“I’m going to start cleaning up,” she calls out, as if nothing at all is wrong.
A couple of weeks ago, she said that Aiden hadn’t thanked her for anything in a while. I suspect he also hasn’t told her he loves her in a long while either.
“I’m headed out.” He’s oblivious to the meltdown happening in the kitchen.
“Go take Spike for another twenty at poker.”
He lets out a loud laugh and then heads for the door. “It’s too easy. See you.”
When the door closes, I jog up the stairs to my bathroom and the soaking tub inside. After I get the water hot enough, I pour in some salts and then walk back down to the kitchen to collect my girl.
She’s standing at the sink, looking out the window, wiping tears from her cheeks.
“It’s okay, sweetheart.”
She doesn’t turn to me. She just wipes another tear away.
“I don’t remember the last time he said that to me,” she confesses. “It just hit me out of nowhere.”
I kiss her head and then loop my arm around her shoulders and lead her to the stairs.
“I have to clean the kitchen.”
“No, that’s my job tonight. You need to get in the bath. I know you’re sore, and you’re emotional, and I want you to just relax for a while.”
Once I lead her into the bathroom, I see that the tub is full, so I shut off the faucet and turn to find her staring up at me with those wide eyes.
“You get in and get comfy. I’ll bring you some wine, if you want it.”
“Yeah.” She blows out a breath. “I think I want it.”
After kissing her forehead, I step away, but she catches my hand in hers and links our fingers.
“Ry.”
“Yeah, baby.”
She offers me a watery smile, and I lean in to kiss her on the forehead again. I can’t stop touching this woman. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. Now, get naked and in that water before it goes cold.”
I close the door behind me and head downstairs to fetch her wine.
Chapter Thirteen
Willow
With my voice work all wrapped up for the day, I save the audio files for the Mafia romance I’m currently working on and then shut everything down securely and move to my desk so I can check email and social media.
I always save the admin work for the last part of the day, when my voice is growing tired and I can catch up on other things.
I work with several production companies, and they’re often checking in with me for availability in my schedule or to see if I can shift projects around. I also get requests to do live recordings to help promote books for authors, in addition to live streams on social media.
Being a successful narrator doesn’t stop with the recording. It’s a business that I have to promote and work hard at so I stay relevant in an ever-changing market.
I freaking love my job.
After I check my schedule and work in an Instagram Live video, along with a Christmas novella that sounds like fun, I close up shop for the day but keep my phone with me, just in case. It’s become my new routine to head out for a nice long walk late in the afternoon, to get some exercise and fresh summer air before I cook dinner. Some nights,Ryker’s already in the kitchen cooking by the time I get back, beating me to it, but I want to be there for that too.
