‘Because you seem to still be caught up in this—in turning your life into an act of service. What else explains why you came to Sydney? Why you agreed to marry me?’
Her cheeks flushed and he let his hand drop to the mattress. Her eyes lifted to his, and he felt the weight of things she wasn’t saying then, in a way that made him pull back. Because this was the kind of conversation he knew they were better avoiding. He didn’t want to feel sorry for his wife; he didn’t want to feel anything for her. And so he pulled his arm away from her and stepped out of bed, uncaring for his nakedness, just knowing he wanted to get away.
Despite what he’d said, sleeping together changed everything. Without discussing it, they no longer tried to keep one another at a physical distance. The moment he walked in the door, they reached for each other, coming together hard and fast, and then taking hours each night to explore and feel, to pleasure and be pleased by. Working late was a thing of the past. Theo did his level best to stick out a full day, but by the early afternoon, all he could think about was getting home to his wife and sinking into her. The only reason he accepted this shift in their dynamic was the certainty he held that it was purely physical. There would be no more deep and meaningful conversations in bed, no more letting her get under his skin. This time, the partition for Annie would remain firmly locked in place—she would not take over his thoughts again, as she had five years ago, no matter what happened between them physically.
They made love in the pool, the spa, the shower, on the kitchen table, against walls, on the floor, in the car—wherever they were was no barrier. It was as though the floodgates had beenunlocked and there was no going back. Or maybe it was because they knew they had a finite time for this, and they didn’t want to waste it.
Without discussing it, they spent every minute they could in each other’s arms, so when the night of her father’s birthday rolled around, Annie found it almost impossible to think of going out without him. But what choice did she have? She particularly didn’t want to risk things changing between her and Theo, going back to what they’d been like before. While they were hardly sharing each other’s deepest, darkest secrets, there was an inherent intimacy to what they were doing, and the thought of losing that made her body feel weak with despair. In the back of her mind, she knew that wasn’t without risk.
She knew that at some point, she’d have to walk away. The terms of their divorce were already agreed upon, after all, and she couldn’t lose sight of that fact, no matter how good it felt to just be with him again. But for now, she wantedthis.
‘You look stunning,’ he murmured, when she walked into the kitchen wearing a red dress with a low-cut neckline. ‘If a little overdressed.’ He indicated his own attire—just a pair of shorts.
Anxiety trembled inside of her—aware that she was on the brink of upsetting the apple cart and desperately wanting not to—but she pushed it aside. They’d come so far; she could be honest with him, without ruining the good thing they had going on. ‘Actually, I’m going out,’ she said. ‘I have a dinner.’
His expression was immediately closed off to her—familiar, though she hadn’t seen him react like that in a week and a half. ‘I see.’
She could practically hear the questions forming inside his mind—questions she didn’t want him to ask, because she didn’t want to lie. ‘I won’t be late,’ she said, hoping it would assuage whatever he was going to say, and strolling around to put a hand on his chest. ‘Wait up for me?’
His eyes raked her face, a frown touching the corners of his lips, as he nodded once: a crisp, curt acknowledgement.
She let out a soft breath of relief then kissed him, her body immediately stirring to life. He pulled away though, his eyes distant. ‘Have fun.’
Her chest hurt as though a bag of cement had been pressed against it. She turned away quickly, wishing, more than anything that she could stay here with him instead.
Her hand was on the door, when he caught up with her. ‘You’re not going to say where you’re going?’
She closed her eyes against that, before turning to face him, lifting a hand to play with the diamond necklace she wore. ‘A birthday party,’ she said, after a beat.
He nodded thoughtfully. ‘For a friend?’
Her eyes were hooked to his. She wished he hadn’t asked. She shook her head, slowly.
‘I see. Someone I know?’
‘Theo—’
‘You weren’t going to tell me?’
‘It’s—’
‘Your father’s birthday.’
She pressed a hand to her brow, trying to think. ‘How did you know?’
‘Is it a secret?’
She bit into her lip. ‘No, but—’
‘I remember the date, Annie—it is a week before my foster mother’s birthday,’ he said, reminding her of that fact.
She swallowed past a constricted throat. ‘I have to go—you don’t.’
‘He’s my father-in-law,’ Theo pointed out.
‘Yes, but we both know how you feel about him.’
Silence sparked between them, the weight of what they were both feeling making it hard to wade through.