Chapter 6 #2
“Just being a good wife,” she said, her lips pursing in a half grin.
But instead of laughing, the words startled me. It was so strange to think that I had a wife, business reasons or not. The closest I’d ever come was with Narissa, and what a disaster that had turned out to be.
At first, she’d seemed like an eminently sensible choice.
She was beautiful, polished, well spoken, and knew how to move comfortably among Houston’s highest society.
More than that, she wasn’t looking for her happily ever after either.
She understood that most relationships like ours tended to border more on a business arrangement than a messy love fest. It helped that I’d enjoyed her company, and I thought I knew her well enough that we would make a good team.
So I’d popped the question, looking forward to a low-key, comfortable partnership in our married life.
Of course, that was not what I’d gotten.
But hell, how was I to know that as soon as I put a ring on it, she’d start showing me her true colors?
It had barely taken a month before the jealous fits, the screaming tantrums, and the round-the-clock diva behavior had me regretting I’d ever even spoken to her, much less proposed.
And then there were all the lies that came with her accusations.
Her jealousies over any female who got within feet of me were unfounded and when pressed, she made up stories to match her outrage.
She was the victim in every one of her crises even when the aggressor was nonexistent.
Her lies and the resulting drama had me walking on eggshells, and I was second guessing everything I said or did around her.
It got so bad, there were moments where I didn’t trust my own memory.
Ending the relationship had become priority number one…
though maybe I should have been a little more delicate in how I went about it.
If I’d been a little more careful with her feelings, maybe she wouldn’t have spent the five years since then on an unending campaign to ruin my life any way she could, one STI rumor at a time.
But then again, any decision that didn’t involve Narissa getting exactly what she wanted—instead of what she deserved—was never going to go my way.
More proof, as if I needed it, that love always went toxic in the end. Not that I’d loved her, but she’d certainly claimed to love me. And she used her supposedly broken heart as justification for every wretched, twisted thing she did to me.
“How’d the walk around the estate go?” Lena asked.
Perfect, back to business. “Aside from the fact Callum thinks I can’t tell the top of a scythe from the bottom?”
“What the hell are you doing with a scythe?” she asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Attempting to help the man clear out the damn trail to the coast. I’d like to get the surveyors out here ASAP. That way we can still break ground on the wind farm before the end of the year. That was Grandad’s original goal, and I’d like to keep to that if I can.”
She winced. “Just please don’t hurt yourself. I don’t want to have to explain that to the board.”
“Worried you’ll be blamed for trying to off your new husband now that there’s a castle on the line?” I joked.
She snorted. “If I really wanted to do away with you, I’d just poison your coffee.”
I held her gaze as I raised the mug to my lips again. Sipping slowly. Teasingly. I winked at her. “Maybe this was your plan all along.”
“Oh, yes,” Lena snarked, more of that pink flush flashing across her cheeks.
I couldn’t tell if it was from exasperation or something else.
“Definitely playing the long con here. But seriously, don’t go falling down some cliffside or getting yourself trampled by a herd of shaggy cows.
I do not want to end up as the prime suspect in some inheritance scandal. ”
“The coos are actually rather gentle.”
A bubble of laughter slipped from her throat. “The hell are coos?”
“The Highland cattle.”
“The big hairy things with the horns?”
I was unclear where the disconnect was. “Yes?”
“Okay,” she nodded. “Just had to make sure we were talking about the same thing. Your accent’s been a lot stronger since we arrived. Back in Houston, I barely even notice it most of the time. But here it’s dialed up to eleven.”
“Speaking of Houston, how’re things back at the office?”
She checked her phone. “Nothing urgent right now,” she said. “I have some meetings scheduled for today. Just waiting for the world to wake up back at home.”
I nodded.
“I was hoping to make use of Pete’s office, if that’s okay? Figured I could start sorting through some of his things. Maybe figure out what the hell planning this summer festival is going to entail.”
I sipped my coffee. “Have at it. I’m just warning you, the man wasn’t exactly orderly when it came to paperwork.”
She snorted. “Sort of like someone else I know.”
“Oi! I’m not that bad.”
“Oi?” Lena propped her hand on her chin as she leaned against the counter, her smile soft as she regarded me. “If I leave you alone for too long, when I walk into your office it looks like Milo’s been in there sorting the files.”
“He has.”
She laughed out loud, tossing her head back in a way that had a lock of hair falling free of her clip. “Don’t blame this on your dog.”
I stared at her, wondering why I suddenly felt so breathless. I pressed my hands to the mug until my palms burned. “What else is on the agenda today?”
Lena’s cheek twitched, her face falling as she cleared her throat, the earlier playfulness gone as she straightened up. “We have that appointment at the funeral home this afternoon.”
That sobered me quickly. “Right, of course.”
How could I have forgotten?
Maybe it was because most of the time, it didn’t really feel like Grandad was gone at all. I kept expecting to look over and find him sitting at the counter with the paper and one of Agnes’s full fry-ups. But I was never going to see that again.
The door banged open suddenly, and Callum marched in with Milo.
The dog darted right for Lena. “No, Milo!” she said, rearing back from him. “You’re all muddy. Down!”
Milo halted obediently, wagging his tail and yipping excitedly before darting back out the door.
“Can I grab you a coffee?” Lena asked Callum.
“Not for me, thanks.” He gave her a polite nod, then he turned his gaze in my direction, wrinkling his nose. “You still sure you want to get those hands dirty?”
The corner of Lena’s mouth twitched, and I shot her a glare across the counter as my earlier frustration with the man flared to life. “Ready to get to work,” I grumbled, getting to my feet.
“Right, well. Let’s see how long you go without whining, bleeding, or quitting.” Callum stalked off out the door. I let out a heavy sigh as I watched him go.
Lena caught my eye, her lips pursed to keep from laughing.
“It’s not funny,” I muttered.
“Please don’t actually make yourself bleed,” she said. “Also, be nice. Flies and honey and all that.”
“Me?” I was not the problem. “I’m being perfectly reasonable. Callum’s the one acting like I’m giving off eau de spreadsheets and entitlement.”
Lena inhaled dramatically. “I think I’m actually getting a whiff of quarterly profits.”
“Hilarious,” I muttered as I grabbed my jacket and set off after the man, bracing myself for what was sure to be a bloody long morning.