I opened the back door to the patio and stepped outside with my bowl. The breeze felt good against my skin. I just sat there, cooling off.
She joined me a few minutes later, slid right into my lap like nothing..
I laughed under my breath because she was good at disarming me. It pissed me off and turned me on at the same time. She laughed with me, knowing exactly what she was doing.
I set my bowl down and kissed her neck, just breathing her in.
She stared out at the yard, smiling. “I can’t wait to be free from all our normal daily activities in a few months,” she whispered. “You won’t have to run to the office, I won’t have to work, haul Kennedi here and there, or worry about cooking and cleaning… It’ll just be us. In Greece. Soaking up all the quality time that we need and deserve.”
That moment should’ve been perfect. But my stomach dropped because how the hell was I supposed to tell her that I needed minor adjustments to the schedule.
I still wanted to go to hold her under the Mediterranean sun and give her the version of me that she missed. But I needed herto push the flight back a little to close a deal that would change another woman’s entire life.
She was sitting in my lap, smiling again, and I didn’t want to ruin it with logistics or “just one more thing” that would make her feel like she was coming second again.
But I also knew… the longer I waited, the worse it’d be. I swallowed hard, tightening my arms around her waist as I kissed her shoulder.
“Baby…” I started. She looked down at me and smiled, not knowing what was coming. “You remember that project I told you about? The single mom with five kids… the one who lost her husband?”
She pulled back slightly, trying to remember. “Mmm… I think so?”
She didn’t. I could tell, but I didn’t take it personal. I knew she had a million things on her plate. So I filled her in and reminded her about the house I’d found, the family’s story, the nonprofit we’d been building quietly behind the scenes. The long hours. The sacrifices. The damn near begging I’d done to get someone to give that woman a chance. By the time I was finished, she was looking at me like she used to.
“Kairo… you’re amazing,” she whispered, kissing me. “Seriously. That’s beautiful.”
I smiled because it felt good to hear. It wasn’t often. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss hearing my wife say she was proud of me.
For a second, I let myself live in that moment. Let myself believe we could sit and bask in something good. But I knew it was short-lived.
“The only thing is…” I started, clearing my throat. “Jacob, the owner of the house, he wants to close. But he can only do it on the 7th… of May.”
Her smile vanished so fast, you would’ve thought I’d smacked her.
“Are you fucking serious?” she said, pulling away from me entirely. “It’s always something.”
“Khloe—”
“No, Kairo. No. I’ve been planning this trip for the longest.I always get the short end of the stick when it comes to us. Always.”
I tried to calm her down, to talk her through it, but she wasn’t trying to hear anything I said.
“I’m not canceling,” I said firmly. “I’m not. I just need us to push the flight back a little. We can still leave the same day, just maybe that evening or later that night.”
Tears filled her eyes and she stood up.
“No, we can’t,” she snapped. “I have excursions booked. Reservations. An entire itinerary. If we miss that flight, the whole trip will be off.”
“Baby,” I said, standing now too. “I just want to make sure this woman and her kids get that home. Can we miss just a few—”
“Fuck no!” she yelled. “You’ve missed a lot of things over the years, Kairo! So no!”
I clenched my jaw. Because at that point, I was pissed too. She wasn’t even trying to be reasonable. I wasn’t saying no to the damn trip. I just needed a few more hours.
And then out of nowhere, she looked at me and said the one thing that cracked something in me clean open.
“I don’t know why I still expect much from you. You don’t have to go. It’s okay.”
Then she turned her back, walked inside, and slammed the door. I just stood there, staring at the space she used to be in, wondering what the fuck could I do.
