Page 31 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

"Is it over? They saidyou'll be sorry. There could be something else coming."

"They just wanted to scare you." He paused, his lips tightening. "You know who we haven't talked about…"

I met his gaze. "Who?"

"Ethan Stark. Colin told me that you were yelling at him earlier. What did he say to you?"

"The same things he's been saying all along…that we're thieves, that he doesn't trust us."

"Us or me?"

"Both of us. But I have to admit he's suggested lately that I don't know everything about you. He was the one who told me about you and Allison. I hate that I had to find out she was your ex from a man who's trying to make us out to be criminals. It gave him an advantage."

"There's no advantage. Allison didn't stay with me at the conference. She had her own room, and, yes, we hugged outside one night when we said goodbye. It didn't mean anything. Ethan is trying to work you. Maybe he trashed the suite because he knew the cameras were off. Then he was quick to show up and blame Allison, giving you another reason not to trust her or me. Don't let him play you."

He had a point, and I didn't want to fight with him about Ethan. "I'd rather not talk to him at all, but he keeps showing up."

"I get it. Let's put all this aside. There's nothing more we can do tonight. There's a spa tub in the bathroom big enough for two. Why don't we fill it up and try to relax?"

He was trying to make the best of a bad situation, and his positive attitude was one of the things I loved most about him. I just didn't feel like being cheered up. Nor did I feel like taking a bath.

"I'm sorry, Andrew. I know you're doing everything you can to make this right, but I want to go to bed. Will you hate me if I ask if we can start over tomorrow?"

"Of course we can start over tomorrow, and I could never hate you. I love you. We've got the rest of our lives ahead of us, Lauren. This is a little blip."

"I'll feel better after I get some sleep."

"Why don't you get into bed then? I'm going to take a shower." He gave me a kiss, then went into the bathroom.

As I pulled back the covers and got into bed, I let out a sigh of relief as the soft mattress and pillows enveloped me. I felt a little guilty that I'd rebuffed Andrew's every effort to salvage our wedding night, but I was too exhausted to turn that thought into some sort of action.

I'd make it up to him tomorrow and the day after that. As he'd said, we had the rest of our lives. And in the morning, we could get back to being us.

ChapterEight

Sunday morning came way too soon. Despite my unsettled emotions, I must have fallen asleep fast, because I couldn't even remember hearing Andrew come to bed. Now the sun was blazing through the parted curtains in the bedroom, and the clock on the nightstand said it was half-past nine. Andrew wasn't in bed with me, but I could hear his voice in the living room. He must be on the phone.

I got up, used the bathroom, put some water on my face and ran a brush through my tangled hair, then headed into the living room. Andrew was standing out on the balcony now, his back to me, his voice muffled. His bags were by the front door, one suitcase opened on the couch. And I could see that he'd changed into a pair of gray slacks and a blue polo shirt.

As I moved toward the patio, I saw him wave an angry hand in the air as he said, "I can't keep having this conversation with you. I told you what's happening. Deal with it." He paused, turning his head, his smile coming a second too late to cover up the anger in his eyes. Then he said, "We'll talk later." As he ended the call, he said, "Good morning, beautiful."

Despite his words, I could see the tension in his face. "Who were you talking to? You seem angry."

He hesitated, then said, "That was someone from security who works with Martin. They haven't found any camera footage that might be helpful to us."

"That's too bad but also not surprising."

He walked over and gave me a hug. "Well, as I said last night, it doesn't matter, and I'm not going to let it ruin our honeymoon. I also spoke to Victor this morning. He wanted to make sure we were all right and that we would still be coming to brunch. He thinks it's important that we meet his media guests, although he would prefer that we didn't discuss what happened to the bridal suite last night."

"He wouldn't want that to get any press coverage days before the grand opening." I paused. "I see you changed your clothes. Did you have to go down to the villa to get your bags?"

"No. Colin packed them up and brought them over earlier so I could change."

"I must have been in a deep sleep. I didn't hear you come to bed or get up this morning."

"You were definitely out," he said, giving me a kiss. "I was tempted to wake you, but I thought you needed the rest."

"I did. I feel better now."

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