Page 248 of As The Shifter World Turns

“Can’t love. Got a thing.”

“A thing?” I said, louder than I intended. More like shrieking? “Martin, we've hardly spent time together recently. Both of us need to reconnect and we haven’t been able to do that because you’re always out and when you’re at home, you’re on social media.”

“What do you want me to do?” he shouted. Charlie whimpered and put his face on my chest. And Toby poked his head out of his room.

I hustled my son back in saying, “It’s okay, sweetheart.” Judging by his face, he wasn’t convinced. I’d have to talk to him once Martin had gone out. Because he was leaving. He was jingling the keys in his pocket, a sure sign he was irritated with the delay and wanted to leave.

Martin spoke very slowly. “This is work.”

“Oh, what’s the job?”

“Not a job per se but one of the companies that pays me a lot of money needs me to attend an event. Therefore I need clothes and they want me there now so they can choose which ones.”

His phone beeped and he read the message and grinned. “There’ll be a lot of schmoozing. Don’t wait up.”

I never did. He’d come home with whisky on his breath and other mens’ cologne on his shirt. From what I could gather, his new friends didn’t have families so they didn’t have to race home to put kids to bed or for date nights. And if they did, their long-suffering partners were doing the heavy lifting. Just as I was.

“Can’t you say no?” I asked even though I already knew the answer.

“No! If I did, they may decide to not use me for their next campaign. I’m earning good money, Neil, for doing very little.”

He was getting paid outrageous sums and I wasn’t complaining but the work had taken over his entire life and our family was suffering. I was exhausted and missing the alpha I mated. Martin had to strike a better work/life balance but I wasn’t sure he wanted to spend more time with us.

“Perhaps tomorrow you can look at your schedule and slot in a time for us to talk.”

Martin didn’t respond because he was filming himself and giggling. In itself, it wasn’t outrageous that he’d ignored me, but it was the last in a long line of similar incidents. I waited until he put the phone in his back pocket. Holding back tears and hugging Charlie, I mumbled, “I’d like you to move out.”

“Huh?”

Gods, don’t make me say it again. “I need space from you and I can’t get it here.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Neil. I’m not having an affair if that’s what you think.”

Of course the possibility had crossed my mind but I trusted my mate and ignored that he spent his days around hot young things. “I didn’t say that.” I put Charlie in his chair. “Even when you’re here, you’re nothere!”

“Where the hell am I supposed to go?”

“Crash with one of your friends, stay in a hotel for tonight and then a B&B after that. I don’t know. You’re an adult.” I didn’t mention 3B. It was unfurnished and giving me space didn’t include having my estranged mate staying onthe floor above my office. “I’ll pack you a bag while you’re gone and leave it by the door.”

“What about the kids? Toby ismyson, remember.” That was a low blow and it hit me right where he wanted it to.

“If you come by tomorrow, we’ll both talk to Toby. It would be best for him to stay here. This is his home. Once you’re settled, he can stay with you some nights. But he has to have a say in what happens to him.”

“You’re a real piece of work, Neil.” He slammed the door, making Charlie cry and Toby tiptoed out and put his head on my shoulder.

“It’s okay, TD. Dad will come around.”

“You heard that, huh?” Not surprising considering how both Martin and I had been shouting.

“Mmmm. Dad’s had a hard time being out of work and now he's earning a lot of money from his modeling. He’ll come around.”

“You’re a smart kid. So glad you're mine.”

But when I climbed into bed, the empty space on the other side had me crying myself to sleep.

Micah

“Bad news about the house, Archer,” I told my mate as I walked in the door of 2B. The small one-bedroom apartment was cluttered with toys, laundry, laptops and piles of paper. Neil worked for Daire and me, though it was really with us, especially during the filming and promotion of the reality show. I guess that was our business now. Reality TV. Who would have thunk it?

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