Page 7 of Abduction
“Think about Bali,” he added, and I managed to smile, even though he couldn’t see it. He was talking about our honeymoon, the trip we had planned to Bali. It was going to be perfect, and I could hardly wait for the wedding to be over so we could go off and get some time together. Sometimes, it felt as though the only way I was going to be able to see him was when we finally took off for our honeymoon, but I never admitted that to him. He was working so hard to take care of me, and I needed to be more grateful for it. One day, I would be able to give him the same in return, to help out and contribute, and I would always remember this time he’d supported me as the reason for it.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?” he added. “Get some sleep. I’ll be there in the morning.”
“See you,” I echoed after him, and, before I could tell him I loved him, he hung up the phone. I tried not to read into it. He did love me; he wouldn’t have been doing all this for me if he didn’t. I was so lucky to have someone who was willing to go to such lengths to take care of me and make sure I was supported. I needed to act a little more grateful, instead of thinking he was cheating when it came to him spending a little extra time at the office.
I still couldn’t shake the feeling something was off, though, and I would have been lying if I said I could. I didn’t like having him so far from me, so distant, so removed, and I didn’t know what it was going to take for me to get over my doubts.
It was a classic story. Guy gets engaged, meets someone new, likes the idea of having a little fling before he settles down...starts staying later and later at the office and lying to his fiancée about what’s going on...it would be almost too cliché, if it was really happening.
But I had no reason to think it was, and I needed to get myself in hand before I ruined this relationship with my paranoia. I needed to trust him, to trust he was doing the best thing for our relationship. He had asked me to marry him, for goodness sake, and it wasn’t like he would have done it if he thought we were going to fall apart at the first chance we got.
I poured myself another glass of water and then headed upstairs to take off my makeup and change into my pajamas. I went through all of my nighttime routine slowly, hoping he would turn up before I was done so I could see him again before I went to bed, but I didn’t get so lucky. It was fine. It was totally fine. I wasn’t worried about it. I wasn’t freaking out.
I crawled into bed and looked over at the empty spot behind me, wondering how much longer I was going to have to wait for him to fill it. Not long, right? Surely. I didn’t like the idea of being here alone, lying in bed while I waited for him to come back. Even if he was doing this for our honeymoon, he was neglecting our relationship in the process, and didn’t that somewhat undercut the point he was trying to make?
I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and closed my eyes. I needed to rest. I needed to sleep. I needed to forget the panic in my head and remind myself of everything this man had done for me. He wouldn’t have invested so much in me if he didn’t intend to see it through.
He was in this for the long haul, and I needed to be, too. And if that meant letting him have a few more late nights at the office while he got things ready for our wedding, I could handle it. I could take it. I wasn’t going to spend my time overthinking everything and panicking and acting the fool.
I was going to get some sleep and pray I didn’t wake up with too much of a hangover tomorrow. Because that was all that really mattered.
Chapter Five
Josh
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IPACED BACK AND FORTHoutside the building as I waited for Tommy to unlock the door, my mind curdling with all the thoughts of what I was going to do when I got my hands on my father.
What the fuck had he been thinking, calling up my brother like that? Tapping him in as though it was normal? I wanted some fucking respect around here, and it felt, more and more, as though I wasn’t going to be gifted it.
I had kept drinking after the call from my father, and I knew I was drunk now, probably too drunk to actually say anything of importance to him. My father hated it when I was hammered like this, and he’d have turned me away from his office before I had so much as a chance to get a word out. Maybe it was for the best. But I needed to give him a piece of my mind.
Tommy had managed to get me in a car and back to our penthouse apartment when he’d noticed me beginning to size up some of the other guys at the bar with us—I had a habit of causing trouble when I was a few drinks in, especially when it was my father who had pissed me off. Even though I knew it didn’t help anything, I needed to get the feeling of helplessness off my chest, and sometimes, an unfortunate patron at the bar with us would be the one to take the brunt of it.
But now I was home, and I figured the least he could do was hear me out. Just talk to me. I wanted to know why he felt so sure he needed to reach out to Tommy of me, why he had decided he couldn’t say this to my face. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to get hold of me? Well, I was going to put it right. I was going to make it so he had no choice.
