Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
T he talk hadn't happened. Well, not the way Grace had wanted it to anyway.
She’d chosen to wait, allowing Xavier to enjoy his well-earned break and revisit the issues within their relationship on another occasion.
Except there was never enough time. She voiced her concerns in dribs and drabs when, inevitably, Xavier was too tired, or too distracted, to pay attention to what she was trying to say. Or when the minutes were too short, and they'd only just begun to touch on the problems before he had to leave.
So far, the only thing Grace had succeeded in doing was making herself even more frustrated. And with each failed attempt to deal with the situation, her frustration grew, until she felt as if she was about to explode. She found herself hanging on to her temper by a thread most of the times they saw each other, and she didn't know how much longer she could control it before she blew.
And then came the night when he was so late coming around for his evening visit, Grace was forced to stay up later than she normally would, and that was just the final straw.
She was tired, herself, from a hard day at work and she hadn't been sleeping well, worrying about the way things were with her and Xavier. And yet here she sat, staying up, waiting for him to arrive so he could pick out her clothes for the next day, ask—and expect her to be honest—about whether she had followed the rules he’d given her and then deliver her punishment if she actually admitted she hadn't, when all she really wanted to do was go to bed. Or maybe just have a cuddle, not that that was a common occurrence, but it was what she found herself craving lately. Maybe it was just because her birthday was looming large on the calendar, later this month, and she was still no closer to her baby goal. Not even the option of finding a reputable sperm bank, since the way things currently stood had her psychologically hobbled.
There was rarely any time for anything else these days. No convivial glass of wine together, no private play to leave them both exhilarated and satiated. And certainly, no time to discuss the problems which were starting to bog down their entire relationship, leaching the fun out of every aspect of their moments together.
It had been almost twelve weeks now, and Xavier still didn't have a key to her apartment. He had turned one down when she'd offered it, so she hadn't bothered asking again. It was just one more thing that annoyed her. Especially right now, when she was forced to wait up for him until he knocked.
The temptation was strong to just send him a text message and tell him not to bother because she was going to bed. In fact, she dug out her phone to do just that when the distinctive double rap on her door announced that he had finally arrived.
Grace stalked over to the door and threw it open, turning and stalking away again without bothering to greet him. Right now, she really didn't give a shit what he thought of her actions.
She'd had enough.