The dynamic that I have with the staff here still feels strange. When she leaves me alone, I am eager to sink my body beneath the warm water. I strip down slowly and enter the bath. A sharp prickling sensation sinks into my fingers, toes, and extremities as I slowly ease my body beneath the water.
The warmth feels incredible.
I nearly fall asleep in the bath, but once I warm up and get clean, I want to thank Padraic for rescuing me and meet up with him like he requested. He wasn’t on a date tonight, which doesn’trelieve me the way I thought it would. My emotions are all over the place. It must be adrenaline from getting lost and running into a bear while I was in the woods.
After drying off, I put on a pair of black sweatpants and a matching zip-up hoodie. I finally check my phone and see fourteen text messages from Padraic. Three of his text messages are recent.
Padraic:I’m waiting – and I can’t wait to see you.
Padraic:I’m glad that you’re okay.
Padraic:Impatient but… I can wait.
I don’t know how to describe the feelings that Padraic provokes. Maybe he’s waiting to yell at me now that I’m clean, warm and alive. He probably needed to consult with a team of speechwriters. He wanted me to meet him downstairs in the dining room, so I slip my feet into a pair of slate gray Ugg boots to survive the cold floors, and feel more out of place than ever as I descend the wide staircase and walk across the foyer into the dining room.
It smells like the chef has been in here.Padraic stands up from his seat and pulls a chair out for me with a suspiciously warm smile on his face.
“Do you feel better?”
He still makes me uncomfortable. Hasn’t he been avoiding me?
“Yes. Thanks for coming to get me.”
“You’re my wife. I can’t allow you to get eaten by bears.”
He would still get his tax break if bears ate me. The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Padraic smiles at me, totally unaware of the dark thought entering my head. Maybe he’s not the guy I thought he was. A monster who bought me just touse me. Maybe there’s something deeper there… something sad, sure… but maybe there’s a loneliness that I can relate to.
“Thanks, Padraic. You didn’t have to come for me yourself.”
“I wouldn’t trust anyone else with your life.”
I take my place at Padraic’s side. Dinner tonight is incredible. Did he plan all of this?
“Would you believe I cooked this myself?”
“I’ve never seen you cook.”
“I’m capable,” he says. “And it’s only spaghetti bolognese.”
He removes the cloche over my plate and reveals a hearty, delicious Italian dinner. Honestly, it’s exactly what I want to binge eat after getting lost in the woods and nearly eaten by a bear. The only thing that would make it better is wine.
“There’s wine chilling in the fridge. I’ll have Jelena bring it out once you tell me whether you prefer red or white tonight.”
“Red.”
I don’t hesitate to answer. Padraic grins – he likes my answer.
This is the first time we’ve had dinner together in a while and the energy tonight feels different. Almost like we’re really married.
“I planned to get back earlier,” Padraic says. “I don’t mean to be neglectful, Cullen. My life is totally unsuitable for a normal relationship. I… Maybe I can try with you because this is less conventional.”
I don’t know what he wants from me, but there’s this strange sense that he’s trying to get closer to me and I don’t know what to do with that.
Thankfully, he keeps talking. “I hoped to spend time with you tonight. I haven’t meant to be neglectful. I just don’t know how to be a partner to anybody.”
“I’ve never been in a healthy relationship either. If that makes you feel better.”
If I had experienced any deep, true love in my lifetime, I wouldn’t have sold my hand in marriage to a billionaire. Let’s be very real about that. Padraic reaches across the table and sets his hand on mine. My heart starts pounding out of control. He looks at me and smiles. He’s so handsome, it hurts.