“Why is that?”
She shrugs, glancing at a couple who passes by the window. “They’re soft. Doughy. Cakey. You know what I mean.” Dropping that bomb of an insult must have made her hungry because she’s suddenly super focused on her fries and shoving as many as she can in her mouth while laughing to herself.
Doughy? Soft?Fuck me, she’s brutal. I need to breathe through the anger, but every time I do, she lobs something else my way. “You should come with a trigger warning.”
“Oh yeah?” Why does she look genuinely intrigued by my comment? She chews her food and downs more beer like she’s at a kegger. “Why is that?”
“You have an innate sense for how to find my buttons and jab them repeatedly until you set me off.”
“This may be hard to believe, Warner, but I’m not trying to set you off. I’m trying to?—”
“Another beer?” Our server has great timing.
I’m not amused. I wanted to hear her response. I reply, “No,” just as Delaney says, “Yes, please.”
The server’s eyes volley between us, and I can tell by the worry in her expression that she is silently begging one of us to put her out of her misery. Delaney reaches across the table to rest her hand on mine. Giving it a little squeeze, she angles her head toward the server and grins. “My husband says I can’t have another.”
She plays dirty.
“I didn’t say you can’t have one.”
The server replies, “You did say no.”
“I’m not her boss.”Fuck.Guess I’ll never be able to show my face around here again.
“Or CEO,” Delaney adds with a shrug and waggles her ring finger. “Just my dearly beloved.”
When my eyes lock on the diamond sparkling on her hand, she conveniently keeps her focus on the young server. “She’ll take another,” I say. “I’ll take the check. Thank you.” My gut twists, my world once again flipped like a pancake carelessly in the air. I don’t say a word until we’re alone and Delaney’s eyes meet mine again. “That’s new.”
“Not really.” If I didn’t know her wicked ways, I would mistake it as a symbol of our love by how she admires it on her finger.
“What made you start wearing it again?”
“I only stopped two days ago.”
Okay, I’ll bite . . .Looking at my hand, I ask, “Do you know where my ring is?”
Annoyance conspires her eyes to narrow on my bare finger. When her glare hits me, she asks, “Whereisyour ring? Couldn’t wait to be the most eligible bachelor around town again?”
“Again, that would imply I was doing it prior. I’ve neverparticipated in those rankings. As my wife, you’d know that.”
“I know you were asked. Should I pull up the evidence?”
“Why does this sound eerily like we’re picking up where we left off in an unfinished argument?”
The beer arrives. The girl’s sadness, or sympathy, or whatever she and Delaney are silently exchanging through a shared look of understanding, makes me want to get up and leave. I take my wallet out of my pocket, and though it takes longer than I’d like to wrangle it open with the hand of my broken arm while my other pulls the bills out, I finally manage. Placing three large bills down on the tray, I’ve lost inspiration to be out of the penthouse. “Drink up, sweetheart. I’m not hanging around to fend off dirty looks from the staff.”
“What’s wrong?” Delaney’s eyebrow is arched as she brings the glass to her lips.
Leaning in, I glance around to make sure no one is listening. “You made me sound like a controlling monster.”
“If you don’t want to be perceived as controlling, then you shouldn’t try to control everything in your life and mine.” I push back from the table. “Warner?” she calls as I walk away.
I don’t know where the day has gone, but evening has already begun to set in, with the sun being blocked by buildings when I push out through the exit. I look both ways before heading west.
“Warner? Wait.” The distance grows between her voice and my footsteps.
My pace stays as controlled as I apparently am. And steady but she probably considers that a bad trait, so I’ll keep that to myself. I stop at the corner because, call meparanoid, but I hesitate now before crossing the street. Being hit by a car will do that to a person.
