I don’t reiterate that I’m not reckless, and that my need for freedom isn’t about walking into danger.
Instead, I press a kiss to his cheek, his stubble rough beneath my lips. “I’ll be careful,” I assure him.
By the time I get to work, I feel lighter. Theo doesn’t hover or crowd me when we get inside. He goes to the monitors, taking up his usual spot, while I join Juno. She’s flicking through a brochure about canvasses, but she lifts her gaze to look at me. “You alright?” There’s none of her usual sass, which tells me how worried she must have been.
I nod. “Yeah, I’m… Good.” I sink onto the desk chair, getting comfortable. “I’m sorry you had to see that yesterday. I didn’t mean for you to get dragged into mine and Jensen’s problems.”
Juno waves this off. “Please. You think that bothered me? I have five sisters. I’m used to drama.” She puts the brochure down, looking at me properly. “I know someone who can get you a fake passport.”
I blink, not sure if she’s joking. It’s hard to tell with her sometimes. “That’s… Kind of terrifying.”
Juno grins. “And resourceful, right?”
I snort and load up my laptop. “I’m pretty sure ‘proficient in counterfeit documents’ wasn’t in your job description.”
“Honey, I know a lot of artists. I’m pretty sure they could forge my mother’s birth certificate if I asked nicely.” Her expression fades into something more concerned and her eyes drift to the ceiling—to the cameras—before she focuses on me again. “Seriously, are you okay? If you need help to escape the demented husband, just say the word. Or, you know, burying his body after you murder him.”
I laugh, loud and obnoxious. Theo glances in our direction, suspicious. It makes us both laugh louder.
“I appreciate the solidarity, Juno. But I’m okay.” I rest my hand over my stomach, remembering how excited he was to make this baby. The way he looked at me when he found out I was pregnant. The way he looked at me the night we got married. “We talked and sorted things out.”
“Okay, but if you ever change your mind…” She wiggles her eyebrows.
I shake my head. “You’re my first call,” I assure her.
At lunchtime, I’ve got a craving for one of those chicken and avocado bagels from the coffee shop down the street. Perfect time to test whether Jensen really has loosened the reins.
“You want to grab lunch with me?” I ask Juno as she wanders over from the displays.
“Yes!” She groans dramatically. “I’m so sick of these four walls today.” She glances toward Theo and then back at me. “Are you allowed to go?”
I pause for a beat. “I guess we’ll find out.”
I walk over to Theo, who watches me approach warily. “Everything okay, Mrs. Rivers?”
“I need to pop out.” I brace for the argument, for him to get on the phone to Jensen, for there to be a protocol I’m breaking or something that needs to be scheduled.
But he just stands. “Make sure you grab your coat,” he says. “It was cold this morning.”
I raise a brow before I glance at Juno, who shrugs.
“Really? I can go?”
“As long as you get me one of those cookies with the little white chocolate bits in.”
My eyes soften. “I’ll get you two.”
By the time my day ends, I’m itching to see Jensen. Things between us still feel tense. He’s messaged a few times today, but he’s kept his distance, too. Given me the space I asked for.
Theo takes me into the apartment, like he always does, and when he sees Jensen standing in the window, his back to the room, he leaves.
I pause before I approach, taking in the broad shoulders of my husband, and the way his shoulders are bunched together.
I kick off my boots and pad over to him. The moment my hands wrap around him from behind, he grips my arms, holding me in place.
“Are you okay?” I mumble against his back.
“I missed you.”
