase and tossing one to Nic.

“Hi, ladies. Sorry for the intrusion,” Dwight mumbled, but his angry eyes were still on me.

As soon as they were gone, I lifted my eyebrows and stared him down. “Problem, Dwight?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a problem. You and your friends have spent the past two days bullying my mother. She called me in tears.”

“No one bullied your mother,” I said in what I hoped was a placating tone and not the pissed-off one that was bubbling inside me. “We simply made choices, and she was outvoted.”Like I’ve been outvoted on everything since we started this.

“She said you changed everything.”

“Not the location,” I shot back.

“I won’t have my mother treated like this,” he growled, tossing his hands up and pacing away, giving me his back, which I suddenly had an urge to throw something at.

“But you were fine with me being bullied and stressed out to the point that I’ve cried almost every night for the past few months. And when I tried to talk about it, when I cried on the phone to you, you didn’t give two shits. Not once did you stand up for me, Dwight.”

He whirled back and glared at me. “But she’s my mother.”

“And I’m going to be your wife, Dwight!” I yelled. “Your fucking wife! I should get some say in my own damn wedding.”

“I just want you two to get along and be close,” he argued, his voice slightly quieter than mine.

“I’ll play nice on the holidays and when we come for visits. One day, when I’ve had time to get over all the snarky comments she’s made to me, then maybe we can forge some kind of decent relationship.”

“It’s going to be a lot more than just holidays,” he muttered, and I took a step closer to him as dread rose up in my throat like a hot-air balloon.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Dwight closed his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Just that she’ll be our neighbor.”

“A-are your parents moving to New York?” Then I added quickly, “I don’t think there are any apartments available in my building.” I’d talk to Auburn and beg him not to rent anything to the Joneses since he owned the building.

Dwight’s hands pushed through his hair as he avoided my eyes. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this. I’m not getting transferred to New York.”

I was beginning to understand, and the dread in my throat turned into full-fledged panic. “So what does that mean?”

Still not looking at me, instead choosing to stare out the window at the tall buildings beyond, he said, “It means I bought the house next to my parents.” He finally brought his eyes back to mine and smiled. “For us.”

“Without talking to me?” I shrieked in a tone that was probably nearly inaudible to human ears.

“It was going to be a surprise,” he said weakly, still fucking smiling at me, even though he was turning my life upside down.

“You expect me to move? That wasn’t the deal, Dwight. You said you’ve always wanted to live and work in New York. And I’m training for my dream job at a company I love.”

“There are plenty of secretary jobs in Detroit,” he argued, and I felt like my head had suddenly turned into an active volcano.

Secretary jobs?I was going to be the personal assistant for one of the most powerful men in New York City. It was a hell of a lot more than asecretary job.

I looked Dwight over as everything began to shift. I’d thought if we could just get through the wedding, we could start our livestogether and be happy. But now he was changing everything and without even discussing it with me. Was this what my life was destined to be like?

And living next door to Bambi? Hell. Fucking. No.

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