I smiled in victory. “Not a box left in sight. I took all the cardboard to recycling, too.”
“Well,” he said, reaching for a spoon and stealing a taste from the chicken before he hummed his approval and wrapped me in his arms again. “I’m clearly under appreciating you. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
I laughed, the sound easy and real, and for a moment — just a brief breath of time — it felt like we were newly married again, like this house wasn’t something I tiptoed through, like I wasn’t constantly gauging his mood before I spoke.
We ate together at the island, knees brushing, his phone conspicuously face-down for once. He asked about my day, about how things were going with Sweet Dreams, about my opinion on the outdoor furniture we needed to buy.
After dinner, he surprised me by loading the dishwasher himself, swatting my hands away when I tried to help. “Go sit,” he said. “You cooked.”
I did, curling into the corner of the couch as he joined me a while later, draping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in. His thumb traced slow, absent patterns along my arm.
“I want you to come to the game with me tomorrow night,” he said casually.
I tilted my head back to look at him. “Tomorrow?”
“It’ll be a big game,” he said. “I think you’ll have fun. Plus, it’s important for the team and staff to see you there. Supporting, you know.”
Ah. There it was.
I want you to come with me because it looks right, not because I actually want to spend time with you.
“Of course,” I said, my smile weak. “I can do that.”
“Good.” He kissed the top of my head. “I leave for Vegas early the next morning.”
I nodded, a strange mix of emotions stirring in my chest at the reminder. He was going for business, and him traveling for business wasn’t odd. However, I’d never known him to go to Vegas, and as someone who’d never been before, I wondered what kind of mischief he’d get into while he was there.
And then there was the storm of emotions I felt at the prospect of him being gone for a while, of me having a weekend to myself.
Relief. Guilt. Excitement.
I could walk around the house without eggshells beneath my feet. I could do whatever I wanted.
There was a beautiful freedom in that.
“Oh, speaking of which,” he said, still rubbing circles on my shoulder. “While I’m gone, the crew will be here to install our cameras for the house. It’ll probably be Saturday.”
“I forgot about those,” I admitted.
“It’ll be good, since we don’t have a private gate. I know the community is safe, but it will make me feel better. Especially for when I’m gone on trips and you’re here by yourself.”
I smiled. “That was almost sweet.”
He smirked back at me. “Gotta make sure my wife is safe.”
For some reason, that wording made my stomach dip a bit. It almost sounded like a threat more than a doting promise.
I didn’t let myself linger on it.
“I was thinking,” I said carefully, “after you get back… Maven invited me to a craft night. Just something small with her and Grace and some of their friends. She does them once a month.”
Nathan immediately stilled.
“Oh,” he said after a beat. “So I get home from a work trip, and you’re already making plans to be somewhere else?”
The warmth drained from my chest.
“It’s not like that,” I said quickly. “It’s just one evening. I thought it might be nice to—”
