Page 35 of Best Kept Vows

The wine was worth every penny, I decided when I tasted it.

“It’s been a while since we did fancy.” Lia took a sip of her drink and nodded appreciatively.

“I know.” I clasped her hand in mine. “But I want to do this more…like we used to.”

“Then we used to have the kids with us,” she remarked, her eyes gazing into mine as if she were trying to discern where I was.

When had so many walls risen between us?

When did we become two people who knew each other for so many years and still felt uneasy?

Did all long-term marriages go through this? Were we unique? And if we were, could we go back to who we used to be: a happily married couple?

“How was your first day?” I asked.

A part of me didn’t like that she was working.

Call me old-fashioned!

However, I also understood that she couldn’t just sit at home twiddling her thumbs, and it was pretty clear that, for Lia, working with my mother and sister at the foundation was equivalent to a root canal.

“It was amazing,” she gushed.

Before she could elaborate, the server came to take our order. Once she left, Lia continued with a sense of awe. “We worked on the pitch presentation. The meeting is in a few months, but this hospital project is a nine hundred million dollar one.”

“This is the hospital that Tommy Minton is building?” I loved how happy she looked because she hadn’t been for a while. I’d never seen her face light up like this unless it was because of the kids.

“Yes! Three hundred beds and all state-of-the-art.” She drank some wine and then grinned. “Luna said that she wants me to be there during the final presentation. Isn’t that going to be exciting?”

I couldn’t help it. I brought her hand close to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “Very thrilling. I’m really happy for you, baby.”

Her eyes filled with caution. “Are you? You were really angry and?—”

“I really am happy for you, Lia.”

When our entrees arrived, we marveled at the presentation. The delicately arranged vegetables and expertly prepared meats made the food look almost too beautiful to eat.

I watched as Lia took a bite of her dish, her eyes closing in delight.

“This is so good,” she moaned, and the sound made my dick stand up.

It had been so long since we’d made love—which was my fault. But tonight, I hoped that we could step back into the marriage we used to have, one where we had sex, couldn’t keep our hands off of each other, where we enjoyed intimacy.

I’d ruined all that by becoming single-minded in my obsession to save Boone Metals. Thinking about the company immediately slumped my shoulders. I’d thought that taking over the family business, that my father finally relinquishing control, would be a banner day—and now I felt that was the day I began to lose myself and my family.

“How was Sunday dinner?” she asked when we were driving home.

“I walked out.”

“What?”

Well, she wasn’t the only one who was surprised. I was, as well. As someone who believed family came first and the Boone name was to be protected at everycost, I never thought a day would come when I’dstormaway from my mother’s table.

“You’re right. You don’t have to go there anymore. Hell, I don’t think I am going, either. Dad looked miserable; he left early, too.” I turned left onto our street.

“Your father is lonely,” she said sadly.

“Yeah. I got that. Hendrix said you were the only one from the family who gives a shit about him.” I pressed the button to open the garage door, and while it opened, I put my hand on hers. “Thank you, Lia. He was an asshole to you, and still, you’re the one who’s there for him.”

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