Page 11 of Mr. Kelly

It’s a partial lie. She did set off the alert, but I didn’t hear it. If she thought that I responded to River in any capacity but not her, Helena would act worse than she already is in the penthouse.

“Put my shit back where you found it and come to the cabin if you want to see me so badly. Don’t go back to the penthouse while River is staying there. You look crazy.”

I hang up on her and drop my head in my hands.How did we end up here?

My phone rings again.

“Hey.”

“The ballerina has officially lost her shit.” Andrea laughs down the line. “Just the thought that you even sniffed another pussy has her raging.”

“You’re watching the feed, aren’t you?”

He insisted on having access to all my security items in case he needed to intervene. Now, it looks like it’s more for his entertainment.

“With some fucking popcorn.”

“You’re so dramatic. It’s eight in the morning.” Stretching, I head to the bathroom to piss while Andrea continues to laugh. Putting the phone on video. I grab my toothbrush and glare at him properly. “Aren’t you supposed to have access to be helpful?”

He shrugs and takes a sip of his coffee. “What do you want me to do, go strong arm your wife into leaving your mistress alone?”

“She’s not my mistress,” I protest around toothpaste suds.

Andrea rolls his eyes. “Whatever. You want her. You had dinner with her and spilled your guts.”

I frown while I rinse the minty concoction. “This is what I get for telling you everything.”

“I’m your priest, baby. Confess.”

He’s practically my walking diary. I don’t know what I’d do without him. Once I’m done brushing, I sit in my chair and look at him through the screen.

“Okay, fine. I’m attracted to her. Dinner was better than it should have been, and I didn’t want to leave, but I knew it was the best thing to do. I still love Helena, but she’s driving me nuts. I’m not happy that she’s on the way to see me at the cabin.”

“Did that hurt?” the smug asshole asks.

“Yes. My wife has been my world, and I feel like my world is falling apart. I have no trouble committing and now my brain is split all of a sudden. It’s maddening.”

“The only reason why it’s splitting is because your other half is not fulfilling the most important thing for you and it’s something you’ve communicated clearly before, during, and after getting married, so she can’t play dumb and act like she didn’t know. You’re becoming tired of being ignored and, naturally, you’ll start looking for other sources of fulfillment. What you want only a woman can provide. With that body, River is looking nice and fertile.”

I suppress a groan because, damn, it’s a sexy thought. River is not some skinny woman living off salads. She has full breasts, hips, and a nice ass. Her curves would feel good under my hands.

“Stop fantasizing about your mistress so we can pick a course of action.”

“She’s not my mistress. I’m not built for this double life. The plan is to see if I can either get my wife to cooperate and give me a good fucking reason why she can’t. It’s either we work it out or end it. That’s where I’m at.”

“I have a few new spots to hide bodies.”

I give him a side glare. “I love her enough not to kill her. Plus, we’d be the number one suspects. Psycho.”

Andrea just shrugs again. His robe opens to reveal his chest and tattoos when he leans into the phone. “I don’t love her enough. The offer still stands. Let me know.”

The screen goes black before I can respond. A glance at the clock has me estimating that I have about twenty-five more minutes of solitude and my attitude still hasn’t lifted. My wood floors creak under my weight as I throw the heavy wooden door open and dig out my flannel and boots. It’s not particularly cold outside, but I can work off some of this energy by chopping wood. Dressed, I move outside and breathe in the fresh mountain air. It’s such a peaceful place with the lush foliage and cool stream, but I do not feel at peace. I have the wood gathered in minutes, and I stand there for a moment, staring at it whileholding the ax on my shoulder. This is a skill I wanted to teach my son. A son that still doesn’t exist.

With an angry growl, I swing the ax and split the wood. I keep going until I catch the glint of Helena’s BMW in the sunlight. With another swing, I stick the ax in the wood because I shouldn’t be holding an ax to greet the person who aggravates me the most. Some of the wildness in her eyes has left and she’s not the crazy woman harassing an innocent woman in the penthouse. She wears a soft sundress and smiles at me like the woman I fell for years ago. I want her to be that woman so badly it frustrates me even more. Her brown eyes land on my heaving chest, and I use the hem of my shirt to wipe away the sweat. She must have caught a glimpse of my torso because the passion is there. It’s one part of our marriage that hasn’t suffered but I want more than sex. She hasn’t felt like my wife, my life partner, lately; just one long hookup.

“Theo,” she sighs like seeing me makes everything okay. “I’m sorry about earlier. I was just jealous, but you were right. It hurt that you weren’t there. It made me see how you must have felt all those times. I wanted to tell you that, but you weren’t talking to me. My concern turned into anger,” she rushes on. “My jealousy resurfaced, and I jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

“Again. Ever since you saw River, you continue to accuse me of the same damn thing. She’s worked for me for over a year now.”

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