I stopped and listened. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’d been doing that ever since I woke up, but so far I hadn’t heard a single noise coming from Rose’s side of the second floor or downstairs. I kept telling myself I wasn’t her chauffeur; if she wanted to walk to work when it was almost dark outside, she damn well could. I had to mind my own damn business. She had gone places without me just fine before we had made this goddamn deal and gotten married.
Yet my ears were still searching for the telltale signs of her stepping out of her room and rushing down the stairs as she did every morning.
Taking my shirt off, I walked to the small fridge in the corner and took out a water bottle. Draining it in one go, I threw it on the floor.
Guilt was a very strong opponent to go to war with, and I couldn’t seem to shake myself out of the funk I was in. When you added ex-fiancés into the mix…
I started on the weights until I was dripping with sweat.
What was it with her? Why couldn’t I stay away? What the hell was I going to do?
When I was done, I went back to my room to take a quick shower. Maybe it’d been a good thing that I hadn’t been able to sleep. If by the time I was dressed, Rose hadn’t gotten up, I was going to have to wake her myself. With a towel wrapped around my hips, I checked the time as soon as I was out. She was late. I got dressed as quickly as I could and headed to her room, cursing myself for worrying the entire time. I was in this marriage for the property. I was in this marriage for the sake of looking like a family man. All I had to do was keep repeating it to myself.
Still a little worried, I wasn’t exactly quiet as I knocked on her door.
“Rose? I’m not your goddamn alarm.”
Provoking her and watching her reactions was probably one of my favorite things in life at the moment.
No sound. After hesitating for a second or two, I pushed open the door only to see her bed was made and she was already gone. Had she left while I was working out or when I was in the shower? I grabbed my phone from my room and went downstairs. I was tempted to call and ask her if she had made it to work okay, but I thought better of it. I left my phone in the living room and went into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. What I brewed at home tasted just fine. I didn’t need to go to her coffee shop every day just because she was my wife or because I enjoyed looking at her. I made a good enough coffee myself.
While I was still waiting for my coffee to be ready that I was sure wouldn’t taste anywhere near as good as hers, I heard my phone going off in the living room. By the time I picked it up, it had stopped ringing. It wasn’t a number I recognized so I let it be. Leaving the phone where it was, I headed back to the kitchen, only to turn back midway when the phone started ringing again.
“Yes?”
“Jack?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Jack, it’s me, Rose. I…I’m calling you from…a…someone else’s phone.”
Not knowing what was going on, I tensed when I heard how her voice trembled.
“I was just wondering if—Jack, are you there?”
When she started talking to someone else, I lost my patience.
“Rose, tell me what’s going on. Where are you?”
“Oh, you’re there. Okay. Right. I…I just took a little tumble, and—”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m fine. Well, I wasn’t, but I’m now…Henry?” I heard her address someone else. “Your name is Henry, right? Yes, I—” She let out a long breath. “Henry was out running, and he saw me trip and fall. He was kind enough to help me. My phone flew out of my hand and took a tumble of its own so it’s not working at the moment. I was wondering if you could come and help me to work. Henry offered to wait with me until then. I’d go on my own, but I think—”
Somewhere in the middle of her ramblings, I had already opened the door and was standing in front of the elevators.
“Where are you? Tell me your exact location.”
When she couldn’t even tell me where she was, she asked Henry and related his exact words to me. I hung up on her. Then I put the damn phone back to my ear as if she could still hear me and I could apologize after realizing I’d been rude.
Out on the street, I considered grabbing a cab, but from what they were telling me, they weren’t anywhere near the road. Before I could waste more time thinking of the best way to get there, I found myself running across the street, ignoring the blaring car horns as I avoided getting hit by oncoming traffic. I entered the park somewhere around 79th and ran as fast as I could in a suit. If Henry had described the place correctly, she was somewhere in between the Ramble and the Boathouse.
I slowed down to a brisk walk when there was almost fifty feet separating us and watched as Rose lifted her head and looked straight at me. She gingerly got to her feet with the help of the man standing next to her. My eyes ran over her, but I couldn’t see any visible injuries. My heart was pounding from the run, or maybe it was just worry, or what the hell maybe it was just seeing her, but thankfully my brain was still working enough to remember that we were supposed to be husband and wife and we could and should act like a couple around other people.
“Rose.”
I went straight for her and before I could try to think of what I could do or what would be appropriate, I found myself rocking back a step when her body hit mine. She was fine, and she was already in my arms. A little out of breath, I didn’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her, squeezing gently since I wasn’t sure where her injuries were. I closed my eyes for a second and let out a long breath. She was fine.
“What happened?” I asked, addressing the guy next to her, but Rose answered before he could speak, thinking I was talking to her.
“I probably shouldn’t have called you. I was being stupid, I’m sorry,” she whispered to my shoulder and pulled back. My brows snapped together as I studied her face. If she didn’t think she should have called me, what was she doing jumping into my arms? Reluctantly, I let her go. Her gaze dropped to her hands, so I looked down as well to see her staring at her shattered phone screen. “It works enough that I could find you in my contacts, but it’s not calling. I’m not sure what’s wrong.”
“It’s broken to pieces, that’s what’s wrong.”
“Henry thought I should call someone to pick me up.”
I finally turned to Henry. He was maybe forty or forty-five with white streaks in his hair, wearing black sweatpants and a black zip-up sweatshirt. I extended my hand. “Thank you for helping my wife. Is there anything we can do for you?”
We shook hands as he gave Rose a once-over. “It’s nothing. I’m just glad I was there to help.” He glanced at his watch. “I need to go, but she took a bad fall so you might want to have someone look—”
My jaw clenched. “I’ll take care of her. Thank you again.”
Rose shuffled closer to me. “I have a coffee shop on Madison Avenue, Around the Corner. If you’re ever around, please drop by—I’d like to buy you a cup of coffee as a thank you.”
“Sure. It’s not safe for you to walk around the park this early in the morning, so be careful in the future.”