“Yeah, they are fine,” she assures me as her voice goes low as if she’s whispering. “I just got them from school.”
“Okay.” I don’t know why I’m expecting her to tell me that Vincent got in trouble or said something to her he shouldn’t have said.
“Nora was full of stories for me,” she starts and I wait for the rest of what she has to say.
“How long is this conversation going to go on before you get to the point as to why the fuck you are calling me?” I finally snap out.
“Are you seeing someone?” she hisses at me, and I laugh at her. The bark of laughter that escapes me is so loud it makes the person walking by me jump. “This isn’t funny, Knox.”
“I agree it’s not funny. It’s hilarious.”
“Are you going to deny it?” she asks me, and again I can’t help the laughter.
“Are you kidding me?” I ask her. “Did you actually pick up the phone and call me for this?”
“I’m asking you a valid question.” Her voice stays low, and I know she is calling me away from the kids, not loud enough that any of them hear this conversation.
“Okay, bye,” I quickly say, and she screeches.
“Josephine,” I say her name. “The fact you think you can pick up the phone and call me to ask me this has me thinking you have lost your fucking mind,” I growl, my voice tight. “It’s none of your fucking business what I do or who I do it with.”
“Well, I think this is a perfect time to call my lawyer,” she declares and the minute she threatens me, my whole body goes tight.
“Good,” I push, “go ahead and call him. While you are on the phone with him, don’t forget to remind him I caught you in our marital bed fucking Jeremy.” My voice is high and I’m sure people on the street are probably listening to this conversation as they pass me by. “And that you were fucking him for the last fucking three years.” My voice rises and I hate I’m letting her get to me. “Tell him that,” I retort and then I press the red button, ending the call.
thirty-eight
Kylie
I pull up in Knox’s driveway, getting out before opening the back door of the SUV where my overnight bag is sitting. Grabbing it, I close the door and press lock on the key fob before walking up his steps. I raise my hand to ring the doorbell, then hold my bag in both hands.
I see him walking toward the door and he opens it. “The door was open,” he says and there is no smile on his face.
“It’s rude to just walk into someone’s house, Knox,” I joke with him as I step in and go to kiss him. The kiss is very quick and not at all like the one he gave me not even two hours before.
“The door was open for a reason,” he explains and he sounds pissed. “I started dinner.” He turns and walks back toward the kitchen, and I stand in the entryway for a full minute, rethinking coming here. When I walk to the steps and put my bag down, I take a deep breath then join him in the kitchen. It’s the easy way out to just leave, and I’m not taking the easy way out this time.
I step into the kitchen and walk to him, his back is to me as I put my hands on his hips, gripping his T-shirt in my hands as I put my forehead on his back and inhale his smell. “Are you okay?” I ask him and I feel him hang his head.
“No,” he finally admits and tosses down the knife he had in his hand while he was cutting veggies. He then puts his hand on the counter in front of him. I move my hands from his waist to wrap around him, laying my head in the middle of his back.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, not sure what to do if he says no. I can’t force him to talk to me, but I know if he doesn’t talk to me, I might not be able to stay and pretend I’m not bothered by it.
“Not really,” he replies and then I wait a second as he exhales deeply. “I’m pissed that I’m letting Josephine get to me.” I swallow now, but I don’t know how, when my mouth suddenly goes dry. I want to let him go and take a step back away from him, but instead I close my eyes and wait for him to tell me. “She called me today when she got the kids from school.” My pulse now speeds up tenfold as I wait for the other shoe to drop. “Asked me if I was seeing someone because Nora told her about your birthday party.”
“Shit,” I swear softly, opening my eyes and looking at the wall.
“Yeah, she threatened to call her lawyer.” My eyes close again and I can’t help that my hands fall away from him, and I have the sudden need to step away.
I take a full step back and then exhale softly before walking around the island and positioning myself between him and the door, in case I have to bolt. “It bothers you?” I ask him and hold my breath.
“Yeah, it fucking bothers me,” he huffs out and then rubs his hands over his face, covering his eyes.
“Why does it bother you?” I ask him and then I can’t help but ask him the one question that I should have asked him when we started this whole thing. The back of my neck heats up as if it’s on fire. “Do you still have feelings for her?”
His hands fall from his face and his eyes fly open to stare at me. “What?”
“Do you still have feelings for her?” I ask again and this time my mouth goes dry, so dry it’s hurting me to swallow. My heart beats in my ears like a drum.
