Page 201 of Hate Mates

Stefan shrugged. “It was long enough for that conversation.”

It made no sense. Even if Kai was interested in me—something I would never reciprocate—why would he approach my husband and not me? He was practically begging for abeating, and while Stefan wasn’t the jealous type, no man would tolerate someone making advances on his wife.

They must have had a verbal altercation, though I didn’t recall hearing raised voices nor did I notice any awkwardness when Kai saw us off. He merely slipped his business card to Stefan and asked him to keep in touch.

“What exactly did he say?”

“That he wants a wife and a family, and mine is exactly what he’s looking for.”

He told me everything then, and I couldn’t believe it. What had we gotten ourselves into? A bored tycoon decided to purchase a family on a whim and play house. Had I heard anything more outrageous? I would be insulted if it wasn’t so comical.

Stefan was in no joking mood, though. While he spoke, he looked out into the dark rather than at me. Unease settled in my stomach at his despondency.

Something wasn’t right.

It was appalling that a man wanted to buy his wife, sure, but weren’t moguls known for their eccentric impulses? A crazy man’s nonsensical spouting was nothing to be torn up over. Why was Stefan acting like someone died? This was no big tragedy because nothing would come of it other than a good laugh.

Unless he didn’t dismiss the proposal as lunacy.

“What did you say to his offer?” I asked apprehensively.

He turned to face me. In the moonlight, it was impossible to read his expressions. “What do you think I said?”

I wanted to believe Stefan said, ‘Hell, no,’ perhaps even flipped the table in rage over Kai’s boldness. But his melancholy didn’t give me the confidence. “I can’t say for sure because of your long face.”

“I refused, of course. I said no.”

“But you have reservations about whether it was the right decision.”

He slanted his head in my direction. Blond hair hung in loose waves around his face. “Why would you say that?”

I took a step toward him. Gentle August breeze played with my hair and I pushed it out of my face. “Because if you were certain, you wouldn’t look so unhappy right now.”

He returned to his pensive contemplation, looking out into the dark. “I’m happy with my decision.”

“You’re not. It’s written all over your face. And if you seem unhappy now, you must’ve seemed unhappy in front of him. It sounds like he’s the kind of person who can sniff that out. You know it, too, and instead of shutting him down completely, you kept the door open to the possibility.”

He said nothing for a long while, then whispered, “A man approached me about becoming my wife’s second husband. He admitted to loving another woman in the past but didn’t proposition her husband because I’m in a desperate enough situation to consider his filth. I feel worthless despite walking away.”

That was what I loved about Stefan. He wasn’t thickheaded like other men, and if I called him out, he had no problem admitting to his flaws and insecurities.

I sighed. “I’m sorry. I hate that I brought someone like him into our lives. I’m just glad it’s behind us.”

Whenever we had a difficult conversation, this was around the time Stefan rushed over to hug me and make me feel better. This time, he stared into the vast, looking anything butgladit was over.

Something felt hollow inside me. “It is behind us, isn’t it?”

“I already told you that I refused him.”

The answer didn’t ease my heart, which was suddenly shaking. “That’s not what I asked. I asked whether it was behind us. Or are you tempted to call him and accept the offer?”

“Am… What are you doing?”

“Asking you a question you’re trying to dodge.”

“Leave it alone, Am.”

The hell?For a second, I considered marching out in the middle of the conversation. Then I thought of the more dramatic approach of slapping him across the face. At long last, I settled on extracting the truth.

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