Page 444 of The Christmas Wife

I want to be a part of his life. I want to help him, but every time I try, he shuts me down. Perhaps, he does trust me. Maybe, he doesn’t want to talk about his past because his trauma is deep, and it will reopen old wounds to do so. He says he needs more time, which is understandable. I just need to be patient. Which I can’t be when I’m working in such close proximity to him, and falling more in love with him every day, and becoming impatient when he doesn’t open up to me. I need to find a way to get perspective on this situation.

"I need another job." I look away from him.

"No."

"I can’t work in such close proximity to you. Not when I’m trying to find a way to be patient and give you the time you need to come to terms with your past."

His jaw tics. "Your life is with me."

"Not when you can’t let me help you. I’m trying to be understanding, but it’s difficult for me to watch you in pain and not do anything about it. I... I think we need some space.”

“No, we don’t.” He flattens his lips.

“You asked for more time to tell me what happened. Surely, you can extend the same courtesy to me?”

He draws in a breath as conflicting emotions flit across his features. “You don’t want to be my assistant?”

"I... Ican’tbe your assistant. I need to find some perspective on this situation. Surely, you understand that?”

He stays silent for a few seconds, then nods. “Okay.”

“Okay?” I blink.

"Instead of working for me, you can set up and run the workplace nursery, as we discussed."

I hesitate.That’s something I’d love to do.

"You’d be helping the others who work in the building, who need childcare so they can work without this weighing on their mind."

He knows I'm thawing and he's pushing his advantage.Of course, he is. That’s the kind of man he Is. You show him a weakness, and he makes the most of it. I even told him that's one of the things I admire about him, so how can I get angry?

"Okay." I turn to him.

"Okay." His shoulders relax.

"And you’ll stop monitoring my movements."

His chest rises and falls. "If that’s what you want."

"I do." I swallow. "And one more thing…"

He turns to me, and there’s a mixture of fear and resignation in his eyes. "What is it?"

60

Edward

"Didn’t expect to see you at poker." Sinclair blows out a cloud of cigar smoke from the other side of the poker table. "Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?"

"Been there; done that." I train my focus on my cards. The image blurs in front of my eyes. I reach for my twentieth—or is it my thirtieth?—cup of coffee of the day in a bid to clear my vision. This is what happens when you’re running on three hours of sleep. I'm lucky I caught that. And only because I managed to snag her nightshirt from the laundry basket and buried my face in it. Y-e-a-p, I'm the pathetic sod who can’t fall asleep without sniffing his wife’s scent. That’s what I’ve been reduced to since she moved into a spare bedroom down the hall. That’s what she asked of me, and I couldn’t say no. At least, she's still under my roof. That has to count for something.

It's been a week, and I’ve missed her every second of it. She also took charge of the on-site-nursery and had it up and running in five days. When that woman sets her mindto something, nothing gets in her way. To be fair, I'd already prepared the space and purchased the necessary supplies, but she interviewed, hired, promoted, and managed the hell out of it. I managed to watch from afar, managed not to interfere, managed to even have the cameras and bugs on her phones and Kindle de-activated, managed not to have any new ones installed in her guest room or in her new car. I can’t lie to her on this again. Can’t justify looking her in the eye and saying I haven’t stuck to my word.

It almost killed me, but I did it. And if it means I follow her in my car to and from work, at a distance, to make sure she reaches her destination safely? Well, that's not a crime. I'm not engaging anyone else to do it. I'm doing what any good husband should do; I'm looking out for my wife.

Good thing no one around the table knows that.

"He doesn’t look like he’s been on his honeymoon. In fact, it doesn’t look he’s been on holiday at all." This, from Knox.

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