Page 2 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

She should not have angered him, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. Over and over, she would mess up.

Take last night. She had spent several hours cooking one of his favorite meals, a simple lemon chicken and artichoke bake served with sauteed potatoes and steamed asparagus. Technically, it wasn’t a difficult dish, but she had still managed to ruin it by leaving the lid on too long, causing the vegetables to turn into a soggy mess.

When he had come home from another hard day at work and sat down at the table to discover yet another meal had been wrecked, he had been rightfully upset.

She knew how stressful it was at work right now. Nothing was going the way it should, yet he was determined to see it through — for her.

Had he not given her everything she had ever wanted? Had she not traveled the world at his expense?

Look at the house they lived in, the designer clothes she wore. He provided everything, yet she couldn’t make the effort to cook him a simple meal.

If she had been smarter, she would have apologized, and that would have been that. Instead, she’d tried to make excuses, even when she knew how much Marko hated it when she did.

Everything that had happened after that was on her. He hadn’t even meant to twist her arm. If she hadn’t tried to get away from him, she wouldn’t have been injured.

After he’d calmed down, he’d held her, begging for forgiveness. He wasn’t himself. Work was driving him crazy. He promised he’d do better by her, she just had to give him time. Time to get over this hump, and things would return to normal. Maybe they could plan a trip, visit somewhere exotic that they’d never been to?

In the morning she’d woken to a bouquet of beautiful roses, a lavish breakfast in bed, and to find that he’d booked her a day at his favorite spa as an apology.

She hadn’t the heart to tell him that, when she was already injured, people working on her body was the last thing she needed.

Brooks was a boutique spa that served a VIP clientele. Only those who had deep pockets or were “someone” were allowed to become a member. She recalled how, the first time she had seen the price tag of its membership, she had choked on her cucumber water. It seemed ridiculous for a spa to not only charge a membership fee at all, but for it to be so exclusive.

But Marko had insisted she join.

She had been letting herself go lately and had put on at least two pounds — all on her hips, if he was to be believed. Needing as much help as she could get, she had reluctantly joined, and was grateful that the four-figure monthly price tag was something he took care of for her.

The day had passed by in a blur of appointments which began with a session in the sauna to clear her pores. This was followed by a seaweed mud wrap, a full body session which would cause any excess water to disappear out of her system. She was hoping she could lose enough liquid that it would get rid of those extra two pounds. To help it along, she had only drunk a protein shake all day.

After the seaweed mud wrap, she had tried their latest facial procedure, which involved hot rocks. She didn’t really care for the details, had just let them decide what she needed and went along with it. Sensing that she wasn’t one of their more talkative customers, the staff — though courteous — never bothered her with small talk. It was why they knew next to nothing about her other than she was polite and tipped well.

Her final appointment had been with the hairstylist. She didn’t need her hair cut as she had a bi-weekly trim, and it had only been a few days since her last, but, wanting everything to be perfect, she had opted for a blowout of her long blonde hair. And since she was already there, she booked a make-up artist to work their magic too.

God knows she could never paint her face the way they did. How they masked her many imperfections was truly something.

When they were done, the staff had exclaimed over how pretty she was, but she knew that only one person’s opinion mattered.

And it wasn’t theirs.

Driving toward his office now, she could smell the water as she approached. His office sat along the docks where the city skyline loomed pretty as a picture. She never enjoyed the city more than when she was at this particular dock. Something about the sound of water with that stunning view always calmed her. It made her feel as if she wasn’t alone, that she was a part of this great universe.

Although she had always been a terrible swimmer and would never be able to utilize the ocean here, she was still able to enjoy it. Tapping French-manicured nails on the wheel, she glanced at the diamond encrusted Rolex on her wrist and let out a relieved breath.

Good, she had made it with twenty minutes to spare before his office closed.

She hadn’t messaged him to tell him she would be coming. Wanting to surprise him for the thoughtful day he had planned, she had booked a reservation at Gino’s, a local seafood restaurant he liked. She was going to prove that she too could do better, that the effort wasn’t only his.

Killing the engine, she stepped out of the car on the Manolo heels she had bought a few weeks back, but hadn’t yet broken in. They pinched at the front, but she gritted her teeth and tried to smile through the pain.

Marko loved her in heels. It would all be worth it when he saw her.

She smoothed down the black dress that clung to her body like a second skin. It was by Dior, his favorite designer, and he always complemented her whenever she wore his dresses. This particular one had been a gift for her last birthday.

He had presented it to her in a beautiful black box lined with red tissue paper. He had even bought matching lingerie to go with it. She was lucky he cared so much that he paid such attention to her wardrobe, when most men didn’t even know their wife’s size.

Locking her car, she shivered as a sudden gust of wind blew deep into her bones.

She glanced at the silk shawl lying in the back of the car, but refrained from reaching for it. She didn’t want to spoil the effect by wearing it, even though it was always much colder here due to the proximity to the water.

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