Page 80 of Seasoned
Adelaide clasped his hand in both of hers and kissed his shoulder. “You did it,” she said, tilting back her head to gaze up at him.
He glanced down at her. “Yeah.” His smile broadened.
“Danny told me that you want him to take over this location.”
“Not right now—maybe in another year or so when he has more experience.”
“He also told me that you’re hiring away a competitor to work with the company.”
“He’s the best in the business.”
“Better than you?”
“Nobody’s better than me,” he said mildly.
Still holding Hector’s hand, Adelaide stood in front of him. “There’s so much I want to say to you and I don’t know where to begin. But I guess the best place to begin is at the apology. I’m sorry that you felt unappreciated, too. You’re right, I never thought about what you might need from me or your feelings regarding the work you do, and I’m very sorry.”
“I didn’t mean to come down on you and complain.”
“You meant what you said, and you’re right. I’ve never said thank you for taking care of me. For our beautiful home and making sure the kids and I have everything we need. Thank you for going out there every day and facing traffic and angry customers and dealing with the stress of regulations and employees and financial statements and everything you’ve had to put up with to give us a comfortable life. Thank you for being such a good husband, because God knows there are some terrible ones out there.” She let out a short laugh and stepped between his legs. She kissed his chin, then his mouth. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I will always need you, and I want you to know that my decision to go back to school doesn’t mean that you’re lacking in any way. I want to continue celebrating your accomplishments, but I want accomplishments of my own. I want to have a celebration for the project thatIcomplete. The work thatIdo.”
“And that makes sense. And I want to celebrate with you instead of acting like a jealous fool.”
“You’re not a fool, and neither am I. It’s just that somewhere along the way, you and I changed. We became slightly different people.”
“Which is to be expected after twenty-five years of marriage.”
“Exactly. Growing doesn’t mean we have to grow apart. We can grow together.”
He nodded and sighed. Then his arms enveloped her and squeezed her against his chest.
“Why didn’t you call me to make sure I was coming today?”
“I felt like an ass, and I wasn’t sure if you’d still want to come.”
“Hector, of course I wanted to come.”
“Even after that comment about Rita?” He arched an eyebrow.
Heat filled her cheeks. “It was a stupid thing to say. I was angry.”
“She doesn’t mean anything to me, Addie.”
“I know.”
“Do you really?”
She nodded. “I felt a little insecure, that’s all. Only for a minute.”
“You have nothing to be insecure about. What happened between me and her was a mistake and it ended as soon as it started.”
“She has feelings for you.”
“But they’re not reciprocated,” Hector said in a firm voice.
“Okay.” She played with a button on his shirt.
Hector kissed her temple. “I was going to call you after I got through here. Martin told me about this book,The Five Love Languages. Ever heard of it?”
