Yet, she wasn’t yelling. She wasn’t cruel. She was precise, surgical, every word landing exactly where it was meant to.
“You’re lucky that the worker will make a full recovery. Luckier still that I’m willing to handle the fallout quietly, but if I ever find out you’ve cut corners again?—”
“I won’t,” he said fervently. “I swear.”
She held his gaze, letting the silence stretch before she finally nodded. “Good, because next time, I won’t protect you. I’ll drive the bus I’m going to throw you under.”
He nodded rapidly, nearly tripping over himself in his haste to leave once she’d dismissed him. Jane exhaled, rubbing her temples as she finally turned around.
“That went well,” I said.
She looked up, her eyes flashing before they softened when she saw me. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to know I never want to be on your bad side.”
She sighed. “He deserved worse.”
“I know,” I said, and I meant it. “You weren’t wrong about how lucky he is that he’s dealing with you and not someone else.”
She glanced at the window, her gaze sweeping across the snow piling up on the sidewalks outside. “You’re insane for driving in this.”
“It’ll be worth it,” I said. “Besides, we just need to swing by my place and pick up my SUV. It’s got the tires we need.”
She studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Give me ten minutes.”
As she walked back into her office with shoulders squared and her spine straight, I felt it hit me fully exactly what my wifewas. Despite what I’d thought before, she wasn’t actually mean. She was formidable.
Standing there, watching her command a room without raising her voice and seeing a man twice her age fold under the weight of her competence, I realized something terrifyingly simple. Jane, as stunning and brilliant as she was, was my wife.Mine.
I loved it. Every time she rolled her eyes at me, I ate it up. That look she often gave me, annoyed and sharp but amused despite herself, did things to me that had absolutely nothing to do with business strategy or board seats.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked when she emerged from her office, blinking myself out of the wonder that she’d actually said yes to marrying me.
She slung her bag higher on her shoulder. “Are you sure you even want to? It might not be your crowd.”
I shrugged. “I love pretentious artists.”
She smirked at me. “You’ll fit right in then.”
Twenty minutes later, we were on the road, snow coming down hard enough that evenIhad to admit the conditions were shit. My hands were steady on the wheel, but I could feel her watching the road and the headlights disappearing into white nothing.
We were supposed to stay for two nights. Zara’s party was tonight, but the roads were slick, visibility was garbage, and if it got any worse, we were going to have to admit defeat, find a different place to stay tonight, and only head for Lake Forrest tomorrow. We’d miss the party, but we’d be safe and we’d still have the rental for one night.
By the time we left the highway and turned onto narrow roads, Jane’s composure cracked. “You can turn around. I saw a motel not too far back.”
I glanced at her, taking in her tight jaw and the way her fingers curled into the sleeve of her coat. “I’ve driven in worse and we’re almost there, but if it picks up, we’ll pull over at the next motel, okay?”
She nodded, trusting me without question. My gut churned, my stomach feeling like it was about to drop out of my ass as I refocused on the road ahead. Responsibility had never scared me, but this did.
When the gates finally came into view, wrought iron and heavy, I practically felt her exhale. I keyed in the entry code Deborah had provided and the gates swung open, the house looming up out of the storm like something out of a Gothic novel.
Victorian lines, warm golden light spilling from tall windows, and snow clinging to the roof. Even from the drive, I could see fires already lit inside, and relief spiraled through me that once again Deborah had proven to know what I’d need before I even knew it myself.
Jane just stared as we rolled to a stop in front of the steps. “Oh, Alex. It’s beautiful.”
I watched her take it in, and the relief, the awe, and the way her shoulders dropped for the first time all day made it worth every obscene dollar. After I shut off the engine, I reached for my door, then turned back to her.
“Make a run for it. The front door should be unlocked. I’ll grab our stuff.”
