Page 25 of No Limits

Thankfully, he reads me loud and clear, though maybe not happily. “Listen, Jessup, man, you gotta go. I promised my girl we would do this together.”

Jessup holds his hands up in peace. “I hear ya, no worries. I’ll head out. I just wanted to meet the one you can’t stop talking about for myself. She certainly lives up to the hype.” He laughs lightly before giving a quick wave, shoving his hands in his pockets, and backing away.

“Shay, I’m—” I hold my hand up to stop him from saying more because I don’t want to hear it right now.

“Let’s just get through this, okay?” Is that what I want? To get through it? We’re going to be picking food for our wedding and yet all I can think about is that he can’t even be bothered to come alone. He can’t say no to these people. And how far is that going to extend?

When will enough be enough? When is he going to realize it?

The worry about what it will actually take is debilitating.

He sighs heavily, tipping his head toward the ceiling. “Okay.”

We sit next to each other at the table, silence shrouding us as we wait for Linda. Neither one of us reaches for the other. He doesn’t try to put his hand on mine, doesn’t try to touch me at all. Just as I don’t lean into him at all.

Although things have been tough recently, part of me was hoping, or maybe even expecting, that we could put that to the side to focus on the here and now. On doing this together and as a united front. That doesn’t seem to be the case.

It’s like we’re each waiting for the other to cave, to apologize, yet refusing to budge because we both feel in the right. He works too much and has no boundaries with his clients. He thinks I’m overreacting and need to be patient for things to calm down.

Another part of the problem is that he thinks I don’t see his side. But I do. I understand the importance of him being available, of him giving it his all. But I also think he can turn that off occasionally.Setboundaries, take days off, andnotgive in and answer the phone if somebody calls. He has yet to do that.

Linda comes back with a smile, and I plaster one on my face. When Dad died, it became too easy. This one is slightly different, but fake all the same. My heart pounds as I wonder how many couples she sees where they aren’t deliriously happy? We can’t possibly be the only ones. Right? Can she tell?

If she can, she doesn’t show it, as she hands each of us a menu and goes into the explanation…again.

“So you’ll be brought one of everything from the menu. There are ten appetizers, you’ll get to pick five. There are two poultry options, two t meat options, a fish choice, and vegetarian. The vegetarian is all we offer, but you get to try it anyway. The portions are a touch smaller, and only one, but pace yourselves because there’s a lot. We don’t expect you to eat it all.” Her voice fades away as she yammers on about the tasting, and how it works after we try.

My gaze moves over to Lochlyn, who’s watching Linda intently and nodding. One hand moves to his mouth while the other goes under the table to land on my thigh and squeeze. His eyes dart in my direction quickly and he throws me a wink.

He’s trying. It’s the least I could do to also try.

I put my hand over his, lacing our fingers, and he grips them tightly, like he’s trying to hold on to me.

“I’ll tell the wait staff you’re ready.” With a curt nod, Linda turns on her impossibly high heels and walks into the kitchen.

“This should be fun.” There’s a tentativeness to Lochlyn’s voice I kind of hate, but understand. It’s the eggshells. He’s not sure what to say or do or even how to act right now.

“Yeah, hopefully it’s good.”

“Listen, Shay, I’m sor—” Before he can finish, two waiters with large trays, each filled with plates, come out of the kitchen and right to the table. They begin to fill it with the plates.

“These are your appetizers. We have bacon wrapped scallops, mozzarella sticks, Thai spring rolls, caprese skewers.” As he goes through the list, he points to each plate, so we know what it is.

I’m already completely overwhelmed, and Lochlyn looks to be too. But he puts his arm on the back of my chair and rubs circles on my back with his fingertips, pulling a curl straight every so often because he knows it soothes me.

With a bow, the waiter is off, and we’re left to our own devices.

“I guess we just dig in. What should we try first?”

My eyes widen as I take in the spread again. It’s just so much. “Uh, how about the spring rolls? They look good.”

Lochlyn stands, holding his tie and jacket against his body as he reaches across the table for the plate. It contains two small fried rolls with an orange sauce.

With a shrug, we both pick one up and tap them together.

My mouth explodes with flavor. It’s warm with light spices and that fried deliciousness. I take my second bite with some of the sauce, and a hint of heat kicks my taste buds.

“These are delicious,” I say around the bite in my mouth.

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