Page 28 of Protecting the Boundary
I pull back, and the rims of her eyes are pink and watery like she’s on the verge of tears. “I’ve got plenty of food. Tell ya what. How about tomorrow when your dad is at practice, we can have a picnic together. How’s that sound?”
There’s still doubt and confusion in her gaze. She doesn’t understand the tension she feels in the room. I’m even more pissed at Romel right now because he could very easily have just gone with the flow for tonight. It wouldn’t have killed him.
“Okay,” she whispers and then glances at her dad.
I catch him reaching out his hand for her from my periphery and she walks over to him. He sweeps her up in a tight hug, andit takes a second for his gaze to move from the wall he was staring at to meet mine.
At least he’s not glaring at me, but I don’t love the closed off expression on his face either. There’s no warmth there at all.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, KayBear.” Then I dash out the patio doors and toward the guesthouse before either of them can say anything.
I spend the next few hours baking a couple of treats for my picnic with Kay tomorrow and snacking on a charcuterie board I bought. And I think about all the things I want to say to Romel as soon as I know Kaylee is down for bed. Because he and I clearly need to have a talk, and if he won’t be man enough to tell me what’s going on, then I’ll start the conversation. What happened tonight wasn’t fair to me or Kaylee, and if he doesn’t care about me, Iknowhe’ll care about how his actions impact his daughter.
I wait until I’m sure she’s in bed and then march across the yard to the patio doors. I grab the handle to slide it open, but it doesn’t budge and I stare at it like it burned me. Not once since I moved here have these doors ever been locked.
What the hell is going on?
I knock, irritated, but underneath that irritation is unease and, worst of all, hurt. What the hell happened yesterday that’s changed Romel so dramatically? I’ve tried to rack my brain over the last few hours to figure it out, but I can’t think of anything that stands out. We were having a great time and then suddenly he checked out.
I knock again until I finally see him come from the hallway that leads to his in-home gym. He’s in gym shorts and no shirt, his dark chest glistening with sweat. Around his neck is a chain I’ve never noticed before with two rings on it—wedding bands. My stomach tightens with nerves and a stupid mix of lust andheartbreak. I shouldn’t want a man who is so obviously emotionally unavailable.
He opens the patio doors, the muscle of his jaw tensing and the muscles on his stomach flexing in a way that absolutely should not make my mouth water at this moment.
Talk about bad timing to be turned on. Jesus Christ.
My lips part, but no words come out. My brain has turned to mush at the sight of this man’s body.
“What?” he grumbles.
I look into his deep brown eyes, wishing so badly for the warmth that was there just yesterday. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.” I’m not letting him try to gaslight me into thinking there hasn’t been a change. There’s no way he could miss it, especially when he’s the one who’s changed.
“I don’t have time for this, Meredith. I need to get a workout in before bed.”
I push myself past him, brushing against his firm body. God, he’s broad and fit and so fucking droolworthy, it’s not even fair. “I’ll make this quick then,” I say as he turns around and crosses his arms. “We were fine yesterday at the aquarium and then we weren’t. Did I do something?”
His jaw clenches, but he shakes his head.
I step closer to him. “I don’t believe you,” I say, hating how my voice shakes. “Something happened and I deserve to know what it was. What happened tonight with Kaylee wasn’t okay.”
Anger sparks in his eyes and he steps forward, closing the distance so we’re practically toe to toe as he stares down at me. “Do not talk to me about my daughter.”
“I’m her nanny. It’s my job to talk to you about your daughter.” I want to addasshole, but don’t.
“You know what I mean.”
I plead with him now because I want to understand whatthe hell is going on. “Romel, please. What happened yesterday? Why are you shutting me out and being cold all of a sudden?”
His gaze darts back and forth between my eyes, his chest heaving as he drops his hands. His head lowers slightly, and I suck in a shuddering breath as he stares at me with such heartbreak and self-recrimination.
“Romel,” I whisper, my gaze dropping to his mouth.
He takes in a labored breath. “I will not cheat on my wife.”
His dead wife.
