Page 88 of Married to Number 22
But then because I’m critically aware of how busy this man is—and how much more he makes than me per hour, per minute, persecond, how every moment I’m standing here like a dumbass is a waste of all of those resources.
So, I pull my head together.
And I start talking.
And pretty soon, I tell him everything.
And pretty soon…I know I made the right decision.
Because I’ve found an ally.
And he happens to be one of the biggest and most powerful men in the world.
Take that, Smythe.
Thirty-Four
Luna
“What do you think about this?”Kathy asks, holding up the flower arrangement for the umpteenth time for me to approve.
I open my mouth, intending on saying the same thing as the last ten times she’s asked—that it’s lovely—but then her lips twitch.
“I’m kidding,” she says, setting the vase filled with cheerful autumn flowers on the counter then bumping her shoulder against mine. “And I’ll stop torturing you.”
Guilt winds through my middle. “You’re not?—”
A mock frown. “Don’t even try it, kiddo.”
“I’m not,” I tell her, snagging her hand after she spends several moments centering the vase in the island, turning it this way and that, choosing the perfect position to best show off the blooms. “Kathy,” I say, squeezing her fingers, waiting until she looks at me then holding her gaze, wanting to be certain she knows I’m serious. “I’ve spent the last months overwhelmed by repairs and funeral arrangements, packing up Gram’s things into boxes and cleaning up construction dust,” I murmur. “Because before that, the only thing I could focus on was making sure she was getting better—and then when we both realized that wasn’t going happen, all my time was filled with making sure she was comfortable and stowing away enough positive memories that I’d have them for the rest of my life.”
“Honey,” she whispers, eyes glimmering with tears
“When I moved back to Rockfield, I thought it would be temporary, that she would be living in this house again, buzzing around the kitchen, meddling in my life, being a shield between my brother and dad and me.” I sigh. “That didn’t happen, obviously. We moved her into my dad’s place to complete the repairs her andIbecame the barrier between them and her. And I couldn’t think about anythingexcepther and work, so that’s part of why—” I nod toward the rest of the house. “It was in such shambles.”
Kathy snags my hang. “It wasn’t that bad?—”
“Gram would have been so embarrassed,” I murmur. “The dust and boxes, the state of her kitchen and yard, the fact that I was sleeping where I was sleeping. But making this place mine instead of hers…it was accepting that she wasn’t here anymore, that everything was different.”
Kathy sucks in a breath, apology in her eyes.
“I’m not saying this for any other reason than to let you know that your help over the last couple of weeks has really meant a lot.” I squeeze her fingers again. “You’ve helped me bring back Grams, but also…” I sweep my hand around the kitchen, repainted and sparkling clean, the towels hanging from the oven and over the end of the sink a cheerful bright blue. They match the rugs and new towels in the bathrooms, complement the area rugs and runners in the hall and the living room, the blankets in the master bedroom.
All of which I came home to.
All of which is too much and I argued with Kathy about spending so much money on me.
All of which…I gave in to.
Because I don’t have enough money in my account to pay her back—though my lawyers say that, for better or worse, I should have access to my share of the family trust fund soon enough. I’ll figure out how to deal with that—with the guilt of dirty money, with protecting myself while doing something good with it—another day.
And anyway, money or not, Kathy refused to accept absolutely anything aside from a hug anyway.
I’ll find another way to repay her.
“But you also made this house mine and Aiden’s,” I finish. “And I can’t thank you enough for that. Especially considering the circumstances of our marriage?—”
Her face is gentle, but her tone isn’t. “Just because you two haven’t begun in a traditional way…”
