Max leans over and says quietly, “They’ve sworn off of talking about husbands tonight. I think we’re both in big trouble, and I’m not even sure what we did. Charlie said something about me being overprotective and bossy, and Bliss called you a flirt. I hope you’ve been flirting withher.”
My heart thumps loudly in my chest, and I know I have to rectify this. I want Bliss to feel safe with me. Being friendly and outgoing is what I do. And yes, sometimes people assume I’m flirting. But when you are the friendly one, it’s easier to set the boundaries in an interaction. It’s how I’ve kept everyone at arm’s length. But I don’t need to do that anymore. Because I have a wife—who apparently doesn’t want to talk to me right now.
I walk into the living room, Max right behind me.
“This is a girls’ night!” Bliss declares, as though that will keep me away.
“I don’t think Max would agree with you.”
Max grunts from behind me and says, “No, I wouldn’t.”
“You look tired. I’ll drive you home.”
Bliss sits up straight and glares at me. “Telling someone they look tired isn’t a compliment, you know.”
I sigh. “I wasn’t trying to compliment you. I was trying to get you home.”
“I’m hanging out with Charlie,” she says as she adjusts the blanket to wrap it tighter around herself.
“Yeah, and I need to talk with you.”
“No, thanks. Plus, it’s not good to fight in front of friends.”
“I don’t think Max and Charlie will mind if we fight in front of them.”
“Well, I’m simply not talking to you. You were rude to me.”
And then she sticks her tongue out at me. It happens in a flash, and at first, I think I imagined it. But then I see Charlie hiding a smile with her hand, and I know my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.
“Sorry about your floor,” I tell Max as I step onto the living room rug without taking my boots off.
Bliss’s eyes go wide as I cross the room toward her.
Yeah, she should be worried. We don’t run from a fight in our house.
CHAPTER 22
Bliss
Zane walks toward me,his cowboy boots thunking against the hardwood floor. I swear if he sits next to me right now, when I’m so mad at him … I’ll be tempted to bite him. I clench my jaw as he comes closer, and a weird tingling sensation spreads across my body as I meet his gaze. His eyes are dancing, and he looks as though he’s even fighting a smile.
Well, I don’t think it’s very funny.
He stops in front of me. “Good to see you, Charlie.” He doesn’t even look her way.
“Good to see you too, Zane,” she says in a confused voice.
“I’ll bring your blanket back.”
What does that mean?
Zane bends toward me, and I reflexively place a hand on his shoulder to push him away. He catches my wrist in one hand and slides an arm around my waist, pulling me toward him and off the couch. Once I’m on my feet, he grabs the edges of the blanket and wraps me tight, like a burrito.
“What are you doing?” I yelp.
I try to free my arms, but before I can, he scoops me up into his arms like a baby and starts carrying me toward the door.
“I’ll see you at five tomorrow,” Zane says to Max as he walks past him.
