Page 5 of Married to the Boss

Chapter Four

Fuck,fuck, fuck. I can’t go into his house. There are too many memories there. It’s hard enough being around him without having to be where there are so many good memories and some bad ones too.

I hesitate getting out of the car and it gives him time to come around and open my door. I get out and don’t say anything. I don’t know what to say anyway.

We walk into the house and I follow him into the kitchen, sitting at the island while he grabs two glasses and pours me some water.

He stands on the other side of the kitchen island and takes the pictures of our baby out of his pocket then lays it on the surface in front of us both.

“I can’t believe that that’s our daughter. When I heard her heart beat and saw her face it was one of the most moving moments in my life. My heart swelled with pride and I fell in love with her instantly. This is my first time seeing her and it makes it so real for me.”

“Yeah, it does make it real.”

He looks up at me. “I’m sorry, Say. I’m sorry I let you down. I had my reasons for not coming to get you straight away. I had to get everything in place before coming for you. There were a lot of loose ends that needed to be dealt with and cut.”

“Look, Everett. I don’t know if I can do this.” I get up off my chair and push it in. “This is a mistake. I need to leave.” The tears are welling up. My emotions are all over the place. I need to get out of the house before he sees how upset I am.

But of course, I don’t get far. He comes up behind me and he turns me to face him. He wipes his hand across my face, rubbing the tears away. Then he pulls me into his body and hugs me tight. “I love you, Saylor. But you have got to stop running away from me. You can’t run all the time. Sometimes we need to stop and face our demons and talk about them.”

“Don’t turn this around onto me, Everett.” I try to get out of his arms, but he just holds me tighter.

“I’m not. I need to stop running too. This mess is on both of us. It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault. But we are both at fault for not talking through these issues. We need to be in this for the good and the bad. I want that. I want you.”

“It hurts too much, Everett. So, so much.”

“I know, baby. But we are going to be in each other’s lives for a long time. We need to talk.”

“I know. I just hurt too much.”

“I know and I’m sorry. But if you stay for dinner, I promise to take you back to Cass’s straight after. This is not a ploy to get you to stay here, however much I want that to happen. I know it’s not the right time.”

I relax into his arms. It feels good to be here. He smells good and I realize how much I’ve missed him. When I relax, I lean into him and he holds me tighter. I feel safe and loved at this moment.

“Come back and sit down, I’ll make you some pasta and we can talk.”

“Okay. And then you’ll take me home?”

“You are home, Saylor. But yes, I’ll take you to Cass’s.” He loosens his arms and steps away from me. I sit back at the island and watch him as he moves around the kitchen preparing food. He’s a good cook and he looks so sexy while he does it.

When he puts a plate down in front of my I can’t stop my mouth from watering. He cooked my favorite carbonara. When I look up at him he’s smiling and I feel the barbed wires that are wrapped around my heart loosen a little.

We eat in silence, but it’s not an awkward silence. It’s comforting. “Everett, that was delicious. Thank you.” I stand and take the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. It’s a natural task, it’s how we worked when we both lived here.

“Please stay for a little while. I want to talk to you about my mother.”

“Do I have to? She’s the last person I want to talk about.”

He walks into the lounge and I follow. We both sit on the sofa. At opposite ends.

“Look, Say, I know what my mother said to you. I know about it all.”

“You read my note.”

“Of course, I did. I have to be honest with you so you might not like what I’m going to tell you, but you need to know.”

Oh God what is he going to tell me?

“When you fell down the stairs and hurt yourself, I installed cameras in here. All over the house. I wanted to know that you were safe when I wasn’t here.”

I start to speak, but he holds his hands up. “I know, I know it’s me being overprotective. I get it. But I didn’t want you to fall down the stairs and for me not to find you for hours. So, after I drowned my sorrows after reading your letter, I finally looked at the security footage to see what you were talking about. I heard and saw everything. I know what she said to you and I know what you did about it.”

I’m shocked I didn’t know about the cameras. I still don’t understand why he didn’t come and get me after watching the video though.

“I knew you wouldn’t take the money. I’m disgusted she offered it to you, Say. I’m so sorry. She’s crass. She’s a bitch and she’s no longer a part my life. As for Zara, she was the first one to go. The pair of them were in it together. Don’t believe anything she said. Our dinner certainly didn’t go the way she said. In fact, it was the opposite. I told her how much I loved you and that I want you in my life. For whatever reason, she really thought I wanted Zara. It didn’t matter what I said or did, she had it in her head that we were meant to be together.”

“Maybe you are,” I say, not able to listen to anymore.

He takes my hand. “Saylor, I love you. I’ll never love anyone else but you. Well and our daughter, of course. Please give me another chance.”

I’m sobbing. I want to give him another chance. I really do. But I just can’t go through this again.

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