“I know you have a lot to learn about marriage,” she said, rising and donning one of my robes. If we weren’t arguing, I would’ve commented on how adorable she looked wearing it. Instead, I sat up and sighed.
“But a great first rule to learn,” she continued, “is that you don’t boss your wife around like she’s one of your capos.” She crossed her arms as daggers of anger flashed in her eyes. “I’m not one of your men, Michael. I’m an adult who deserves to make her own decisions.”
With that, she lifted her chin in the regal way I was coming to recognize, and left the room. My lips fluttered as I fell back to bed and pressed my fingers into my eye sockets. “Goddamnit,” I muttered, reaching for my cell phone. “It’s too early to have a migraine.”
Lifting the phone, I called Burns.
“Uh, hello, sir. It’s early. Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I said, glancing at the time. Burns lived on-site, but usually didn’t come downstairs until six a.m. or so. “My wife gets up early to run every day around five a.m.”
“Ah, I see. Should I have the gym prepared for her then?”
“Every morning, yes. Maybe have some smoothies or other things ready in case she wants them each day? I don’t know. And Burns? How quickly can you get a laptop to me?”
“We have some new laptops in the study, sir. I’ll head to the kitchen now and bring one of them.”
“I need it to have a secure VPN so it can’t be tracked.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Thanks, Burns. See you in the kitchen in a few. Please have coffee brewing.”
“Absolutely.”
I tossed the phone aside and rubbed my forehead. I had a long fucking day ahead, and the last thing I needed was to leave Bianca alone, stewing in anger. Rising, I trailed to the shower before heading downstairs to make things right.
Twenty minutes later, I strode into the gym, a smoothie in one hand and a new laptop in the other. Bianca was working out on the elliptical, earbuds in her ears as she watched something on the screen. Approaching her, I waved the smoothie. “Peace offering?”
She scowled, but not before I noticed her eyes light up at the smoothie. Removing the earbuds, she hopped down and took it. Closing those perfect lips around the straw, she sucked some of the green liquid before closing her eyes and sighing.
“Okay, this is good. I might hate you slightly less now.”
Chuckling, I pointed to the laptop. “I have a very busy day, so I’d like to get you set up with this before I leave.”
She eyed it warily as I set it on the nearby workout bench.
“It’s yours, and the passcode is 0719.”
Her eyes softened slightly. “The night we met.”
“Yes.”
She sipped the smoothie. “Why do I need a laptop?”
“In case you want to enroll in college online. I wasn’t kidding, Bianca. I want you to get your degree if it’s what you want. I’ll pay for it, no matter the cost.”
The corner of her lips curved. “I wanted to go to SUNY Albany and get a psychology degree,” she said softly. “That feelslike a thousand years ago. I always felt I’d be good at helping people, and psychology intrigued me.”
“Do they have online classes?”
Her smile deepened. “Yes.”
Closing the distance between us, I palmed her cheek. “Then enroll, Bianca. I take no pleasure in limiting your ability to roam free. Nor Alexis’s for that matter, although I doubt she believes me. I just want you both safe.”
“I know,” she whispered, nuzzling into my hand. “But you can’t order me around, Michael. I’m grateful for your protection, but I won’t allow that.”
“Considering I’ve been married for less than twenty-four hours, I’m not quite an expert yet,” I said, arching an eyebrow as she breathed a laugh. “I shouldn’t have ordered you to stay inside.” Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Bianca, I think it’s best if you remain in the house until I can guarantee it’s safe for you to jog again.”
