Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
D r. Singh leaned forward and took the pieces of paper they were holding out. She scanned Lucy’s paper first, then switched her attention to Ian’s, and a furrow appeared between her brows. Then she sat up straighter and set the papers on a table next to her. Slowly, she picked up her notebook and jotted down a few things.
Unlike last time, Lucy was watching the therapist like a hawk.
Ian couldn’t tell if it pleased or unnerved him.
On the one hand, he liked she had done her homework and was paying enough attention to the session to benefit. On the other hand, he didn’t like they’d spent the entire car ride in silence, with Lucy not looking at him once. Even on their way up the stairs, she’d barely acknowledged him.
Their fight still lingered in his mind and made him feel unsteady.
“Thank you both for taking time out of your busy schedule to do your homework,” Dr. Singh said, glancing between them. “Since you’ve both done the love languages test, you’ll both be happy to know that your primary love language is the same, and it’s Acts of Service .”
Ian cast a quick glance in Lucy’s direction, but she still refused to meet his gaze. “So, what does that mean? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“It’s neither good nor bad, Ian. It’s a preference. Your love language is basically how you express to someone that you love them. The fact that the two of you have the same love language makes things easier.”
Ian swung his gaze back to the doctor’s and brought one leg up over the other. “Are you sure the results are right, Doc? No offense, but it feels like we’re not on the same page right now at all. It’s even worse than last time.”
Lucy frowned, and her eyes tightened. “That’s probably because you feel like you can do whatever you want without any regard for the consequences.”
Dr. Singh looked over at Lucy and motioned for her to continue. “And what makes you say that?”
Lucy leaned forward, her eyes flashing. “Yesterday, he volunteered to escort a prisoner to the police department a few towns over, keeping in mind that this prisoner is connected to his mom and his sister’s dad. And if that’s not bad enough, when gunshots were fired, he threw himself over the prisoner to keep him safe.”
Dr. Singh wrote something down and looked back at Ian, who had his hands clenched into fists at his side. “Ian, is there anything you want to say to Lucy in response? How does it make you feel to hear her say that?”
“I feel like she’s keeping some of the details to herself, and she’s failing to see the point of why I did it.”
Dr. Singh leaned back in her seat and nodded in Ian’s direction.
“I volunteered because this guy—Jake—he’s providing us with important information about Lily’s dad. The guy is obsessed with us, and according to Jake, he wants to take us down and make us pay for humiliating him, and I wanted to give us a leg up.”
He wasn’t going to apologize for pursuing every lead and knocking on every door. It wasn’t as if Lucy was just realizing that Ian’s job came with risks. They’d been married for over twenty years, and he couldn’t understand why it was suddenly an issue.
Why was she so fixated on all of the ways everything could go wrong?
“And do you feel like the best way to do that is to put yourself in harm’s way?”
Ian frowned. “I’m not trying to do it on purpose. I just reacted on instinct, and I knew it was my duty to protect him. That’s why we have police escorts.”
Dr. Singh wrote something else down and swung her gaze over to Lucy’s. “Does it make you feel better to know why Ian did what he did?”
Lucy shook her head. “No, because I already know why he did, but it doesn’t change the facts. He’s taking unnecessary risks and putting himself in harm’s way, and he’s not even consulting me anymore. It’s like I don’t exist.”
Ian twisted to face her. “That’s rich. I’m acting like you don’t exist? You’re the one who’s spent the past few months barely interacting with me. If it’s not the house or the kids, you don’t want to talk about it.”
Lucy shifted so she was looking at him directly, her face flush with color. “That’s not fair. You know I’ve been under a lot of stress at work.”
“I don’t actually know because you don’t tell me. You want to talk about communication and things we tell each other… How about that? How about telling me why you’ve been in such a bad mood? And why were you fighting with Maggie the other day?”
Lucy bristled. “Why are you spying on me?”
“I’m not spying on you—”
“Yes, you are. If everything doesn’t work out exactly the way you want it to, then you get all worked up—”
“ I get all worked up? You’re the one who’s busting my chops for doing my job. As if you had no idea what the risks were. You knew exactly who you married.”
“And you knew exactly who you married.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Lucy folded her arms over her chest and gave him a cool look. “You know what I mean.”
“Okay, I’m going to jump in here and stop the two of you.” Dr. Singh turned to another page in her notebook, her gaze swinging back and forth between them like a pendulum. “I’m glad that we’re getting somewhere today and the two of you feel comfortable enough to open up, but unfortunately, our time is almost up.”
Ian wrenched his gaze away from Lucy’s and stared at a blank spot over Dr. Singh’s head. “So, now what?”
“I’m going to give you more homework, and we’re going to pick this up next week. I want you to go out to dinner this week.”
Lucy linked her fingers together and pursed her lips. “Why?”
“Because I feel like the two of you need to connect as a couple, Lucy,” Dr. Singh replied with an encouraging smile. “And the best way to do that is to spend quality time together, away from the pressures of life and being parents.”
Lucy harrumphed and didn’t say anything.
Ian rose to his feet and shook the therapist’s hand. In silence, he and Lucy walked back out to the car, passing another couple on the way in. In the car, Ian turned up the heater and waited before easing out of the parking lot.
“How would you feel about going to that Chinese place?”
“Okay.”
At the stoplight, he cast a quick glance in her direction. “Are you actually going to talk to me, or are you going to spend the whole night glaring?”
Lucy didn’t meet his gaze. “We’ll see.”
When they arrived back home, there were a few cars parked outside. Lucy went to check on Dean and his friends in the basement, and Ian went out into the backyard, eager for some fresh air to clear his mind. He spent hours with the garden shears, in spite of the bitter-cold wind, and by the time he was done, he felt much better about everything. He’d even made some time to work on the swing he’d promised Lucy.
Granted, the therapy session hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped, but at least she was talking. Between that and their dinner, he felt confident Lucy was finally going to open up.
With a smile, he took the stairs, two at a time, and went into their bedroom. Lucy was singing in the shower, a thin mist spilling out into their room. Ian selected a pair of trousers, a button-down shirt, and a pair of loafers. After getting dressed, he waited for Lucy downstairs, nervous energy making him shift from one foot to the other and tap his feet.
Lucy emerged in a black dress that fell past her knees, a pair of thick stockings underneath, and her feet shoved into a pair of boots. In the doorway, she shrugged into her jacket and ducked her head. When they pulled up outside the restaurant, a few blocks away from their house, it felt like Lucy had thawed. Inside, they were taken to a table in the back, with a red tablecloth, a single candle in the center, and droves of people lingering over their tables.
Ian cleared his throat and smiled. “You look great.”
Lucy eyed him over the top of the menu. “You saying that because the therapist encouraged us to compliment each other, or because you actually mean it?”
“Come on, Luce. I’m trying here. At least meet me halfway.”
Lucy set down her menu and sighed. “Fine. You look nice too.”
“I’m wearing the shirt you got me for our two-month anniversary.”
Lucy’s lips twitched. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
Ian shrugged and gestured to the dark-haired waitress. “I remember a lot more than you think. Like, remember when we were sneaking around Sophia’s house, and Zac walked in on us?”
Lucy grimaced. “Yeah, poor Zac. I thought he was going to be scarred for life.”
Ian chuckled and leaned back against his chair. “I thought so too.”
“You handled it well,” Lucy continued, her eyes softening around the edges. “You do have the ability to set people at ease.”
“Stop the presses. Did Lucy Dapp actually pay me a compliment?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”
“I can die a happy man now,” Ian added with a grin in her direction. “My life is complete.”
Lucy picked up her menu again to hide her laugh.
During a dinner of noodles, kung-pau chicken, and steamed dumplings, the two of them laughed and talked. Ian couldn’t stop looking at Lucy and marveling at how beautiful she looked. Little by little, she was unfolding till Ian forgot why they were there in the first place. Two hours later, when they stepped back out, Lucy was giggling, and her cheeks were flushed with color.
In the car, she held his hand and continued to reminisce.
The good mood lasted until they pulled up outside the house, and Lucy’s phone rang. He switched off the engine, got out, and went to open Lucy’s door. She ignored him and raced up the stairs and through the front door. Ian hurried after her, letting the door click shut behind him.
She went into their room and slammed the door shut.
Ian pressed his ear to the door and tried to hear past the pounding of his heart. “Luce, what’s wrong?”
He was met with silence.
“Open up, please,” Ian murmured after a quick look over his shoulder to make sure Dean couldn’t hear them. “We were having a good time tonight. We were reconnecting. Don’t shut me out again.”
Through the doorway, he heard Lucy continue to mutter, interrupted by the occasional sniff. Then Lucy’s footsteps drifted toward the door, and Ian’s heart missed a beat. He drew himself up to his full height and tried to ignore the shiver racing up his spine.
His stomach clenched when Lucy locked the door and moved away.
Ian lifted his hand up to the door and rapped. “Open up, Luce. Don’t do this. I’m here. You’re not alone. Whatever it is, we’re going to get through it.”
His heart was in his throat when he pressed his ear to the door and strained to make out something, anything to let him know Lucy was okay.
He hated being on the other side of the door.
And he wanted to hunt down whoever was upsetting her.
Why wouldn’t she open the door and let him in?
When he heard Lucy’s soft crying, he tried the door again, but to no avail. Eventually, Lucy’s tears stopped, and she went quiet. He removed his ear from the door, leaned against the wall next to their bedroom, and waited. When he sank down to his knees and stretched his legs out in front of him, Lucy still hadn’t opened the door. Nor did it look like she was going to, but he wasn’t going to let her face any of this alone.
So, he threw his head back, rolled his shoulders, and waited.
It wasn’t long before his eyelids grew heavy and began to droop. Ian fought off sleep for as long as he could, but when it came, he folded his hands in his lap and squeezed his eyes shut. His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was Lucy and whether the two of them were going to get through this.
Were they going to weather the storm together?