Page 26 of A First Sight

“Welcome home.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek before beginning the arduous task of driving to Murray Hill through airport traffic.

“Thanks.” I gave him a wary look as he turned his attention to the road. This was…weird.

“How was the wedding?” He sounded genuinely interested. What was he playing at? He was never this nice after I defied him.

“It was lovely,” I said carefully. “Brody and Freedom look really happy together.”

“Your older brother was married once, right? Alec?”

“Yes.” I risked another glance at him. Where was he going with this?

“Best of luck then.” Dale shrugged. “Hope it works out better for Brody than Alec.”

I pressed my lips together and didn’t respond. If the worst I had to put up with were snarky comments about marriage, I’d consider myself lucky.

“Where did you tell them I was?”

“I said work kept you here,” I answered. “They understood.”

Dale nodded. “The performances went well.”

As he continued to tell me about how well he did and how much praise he received, I felt myself relaxing slightly.

I fell back to my usual nods and sounds of agreement, which was always the best way to handle Dale when he wanted to talk about himself. Since that was often, I didn’t have to think about it either.

It took us another twenty minutes to get home, and by then, my nerves were stretched tight again.

Surprising me again, Dale retrieved my suitcase and carried it into the house. I followed, every step making me nauseous. I lingered at the door while Dale took my luggage to the bedroom, my shoulders hunching as I waited for him to yell at me.

But he didn’t.

“Are you hungry?” Dale shouted from the bedroom. “There are some leftovers in the fridge. I had takeout last night.”

“That sounds good,” I said cautiously. Iwashungry.

He came out of the bedroom, his body language casual, looking for all the world like he was having a great day. “You look tired. Do you feel like eating, or would you rather lay down?”

What the hell?

“I’ll go heat up the food. Come out after you freshen up. We’ll eat, maybe watch a movie.” With that, he left for the kitchen.

I stared after him. It had to be a trick, right? He forced himself on me the last time I returned from a trip to see my family.

Or—hope flared inside me––was standing up to him what I needed to do all along? Did it show him I would not put up with his abuse anymore and he needed to treat me better? Could we perhaps save this relationship, make it into something good?

Was it even possible?

TWENTY-THREE

DRAKE

I spentthe entire weekend at the office, even though I didn’t have any work to keep me busy. I reviewed everyone’s account the way I would once I took over Uncle Ben’s duties. Not that I didn’t trust the employees. It was more about ensuring no one overlooked anything, and we kept everyone accountable.

For me, it was about trying not to worry.

It didn’t work.

I needed to know if Maggie came back to New York or used this wedding to get away from Dale.

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