Page 6 of A Gift of Time
His reaction took away some of my frustration. I loved seeing that look on his face—one of wonder and awe. It didn’t take away the fact we were still fighting and not on the greatest of terms in our relationship, but it helped a bit.
“I know how you like antiques,” I said, shrugging. “Am I off the hook now?”
“Seriously?” he asked with wide eyes. “You think giving me a gift will make up for your poor behavior? Money doesn’t fix everything, Jack.”
“You’re not being fair.” I peered up at him as he stared at me with an incredulous expression. “Every year, you have all of these damn traditions and everythinghas to be perfect.Valentine’s Day, we go to the same restaurant. Thanksgiving, we go to your mom’s house. Christmas Eve, I have to stop what the hell I’m doing just so I can come home and watch stupid Christmas movies with you like we’re five years old. The same shit all the time. I feel like my whole life is planned already, and frankly, it’s driving me fucking crazy, Caden.”
I’d never told him any of that before, always keeping it in my head. But now that I had, I felt like a jerk, especially when I saw the way his features changed.
He looked as if I’d slapped him.
“If I’m so predictable and boring, why did you ask me to marry you?” The sadness in his voice was palpable.
Reason told me to stop fighting with him and make things right. However, my emotions were out of whack, and anger held dominion over all of them.
“Honestly? I don’t know,” I answered. “Maybe I didn’t realize how unhappy I was at the time.”
“You’re unhappy with me?” he asked as his blue eyes watered.
He stood in front of the Christmas tree, staring at me with a combination of anger and sorrow as he held the clock in his hands.
The lights danced behind him, but somehow, they only made the situation worse. As if our fight had no room for the merriness that came with the stupid decorations he loved so much.
I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t.
Seeing the answer in my expression, he nodded and took another step back, shutting off the stereo that had been playing the soft carols.
The silence in the room was deafening.
“How long have you felt this way?” he asked with a pained expression. “Because honestly, it’s taken me by surprise.” Caden studied me with such devastation that a tightness formed in my chest. “Do you even love me anymore?”
“That’s a lot of questions,” I pointed out. Caden waited, so I gave a defeated sigh. “I’m not happy! Okay? The thought of coming home to you every day has started making me miserable. Especially recently. You get crazy around the holidays.”
The tears he’d held at bay now fell freely down his cheeks.
The side of me that still loved him ached to reach out and kiss his pain away, but the other side that was tired of his shit kept me in place.
“Take back your last-minute gift, Jack.” Caden came forward and shoved the clock in my hands. “I’m going to bed. You can get acquainted with the couch tonight.”
“Gladly,” I shouted after him, and then muttered under my breath, “Anything to get some damn distance from you is perfect.”
I set the clock on the mantel above the fireplace and glared at it.
Caden returned to toss my pillow and a blanket on the couch before storming back down the hall to our room and slamming the door.
“Psycho,” I mumbled as I punched the pillow and lay down.
I was still in my work clothes, but I didn’t have the motivation or energy to get up and change. Plus, Caden would probably yell at me if I went into the bedroom. So instead, I stripped down to my boxers, taking off my shoes, pants, and shirt and tossing them in the floor.
As I lay there, still fuming from our fight and rejecting all thoughts about it being my fault, I glanced back at the antique clock.
Its ticking was the only sound in the room, other than the quiet licking of the flames in the fireplace.
That Nick guy had been weird. And who in their right mind just gave away something to a complete stranger? I should’ve insisted on paying for it, or hell, just walked out right then because it was probably stolen. But I hadn’t thought about any of that at the time.
I’ll take the damn thing back tomorrow.
