His voice was so cold it frosted the surface of her heart.
Clearly, he didn’t want a long-distance relationship, which both eased her mind and made her even more anxious.
“You know we could use the money.” Oh, God. Why did she say that? Why was she pushing him away? All she could think about was how much of a bitch she’d been to him lately, and she wouldn’t blame him for wanting to leave her. Maybe this was his way of saying he wanted out.
Melissa appeared in the doorway. “Blair, I hate to interrupt, but Ms. DeSanto…” The look on her face warned her it wasn’t pretty.
“Garrett…” She cleared her throat. “I have to go.”
“Blair, wait.”
“I don’t have time for—”
“You can wait ten fucking seconds. It’s my office too. I know how it works.” He sounded so pissed that a lump filled her throat.
She started to protest. Garrett was pushing too many buttons, and she felt the strong urge to retreat and hole up behind the protective wall she’d erected. The one Garrett had taken down brick by agonizing brick. Now she had a hole large enough to leave her exposed and vulnerable, two things Blair Hansen never let herself be. Her anxiety skyrocketed.
She wasn’t used to needing someone—to counting on them to be there. She kept waiting for the rug to be pulled out from underneath her. Maybe this was it.
But Garrett remained silent, making her even more anxious.
“Well?” she said, sounding short. “I gave you ten seconds, and now we’ve used up five.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” The defeat in his voice sent a jolt of panic into her heart. He paused for several seconds before he finally said softly, “I love you.”
She’d screwed up. Why couldn’t she be like normal people who were in love? Why did she have to be such a bitch to him? Garrett understood her better than anyone ever had. Loved her despite all her porcupine tendencies. He’d been patient, but he needed more from her.
“I love you too,” she told him softly, already regretting her temper.
But Garrett had already hung up.
Chapter Two
Garrett stared at the phone in his hand, his heart heavy. He’d known the woman he married. He’d known her fears and insecurities. Hell, if he were honest, he’d added to them when he’d hurt her nearly six years ago. When they had gotten together in law school, he’d walked out on her when she needed him the most. He’d left a scar so deep, some days he wondered if she’d ever recover. He’d let her temper chase him away before and had vowed not to let it happen again. He’d erected an internal buffer to withstand Hurricane Blair, but Hurricane Blair had been making appearances more and more frequently lately. He swore to batten down the hatches and ride out her storms, but damn, some days it was exhausting.
He never should have told her about the job offer like that, so out of the blue and catching her so off guard, but he’d scrambled for something to say when she refused to admit she’d missed him. Too bad he’d chosen a topic that had made things even worse.
Garrett called the restaurant where he’d made the Valentine’s Day dinner reservations for that night and asked if they had anything later in case his flight got into Kansas City too late. He knew she hated Valentine’s Day, but it didn’t feel right not celebrating it with her since it was their first as a married couple. But to help with the surprise, he planned to get her a gift card to Chuck E. Cheese as her gift. If he got home in time to buy it.
“We’re sorry, Mr. Lowry. We’re completely booked. It is Valentine’s Day, you know.”
“I know,” he grumbled, releasing an exhausted sigh. Like Blair, he hadn’t slept well the last few nights either. He’d missed Blair. He’d missed lying with her in the middle of the night. He’d missed touching her soft skin. He’d missed kissing her senseless right before he took her, plunging deep as he watched her tilt her head back in satisfaction. He missed talking to her about the little things that no one else gave a shit about, yet she did, listening to every word. And he missed waking up with her next to him, her blonde hair spilled around her head, making her look like an angel even though she was a gladiator when she was awake.
But he was becoming more and more convinced that she didn’t miss him. That she didn’t need him the way he needed her.
He’d always been the aggressor in his past relationships, if he could actually call what he’d had with his many women relationships. But even with Blair, he’d been the aggressor until he had her. And then he was content. Content to build a life with her. A life she seemed to progressively resist and resent.
He was beginning to feel like a yoke around her neck, not a partner to share her life with, and he was at a loss as to how to deal with it.
He told himself that Valentine’s Day wasn’t the day to address it. Then again, maybe it was. Blair hated anything and everything to do with Valentine’s Day. What better day to ask her if she was happy with their marriage?
Because above all else, Garrett wanted her to be happy.
Even if it wasn’t with him.
His phone rang and his heart leapt. Blair. But he felt like a fool when he saw it was his sister’s name on the screen instead.
“Hey, Kelsey.”
“What’s got you so down, little bro?”
“Who says I’m down?” he asked, stretching out his legs in the chair at the airport gate where he was sitting.
“Please, you sound like someone kicked your puppy.”
“I’m fine.”
“Never try to bullshit a bullshitter.”
He laughed as he sat up. “How’s the baby?”
“Nice change of subject.”
“Hey. What’s so wrong with Uncle Garrett asking about his favorite niece?”
“She’s your only niece. And Addie is perfect. Of course. She’s finally sleeping through the night.”
“You said you were going to change her daycare. Did you find one?”
“Damn,” she said. “You really don’t want to talk about what’s bugging you, huh?”
“I’m sure you had a reason for calling that was about something other than my personal issues.”
“And here I thought you were a narcissist.” She teased, but her voice had an edge.
“So what’s up?” Garrett asked. Since he’d gotten married and come back to Missouri, he’d begun talking to his sister more often, but they rarely talked during the day. “Why aren’t you at work? Is Addie sick?”
“No, Addie’s fine.”
“I know it can’t be you. You never call in sick.”
“No one’s sick, Garrett!”
While she could be cranky, something in her tone alerted Garrett that he wasn’t the only one who had issues. He had a feeling she had called about something important. But his sister was notorious for not sharing anything in her life. He would need to warm her up a bit first.
“Okay…what do you want to talk about?” he asked. “Can you believe that Mom made turkey and dressing casserole and tried to call it Christmas dinner? Thank God Nana Ruby was there to save the day.”