“You’re not serious.”
He stared at me gravely and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “I am.”
“You actually want me to stay behind.”
Whit nodded. “Correct.”
My uncle was right. I didn’t know my new husband at all. “You’re going to do what you want no matter what I say, aren’t you?” I said with an airy swipe of my hand. “As if I hadn’t proved my capabilities or worked hard enough—”
“Inez.” Whit glanced meaningfully toward my uncle’s door, his brows rising suggestively again. “It’s not about that. Ricardo needs time, and I think the distance will help. I’ll work on him, talk to him, and when I return, I think he’ll have gotten used to the idea of our marriage.”
What logical reasoning. Everything he said made sense, but I still hated every word of it. “But—”
“I’m not going to change my mind,” Whit said abruptly. “I don’t think I’m being unreasonable.”
“When we got married, I hoped that we would be on the same side.”
“We are.”
I met his gaze levelly. “No, you just made a decision without me. That’s not what a teammate does.” I swallowed hard, giving him time to respond. When he didn’t, I walked to the door leading out of my uncle’s suite, my back straight. “Have a safe trip, Whit,” I muttered, exiting the room before he could see the extent of my hurt. I stomped down the hallway, folding my arms across my chest, absolutely raging. If he didn’t know how much I hated not to be included, to be ordered around as if I had no opinion or voice or—
Quick footsteps behind me.
“Inez.”
Oh no—I was not ready to hear more directives from him. I marched on, faster now, but Whit hooked his hand around my elbow and swung me to face him.
“We have got to work on our communication,” he said, exasperated.
“Oh, I heard what you said,” I fumed. “I’m not going to change my mind. No confusion there, Mr. Hayes. I’ll have you know that I don’t appreciate the pompous—”
“Usually you catch on quickly,” Whit was saying. “How many times did I have to look over at your uncle’s door—”
“—behavior with no thought to what I feel—”
“—where he was obviously listening—”
We both broke off at the same time.
“What?” Whit asked. “Pompous behavior?”
I blinked. “Catch on quickly? My uncle was listening at the door?”
We stared at each other in bafflement.
“What the bloody hell are you talking about?” Whit asked.
“What are you?”
He began laughing, gasping loudly, shoulders shaking. He bent over, taking deep breaths to compose himself. Except I was still frowning, and when he got another look at my face, he doubled over again, laughing. Whit released my arm and wiped his eyes, needing the corridor wall to help keep him on his feet. “Did you call me pompous?” he asked between breaths.
“You were acting like it,” I said.
“I was only saying what your uncle wanted to hear,” Whit said, still grinning, “because I could hear him shuffling around near the door. My God, you’re no better than he is.”
“Oh,” I said, finally understanding, my mood brightening considerably. Whit didn’t want to be parted from me just yet. “You do want me to join.”
He slowly shook his head, and my sudden elation deserted me. But he stepped forward and placed his hands on my shoulders, and his next words made everything better.
