Chapter Fourteen

Annabelle

I’m bubbling with excitement by the time Elliot picks me up from the café a couple of hours later. My cheeks are warm, and my dress swirls around me like melted chocolate. It’s all I can do not to grab Elliot and kiss him the moment I climb into the car. The interior of the powerful, luxurious Maserati smells like him—that clean, male scent, which makes my skin prickle with sharp awareness.

“What’s got you so excited?” he asks as he deftly maneuvers the Maserati through the L.A. traffic. It moves like molasses, the cars around us shimmering in the heat, and a small scowl scrunches his face. “Keep looking at me like that, and I’m going to want to go fast.”

I tilt my head, absorbing the delicious presence of him. He’s in a pale gray cotton t-shirt that molds to his torso, outlining his shoulders and pecs. The faded jeans hug his hips and thighs, and I flush as I remember how I gripped his ass last night.

“Or just check into the first hotel I see and fuck you until you scream my name over and over again.”

This time my cheeks warm with carnal need. “You’re such a sex addict.” The mild reprimand is ruined by the breathlessness of my voice.

“We have to make up for the morning,” he says, totally unrepentant.

“I’m sure we’ll make up for it in St. Cecilia.”

“Different time zone. Doesn’t count.” A small smile tugs at his mouth.

He makes a few deft turns, and the traffic flow becomes better. We should be home in no time at all.

“So. How’d your meeting with Traci go?” he asks. “You guys still cool?”

“Pretty much. It was amazing to reconnect with her. I didn’t realize until now just how much I missed my friendship with her.”

“Well, great. I’m happy for you.” He smiles.

I grin back at him. “I’m happy, too. She’s doing well, which is always good. She finished school last year. It’s making me more determined than ever to get my degree.”

“I’m sure you’ll finish your education. A cap and gown will look fabulous on you.” His voice is warm, but something shifts in his mood. It’s hard to pinpoint, but it’s almost like the warmth is leeching out from him, and he’s brooding a bit.

I peer at him. “What?”

“Nothing.” The tone of his voice is final and firm, but he softens it with a small grin. Whatever popped up in his mind and is bugging him is still there, but he isn’t going to talk about it.

I want to know what’s bothering him, but I suspect we don’t have that kind of relationship. I look out the window at the traffic in front of us. Since I don’t want an awkward silence, I resume talking after a moment. “Just spending the time with her reminded me of how well she knows me. It’s almost scary really. She even figured out that I miscarried. I thought nobody would ever know.”

Elliot’s eyebrow rises above his sunglasses. “How could she have known that? You never told her, right?”

“No, but she realized my period was too long to be normal, and eventually she put that and a couple other things together.”

He grunts. “Perceptive.”

“Yes, but she was always like that. Always interested in helping people out.”

“Except for that time two years ago.”

“Elliot.”

“I don’t have to be a genius to figure it out. Why else would you have lost contact with each other?”

The car pulls into the designated spot. He kills the engine, grabs a glossy black paper bag and helps me out.

I sigh. “It was a tough time for everyone. Not her fault she didn’t handle it well. We were both young and immature. She genuinely feels bad about it, and she’s going to help me get a job.”

“A what?”

“A job.”

“Whatever for?”

I frown up at him as we take the elevator to the penthouse. “Elliot, we talked about this already.”

“You also mentioned how you wanted to finish your degree, which is a much better use of your time if you ask me.”

“Well, I didn’t ask.”

He doesn’t acknowledge me. “You aren’t going to get anything that pays decently without a degree. If you could, you would have.”

My lips go tight. I tilt my head and look up at him, anger and humiliation pulsing through me. Since I left Lincoln City with Nonny, I basically worked as a waitress. Then there was that extremely brief stint as a very bad stripper. He’s also seen me as a cleaning lady.

From the way his eyebrows pinch, he knows he’s made a mistake. He opens the door, his movements unusually jerky. “I’m not saying this to make you feel discouraged,” he says. “But if there was anything available without a college degree, you would’ve had a better job than what you had.”

I walk past him, and he follows me in. The door locks automatically behind him.

Suddenly I spin around and face him. “Elliot, I can’t spend my year doing nothing. I’m not used to being idle.”

“Why not? You worked very hard to provide for yourself and your sister. Don’t you think you need a little break?” He drops the bag on the counter. “If you think you’re going to be bored, why don’t you do some volunteer work? Elizabeth’s foundation can use the help, plus it’d look good on your résumé and college applications.”

He doesn’t understand that I need the money to get out from under Mr. Grayson. I don’t want to wait a year, and I still don’t know how to explain Mr. Grayson and his weird interest in trying to set me up with Elliot. But I owe my husband honesty. “There’s—”

“If you want,” Elliot starts at the same time, “I can call in some favors to help you get into a local school.”

I recoil at the offer. “Don’t be insulting,” I shoot back. “I’m going to a school that I can get into on my own merit, not because you know someone who knows someone.”

“I don’t know someone who knows someone. I just know someone.”

I breathe in deeply. It won’t do us any good to be upset with each other. I remind myself he’s trying to help. “Anyway, I can’t do volunteer work. I would like something that’s going to help me earn some money.”

“You don’t have to work if you’re worried about that. If you need money, let me know, and I’ll take care of it. I told you I’ll provide for you while we’re married.”

“You have been doing that, and I appreciate it. But that’s not the issue.”

“Then what is?”

I look away. “I have some debt, and I don’t want you involved in it. It’s something I want to pay off on my own.”

He makes a sound of frustration deep in his throat. “It can’t be that much. Just give the information to my assistant, and he’ll take care of it.” He rakes his hair. “Why are we even arguing over something this stupid? I’m going to provide for you as long as we’re married. I made that clear.”

But what do I tell the assistant? I don’t even know Mr. Grayson’s address. More importantly, I’m afraid to have Elliot involved in any way with a man as shady as Mr. Grayson.

“Elliot, let’s not fight over this.” I wrap my arms around him tightly. “It’s not worth it. Please?”

He digs a hand into my hair and strokes my back, which is rigid as a diving board. And from the way his body stays taut, I know he isn’t going to let it go.

* * *

Elliot

I let my wife cling to me. Normally it would give me dirty thoughts. But right now all I can think about is how she won’t talk about what’s really bugging her.

I don’t believe that shit about needing money or some secret debt. There’s nothing in her initial background check that indicated she has any credit card debt or owes money to loan sharks.

So what is it, really? And why do I feel so apprehensive about it?

FOLLOW THE MONEY.

That cryptic message… Is that about my wife, not about the intern?

Fucking secrets and the games women play. I got screwed over once with Annabelle Underhill, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let it happen again.

Patience, I tell myself. There’s nothing Paddington can’t dig up, and I’m going to make sure I know all there is to know about my wife by the end of our honeymoon.