“Another reason to put your house on the market and move into my place,” Nash said casually. “I’ll add it to the list.”
Aria lowered the towel, then narrowed her eyes. “Are you keeping a list?”
“Well, not an actual list on paper,” he said. “But it’s all up here.” He tapped the side of his head then went back to watching the game.
“My house is bigger,” Aria said before taking the towel back into the bathroom.
When she got back, Nash lowered the volume on the television then sat up straighter on the couch. He meant business and couldn’t be distracted by the game.
“Yours isslightlybigger,” he conceded. “But mine is brand newandit’s in a better neighborhood.”
Aria sank down into the cushions next to him. “Mine is closer to the bakery,” she said. “I can get to work inside of ten minutes.”
“Right, but mine is closer to my office. It only takes me fifteen minutes from here. It takes me thirty from yours.”
“Mine’s got a bigger yard,” Aria said.
“Diego lived in your house,” Nash said quietly.
Aria leaned against his side, and he put his arm around his mate’s shoulder.
“I’ll call the realtor tomorrow.”
Nash froze and stared at her face, unsure if he’d heard her correctly. “Really?”
She shrugged. “You’re right. Diegodidlive in that house, and I don’t need any more reminders of all the horrible long months I spent married to that man.”
“You’re sure?”
“Completely.”
“Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea. You know, I still can’t believe that Diego got extradited to Mexico. It doesn’t feel real. I keep expecting him to pop up from behind every bush and tree.”
“He won’t be popping up anywhere for a very long time,” Nash said. “He’ll be facing a lot of jail time for his crimes. It was a good thing the deal we made with him was only for prosecution in this country. We never said anything about any other country.” And that was something he didn’t feel even remotely guilty about. Even if Diego hadn’t made Aria’s life a living hell for months, he would still have deserved it for all the rest of his crimes. And he was still convinced prison was the safest place for the man. His bear wasn’t the only one to hold a grudge against anyone who would harm their mate. Whenever he thought of him, it was hard to remember the reasons for not letting his bear have its way. Until he looked at his beautiful mate and remembered what he had to lose. “The Mexican government had been working just as hard as us to bring down that cartel. They’ll probably make an example of him.”
“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer man,” Aria said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Nash snorted. “You must be relieved though, to finally be free of him.”
“Oh, like you wouldn’t believe. And not just that, but free from the threat to my mom’s life, and the worry that he’d spill the beans about our marriage.”
“You never have to worry about that again,” Nash said. “I’m only surprised he didn’t contest the divorce.”
“That was weird. It was like he finally grew a conscience or something.”
“I think it helped that you went into see him when you came back to the office with me that day and he saw what that man from the cartel had done to your face. He’d lived with you for months, after all, and I know you weren’t intimate, but he must have cared for you on some level, even if he had a funny way of showing it.”
“I don’t think he cared for me,” Aria said. “I don’t believe he’s capable of caring for anyone.”
“I guess we’ll never know,” Nash said. “But at least you’re finally free of him now.”
“Yeah.”
“Why did you go to see him that day?”
“I don’t know. I suppose I wanted to thank him for talking to you. If he hadn’t, I dread to think what would have happened. I know I didn’t owe him anything, but I just wanted to thank him for that.”
