Page 80 of Like You Love Me

“Mr. Clark says I am a fast learner,” she said proudly between licks.

Bianca glanced over at London, expecting to see anger at the mention of Collin; instead, she caught a gleam of amusement in his light brown eyes.

“I figured she earned ice cream for her hard work.”

There was something different about him tonight, and Bianca knew it partly had to do with the person responsible for Caleb’s death coming forward. Her husband was no longer a person of interest. The story had been all over the news. Part of her felt sorry for the young woman who had been drinking and driving. The girl confessed she had looked down at a text on her phone and hadn’t noticed Caleb walking out in front of her vehicle until it was too late.

All afternoon, Bianca thought about the conversation she’d had with Mona Lisa and decided enough was enough. Tonight, they were going to talk.

Sierra raced up to her room to start her homework, and Bianca waited for London to come out of the powder room. She pressed a palm to her belly, trying to calm the swirl of nervous butterflies. As soon as he walked into the kitchen, she leaned back against the counter, waiting.

“London, we need to talk.”

He gave her a solemn nod. “I agree. But let’s wait and talk tonight.”

“I really think—”

Before she could get her point across, he closed the distance between them and crushed his mouth against her lips with a kiss that was so hot it sucked the air from her lungs.

A hint of a smile tilted the corners of his strong mouth when London drew back and murmured, “We will talk tonight.”

She knew it was pointless to argue, so she managed a nod.

Bianca gave him sidelong glances for the rest of the evening and caught London staring at her when he didn’t think she was looking, but she could not read his mind. He had been seething with anger when he found out about Collin, but now, he seemed more relaxed than she had seen him in days. Had he forgiven her?

After Sierra went upstairs for the night, London disappeared into his office. When Bianca returned from making sure Sierra was snoring, she came down to the kitchen to find London had gone upstairs to take a shower. Bianca made herself a cup of tea and tried to prepare for the discussion. Her mind flashed back to every excuse she had used for not telling London sooner, and now none of them made any sense. By the time Bianca heard his footsteps, she had prepared another cup of tea and was ready for their discussion.Bianca was stirring sugar into the mug when she looked up to see her husband standing in the doorway. His presence caused her heart to thump heavily beneath her breasts.

“Are you ready to talk?” Hearing the note of insecurity in her voice, she inwardly cringed.

London nodded and then held out his hand. “C’mon. Let’s talk in the family room.”

Sucking in a shaky breath, Bianca rose from the barstool, and her pulse thudded with each step drawing her closer. She laced her fingers with his, and his warm, masculine strength engulfed her.

You must allow a man to lead his family.

How often had she heard her grandmother say those words? And until now, she never understood what Grandmother Dorothy had meant.

London took a seat beside her on the sofa, putting just enough distance between them to look at each other while they talked. Bianca was still holding the cup of tea in her hand that was now shaking.

“I don’t know why I am so nervous. We have always been able to talk, but this is different.”

“Why is it different?” he asked, and she caught London studying her curiously.

Bianca slowly shook her head. “Because I never thought we would be having this conversation.”

“Me either,” he said. “But it’s necessary because I don’t want our marriage to end like my sister’s.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, and her eyelids fluttered wildly.

“I mean, the lines of communication were broken in their relationship. And I am afraid we are now having the same problem.”

“No, we’re not,” Bianca responded in a rush, as she refused even to consider such an idea. “I’ve always been able to talk to you about anything.”

“If that was the case, then why didn’t you say anything to me about Collin being in Sheraton Beach?”

Bianca swallowed. London was right. If she felt they could talk, she should’ve told him instead of leaving him to find out how he had. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“And why is that?”

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