“I’ll leave you two alone after she comes in.”
It occurs to me that Gabriel must be afraid that someone is using Monroe to gain entrance, and part of me wants to ask if he’s got a gun stuffed in the back of the towel wrapped around his waist. But I decide I don’t want an answer to that particular question.
A knock comes on the door a few moments later, and Gabriel steps in front of me to open it.
So this is what it’s like to live with a super-protective man. I’m not mad at it.
My budding grin blooms when I see Monroe’s eyes go as wide as saucers and her lower lip falls to the floor.
“What . . . Wait. What the fuck is happening right now?” Her gaze darts from me to Gabriel and then back to me. “Did I interrupt something? If so, I’m really fucking sorry, but I didn’t know where else to go.”
“You alone?” Gabriel steps out of the way for her to enter and sticks his head out into the hallway.
“Yeah. Of course.”
He shuts the door and gives me a nod. “I’ll leave you two to it then. Good to see you, Monroe.”
She stares slack-jawed at him as he struts his towel-clad ass in the direction of my bedroom and the master bath.
I take a moment to appreciate the incredible physique of the man who just gave me more of the best orgasms of my life. His shoulders are broad and defined. His muscular back tapers into a V at his narrow waist. I didn’t know it was possible for my mouth to water at the sight of a well-built man, but that’s exactly what I’m doing right now.
“Holy shit,” Monroe whispers as soon as he disappears from sight. She cuts her attention to my face. “You sure as hell snagged yourself one fine man.”
I nod, one eye still trained on the doorway through which he disappeared. “I know. I’ve never lived with a guy before, so this is going to be a bit of an adjustment—but a really, really, really good one, I think.”
“Wait. Hold up. You’re living together? When did that happen?”
I hold up a finger. “Let’s put that on pause while you tell me what’s wrong.”
Monroe shakes her head. “Mine can wait. When did he move in? Oh my God, who else knows? What is your dad going to say? Scar, this is huge. Like a massively big move.” She goes on to list everyone I know to see if I’ve told anyone. Obviously, that answer is no.
Part of me wishes she’d taken my suggestion to talk about her issues instead of bringing up all the people who are no doubt going to freak out when they find out Gabriel is living here.
While I’m thinking of a way to redirect the conversation, Monroe snaps her fingers in front of my face to get my attention. “Girl. Spill. Now.”
I go to my mug rack and grab two. “You want some coffee?”
“What I want is answers.”
My annoyance is rising, but I don’t know why. Monroe’s acting like I can’t decide anything by myself without first consulting everyone else in my life, and it’s kind of pissing me off. I also don’t know how much to tell her about what happened at the club, so I go with the basics.
“No one knows. We decided last night. We’re just testing it out, seeing how we like it.”
Her golden-brown eyes seem to widen even further. “This is a big move. Like . . . huge in relationship terms. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Absolutely. I like being around him. He makes me feel safe. He makes me happy,” I tell her. Even though the situation is supposed to be temporary, there’s another question running through my mind—what if I don’t want it to be temporary?
Monroe bursts into tears, and in a split second, she goes from standing to crumpling into one of my kitchen chairs, sobbing with her head in her hands.
“Monroe!” Her name comes out more like a yell, and footsteps and nails click against the floor as Gabriel and Roux come rushing into the kitchen.
Gabriel’s got his razor in hand, but freezes when he sees the crying woman. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
Roux sniffs along her side before returning to sit at Gabriel’s feet.
“I think I’m ruining my marriage. It’s probably over. And it’s all my fault.”
Gabriel’s blue gaze locks onto mine over Monroe’s head. I drop into the chair beside her and scoot closer, throwing an arm around her shoulders.
“Honey, no. It’s not over. Your marriage isn’t ruined.”
“You . . . don’t . . . know . . . that.” Monroe snuffles each word through sobs.
I grab a handful of tissues. As Gabriel slowly backs out of the room, Monroe’s head pops up and she looks right at him with tear-filled eyes.
“You’re a man. You know how this works. You tell me.”
I have to give Gabriel credit. His expression looks more deer in the headlights rather than horrified.
“What’s going on?” he asks, even though he has no clue what he’s getting into.
Monroe takes the tissues and uses them to dab at her tears. Even when breaking down, she’s as elegant as it gets. “I went to his away game,” she says with a sniffle.
“Harlow said you thought he was cheating. What happened?” I know that information is supposed to be locked in the double vault, but this is an emergency.
Monroe’s lip quivers, and a few more tears spill out over her lashes. “I didn’t tell him I was going.”
“Oh fuck,” Gabriel whispers, reading my mind exactly.
“What happened?” I ask again.
She swipes at her nose and takes a steadying breath. “I saw him at a bar with the team. Talking to a woman while he was getting a drink.”
“Okay . . .”
“And then when some of the guys left, he went with them, and so did she.”
My heart clenches because I’m scared of where this is going. In her defense, it looks bad.
Monroe keeps going. “She went up the elevator with them too, so I waited a few minutes . . .”
I’m dying to know what happened next, but I don’t dare interrupt.
“And then I pounded on the door to his room, and when he opened it, I shoved inside. I thought I was going to catch him red-handed with that slut in his bed. I searched the whole room, while he just stood there by the door.”
Oh shit, I think, catching a glimpse of Gabriel from the corner of my eye. He shakes his head slowly as I picture Monroe ripping open closets and screaming as she searched for the woman.
“But she wasn’t there,” Gabriel says quietly.
Monroe jerks her head toward him. “How did you know?”
His face goes soft. “Because he’s married to you. He doesn’t need a skank from the bar when he’s got you waiting at home for him.”
Monroe bursts into another round of sobs. “Why didn’t I trust him? What is wrong with me?”
“Oh, honey.” I squeeze her tighter against my side. “You were scared and—”
“I ran out of the room and took a red-eye home. And when he got back a little while ago, Nate said he didn’t want to see me. He told me to leave, or he would.”
My stomach twists into a knot. “Shit. I’m so sorry. God, Monroe.”
“I deserve it. He’s going to divorce me. He told me we have nothing if we don’t trust each other.”