I frowned, not nearly as amused. “Really, Greg? Are you trying to imply that I didn’t know my own husband?”
“Not at all,” he said, sobering quickly. “I’ve never known two people so in tune with each other outside the—well, in a relationship like yours.”
“What do you mean, a relationship like mine?” I asked, starting to get seriously annoyed at his uncharacteristic prevarication.
“A vanilla one,” he said after a moment, finally giving me a straight answer… and then ruining it by adding, “Well, sort of.”
Sort of?
“Blair and I weren’t kinky,” I said, turning away from the bookshelf to blindly stare out the window in the little nook while I tried to figure out what the hell Greg was getting at, and why it was bugging me so much.
The window faced the hickory tree-lined parking lot that had been almost completely full when I’d arrived last night. Now, my truck and Rene’s wreck of a Volkswagen were two of maybe half a dozen vehicles left there, and I frowned again at seeing his little car in the light of day.
I definitely didn’t want Rene driving in that. Something to think about before he left The Plazerra.
“No, you weren’t,” Greg agreed a little too readily, pulling my attention back to the kink conversation. “At least, not that you ever shared with me.”
I snorted. “Of course I didn’t. Kinky or not, I am not now, nor will I ever be, the type to share intimate details of my sex life with others, Greg. You know that.”
“I do,” he said, sounding amused. “And believe me, I’m the same.”
I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully, suddenly sure that he was implying that he was, in fact, into things I’d never have guessed. Hell, he must be, since he seemed so familiar with everything happening here at The Plazerra this weekend. And if that were true, if I everdidfeel like sharing, he might be the one person who wouldn’t blink an eye if he knew how I’d been getting my needs met in the five years since losing Blair.
Not that that was anyone’s business, or that I had anyreasonto share it.
Or to be ashamed of it, which I wasn’t.
I shook off the thought, getting back to the subject at hand. “Look, about Blair. Are you implying that he had an attachment to this place? That he knew about it? Was he… involved somehow?”
A rushing sound suddenly filled my ears, Greg’s answer lost in it as something ugly twisted inside me. What if I hadn’t known my husband as well as I’d assumed?
From the day I’d told Blair I didn’t want to touch his money, he’d agreed that we wouldn’t. He’d set Greg up to manage it, told him to make sure it did some good in the world, and—as far as I’d known, anyway—washed his hands of it, putting a hundred percent of his faith in me to provide for him, just like I’d promised and then moved heaven and earth to make happen.
Even in those first few years, when me spoiling Blair had been more along the lines of splurging on boxed wine than buying him another Gucci watch, he’d never once complained or made me feel like he doubted my ability to take care of him. But the whole time, if he’d actually stayed more involved with his trust fund than I’d realized, did that mean he’d just… been humoring me?
My knees gave out, and I sank down onto the upholstered window seat as I tried to come to terms with the idea that there may have been secrets between us, an entire part of Blair’s life that I’d been cut out of.
“Greg,” I said, my voice a hoarse croak as my thumb rubbed against the too-smooth skin where my wedding band had sat. “Did Blair—”
“No,” Greg said before I could even get the question out, sending a wave of relief through me that was so intense it almost felt painful.
“Christ,” I said, sucking in a breath and then scrubbing a hand over my face as I tried to get a hold of myself. “Okay. I… fuck, Greg.” I took another breath. Then another one, until the world settled back into its rightful order. “So, he wasn’t involved with The Plazerra, or… any of it?” I finally managed.
“Never,” Greg said just as firmly. “He was even more hands-off with matters relating to his trust than you were. You know that, Edward.”
I did.
I thought I had, at least.
No… Idid. Of course I did.
“Blair had no interest in managing his money, not any more so than he did in managing the rest of his life,” Greg said. “That was your job.”
“Right,” I said, knowing Greg wasn’t getting in a dig, it was just the truth. A truth that had worked beautifully for Blair and me, since I’d been more than happy to—no, I’dthrivedon—taking care of Blair in all ways.
A barrage of memories washed through me, making me smile as I watched an excited gaggle of Littles through the window as they poured out of The Plazerra and piled into a red SUV, taking off for… oh. Probably for the Cuffd-sponsored activity—some outdoor games organized at a local park—that Nathan, the Daddy who’d been explaining some of the dynamic to me, had mentioned.
I was almost entirely sure Sam would try to rope Rene into going, but if Rene still wasn’t comfortable, I was going to put my foot down until I sorted out what was making him so anxious.
