Page 171 of Push

“Indisposed.”

“Brooding again?” My eyes narrowed with suspicion on Romeo’s charm offensive of Sydney’s finest. Coincidence? Nota chance. “Or are you just pissed off that I interfered with you stalking my wife?”

“Stalking? Hardly,” Liam scoffed. “Romeo’s a friend…of sorts…” He paused. I could imagine him dramatically sipping his drink and rolling bored eyes at the ceiling. “I prefer to keep my arrangements private, but protecting Gwen more openly became necessary. And Romeo isn’t so bad, is he? He’s a rather pretty distraction.”

“You sick bastard—”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I don’t think he’s nearly as pretty as you are.”

Christ, this guy… I huffed with annoyance. “And who’s following me?”

Silence stretched. “Why would anyone be following you? Surely, the dentist is big enough to fend for himself.”

Ice trickled down my spine. My gaze snapped to the garage, the hair on my arms prickling and my heart racing. I hadn’t imagined the noises. Someonewasfollowing me. But if it wasn’t Liam…

“Sweetheart, it’s time for you and me to have storytime,” he continued. “There are things you need to know. Just you. Far away from the hearing of clever ears.”

Pfft. Yeah, right. “You can tell me anything you want, but I won’t keep secrets from Gwen.”

“Stop acting like a fool for once in your wretched life,” Liam spat. “Did you learnnothingfrom the devil who raised you? You may not care about protecting Gwen, butIdo. Ignore me if it pleases you. Choose any hotel you want for your impromptu vacation,” Liam snapped. “Someone willalwaysbe close behind. Involving the police is an inconvenience. Nothing more. They are of no concern to me—and certainly not to the people youshouldbe worrying about.”

“If Gwen’s in danger, she needs to know—”

“That burden is yours to bear, not hers.” Liam’s usual cool tone was replaced with undisguised anger. “Your former business partner’s stirring up a hornet’s nest you can’t even fathom. If you decide to grow balls even half the size of your father’s, I’ll tell you where to find me.”

Liam hung up.

My shoulders slumped. It wasn’t the weight of the bags I carried dragging me down but my own guilty conscience.

Wide-eyed, Gwen scampered into the hotel suite, her hand smoothing over the perfectly made bed. “This is nice,” she murmured with a grin. “What do you reckon, little dude? Fancy digs?”

Noah didn’t answer. He was fast asleep, thumb dangling from his lips.

I set up his portacot beside the lounge. Any distraction would do right now. The police had done nothing. They’d given a lackluster warning to Romeo and handed Gwen a pamphlet about making a restraining order. A fat lot of good that’d do.

This was all my fault.

Exhausted, I sank to the edge of the bed, dropped my head in my hands, and just…sat. Not even Noah sleeping safely in his portacot sparked any life in my chest. I felt flat. Alone.

Gwen’s arms hugged my chest from behind, her legs latched around my waist, and she rested her cheek on my back. I sighed and stole all her warmth. It’d been so long since she’d cuddled me like that.

“Toby, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Are you still angry?”

“Nah.” And it was the truth. “But, God, Gwen… We’re sobadat this. Relationships and crisis.”Lying. Keeping secrets.“It’s likewe’ve got all the right ingredients to be perfect for each other, but we’ve got no idea how to mix them all together to make it work. We’re great at making fireworks, but smoothing out the bumps…”

Gwen clambered around me, and, wobbling ungracefully, almost toppling off, she landed in my lap. Her arms wound around my neck, and she looked down at me with a smile. “I like our fireworks.” Her kiss was soft on my cheek. “We’ll get better at handling the bumps.”

“I know.” I tipped my chin so her lips would land on mine this time. One kiss. And then another. Perfect. I muttered her name with a groan, curling my fingers around her waist to drag her flush against me, rocking her hips the way I wanted. After I shimmied her into just the right angle, I sighed.Yeah, that’s the spot. “I miss you…”

“Naked,” she finished for me with a grin.

“It’s more than that. I miss seeing the other side of you.” I kissed her only once this time. “The Gwen onlyIget to see.” My hand slid under her shirt, up the curve of her waist to her ribs, and with my breath warm on her cheek, I watched her eyes carefully…socarefully. “If I stripped you down…pinned you to the bed…just like I used to…would I get to see that Gwen?”

Her breath hitched. She rocked her hips, teasing me, and tried to land a kiss, but I jerked back.

“Will I, Gwen? Will you be able to let go?”

She frowned.

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