He wetted his lips. “Good, actually. The chief and I… Well, we were just mucking around.”
Nathan Hillier cleared his throat and took a step closer. “If I may? These things do happen now and then, Mrs. Elliot. Men just need to blow off steam occasionally.”
She stared at the man in disbelief. “You tried to bite my husband’s ear off.”
“To be fair, I did crack one of his ribs, princess,” her husband said stupidly.
“Yes, he did,” the chief concurred.
These people—no, this whole situation. None of it made sense. It hurt her head. “Where have you been, Adam? Why are you late to our session?”
“Oh I put him in lock-up so he could think about things. I only just had him released.” The chief took one look at her no doubt cranky face and took a healthy step backward. “I’ll leave you two to sort it out now. I think that would be best.”
“And with all this thinking, did you reach any conclusions?” she asked her discomfited-looking husband. It was quite a feat. Nothing much seemed to spook Adam, but his lips were pursed and his gaze was all over the ground. “Adam?”
“Yes.” His eyes met hers. “I did.”
“Well?”
“I’m yours.”
Louise canted her head. “What?”
“I’m yours, princess,” he repeated. “A hundred and ten percent. That’s what I figured out.”
“Huh.” Her throat felt swollen and her eyes sore. She didn’t know whether to be mad or cry or what. “I see.”
Adam watched her steadily, his gaze not wavering in the least. He braved a smile. It turned into a wince when he remembered his poor, cracked lip. “So whatever we need to sort out, we will. Between ourselves. What do you think?”
“I think you’re going to drive me to drink.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
He held a hand out to her and she took it. Because what else could she do? She was crazy about him. “Okay.”
“But we still have—” the counselor began, and was silenced with one swift look from the chief.
“I’ll handle this,” Nathan assured them. “You two kids run along.”
Thank the gods.
The door slid open and she stepped through it with her beaten-up husband by her side. Maybe they would be okay. She wanted them to be okay. Yes, the situation was messed up, but their marriage mattered to her. He mattered to her. In truth, she hadn’t realized how much until he’d stood her up again.
They wandered side by side out of the beige office and into a busy hallway. There were lots of official-looking people striding to and fro in suits or the gray corp uniform. Rose and Taka waited at the end of the polished stone passageway. Not what she needed. Hadn’t today been enough of a trial already?
The woman’s face was tight with tension. Her hands worried the folds of her long, colorful dress as she watched Louise approach. Taka gave Louise brief smile.
“Hi, Louise,” Rose said. The woman gave a nervous grin but it quickly fell from her face. “Look, I owe you an apology for my behavior the other night.”
Louise didn’t know what to say, so she kept her mouth shut. That, and she’d kind of had enough surprises for one day.
“And I was wondering if you’d like to come to dinner with me,” Rose said. “It’s ladies night at Hali’s. You could meet some of the other wives. If you’d like?”
Taka gave his wife an approving nod, love shining in his eyes. Adam just shrugged, but there seemed to be something hopeful in his, both the blackened and the normal.
Shit, it was all on her. The woman was trying. Admitting you were wrong never came easy. And these people were important to her husband. Her husband, with whom she had the worst feeling she might be in love.
“Sure, Rose. I’d like that.”
Louise might have been a tad drunk. A smidgeon. Every time she turned around, Rose had shoved another drink into her hand. Apparently Louise had been meant to drink for both of them, because Rose—cue the whispering—might be pregnant! So exciting. She’d met lots of other women. Twenty? Fifty? Who knew? Their names were a blur in her fuzzy, fuzzy head.
“Shit.” She stubbed her toe on the coffee table, peering about in the darkness.
“What are you doing?” A low, warm glow lit the room and her husband sat up in bed. His dark hair stuck out every which way. He sat there bare-chested. Did he have any clothes on?
She meant to ask, but instead what came out was, “Oh, it’s you.”
“Were you expecting someone else?” Adam frowned at her. There were so many bruises on his face. Bruises he’d gotten wandering off in the middle of the night instead of talking to her. Marriage was hard. Much harder then she’d been led to believe.
She shrugged. Fuck him, anyway.
Actually, what a good idea. She felt as horny as hell. Her last coherent thought had been the need to get home to Adam and have it out with him—to have him. Fast and slow and vice-versa. Whatever, however—but now.