She shook her head, trying to keep her anger going in the face of his apology. He was not going to get off that easy, this time.
Nate looked at Krissa. “Want me to help get him to bed?”
“I can get to bed.” Derek stood, wavering.
“Sure, buddy. Come on.” Without waiting for Krissa, Nate led Derek up the stairs and into the master bedroom. Krista followed. “My assistance stops at helping you undress,” he told Derek, his mouth quirking at the corners.
“I’ll do that,” Krissa said.
Their eyes met. “Okay. Good night, Krissa.”
“Thanks, Nate.”
He disappeared, shutting their bedroom door behind him.
Krissa turned. Derek had fallen onto the bed, asleep. Or passed out more likely, still fully clothed.
She walked into the adjoining bathroom, the brightness of the light stinging her eyes when she turned it on. She stared at herself in the mirror that covered one wall. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes swollen from crying, mascara smeared under them. Oh lord, she looked atrocious. Derek hadn’t likely noticed in the condition she was in, but Nate probably had. Then again, they’d been in the dark.
She brushed her teeth and washed her face, changed into the nightie hanging on the back of the door. She flicked off the light and returned to the bedroom.
The rumble of Derek’s snoring and the odor of alcohol, cigarettes and perfume that wasn’t hers permeated the room. Krissa stared at him, lips pressed together, her stomach in a tight knot. Then she left their bedroom, shutting the door behind her and went to sleep in one of the other rooms.
He’d walked into quite the mess.
Maybe it had been a bad decision coming to stay with Krissa and Derek. Things seemed to be a tad unsettled.
Nate stood in the shower in the bathroom attached to his room. Derek and Krissa had moved into a big enough house, considering there was just the two of them. It worked out well for him. He had his own little suite here, with a huge bedroom and attached bath. In a house this size, he could stay out of their way and they’d never have to know he was there. Probably a good thing, especially considering the discussion they were likely to be having this morning.
That was putting it mildly. Derek was out getting hammered while Krissa cried her eyes out at home. Uh, yeah, just your typical marriage.
What the hell did he know about typical marriages? He’d thought his own marriage was perfect. What a fucking idiot he’d been. Ah, well. That’d been a long time ago. Another life.
The only good thing about this upheaval was, it had taken his mind off his own problems.
He grinned as he scrubbed shampoo into his hair. He didn’t envy Derek right then. The guy was going to be majorly hungover and Krissa was going to be pissed beyond belief. He was surprised he didn’t hear the yelling all the way into the shower.
When Nate was dressed he followed the smell of rich coffee down the hall. Someone was up. As he passed by a bedroom he noticed through the open door the bed with the covers turnedback and rumpled as though someone had slept there.
Had Krissa spent the night in a bed apart from her husband?
Kinda looked like it.
Krissa sat in the kitchen at the counter, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. Sunlight streamed in through all the windows and Nate slid on his sunglasses, his eyes burning. Fuck.
“Hey. I smell coffee.”
She looked up at him, eyes wary and guarded. Even with shadowed green eyes and a soft, sad mouth, her beauty tugged at something inside him. She wore no makeup and he could see the faint sprinkling of freckles across the fair skin of her nose and cheeks.
She slid off the stool. “I’ll get you some.”
Nate held up a hand. “No, I’ll get it. You don’t need to wait on me. Just point me in the direction of a cup.”
“In the cupboard right above the dishwasher.” She sat down again.
He poured himself a cup of coffee. “Derek already gone?”
She snorted. “He’s still sleeping.” She shook her head, dark hair sliding over her shoulders in a silky curtain.
