Nicholas stopped me. “The hell you will.”
“I certainly will do as I please.” I didn’t give a damn if I sounded childish. I placed my napkin on the table and stood up to attract Courtney’s attention. “If you’re ready to leave, I’ll use the restroom, and then we can go our way.”
I tried not to feel awful about pulling her away from Geoffrey. I hurried into the bathroom, leaving my bag on the counter, and pouting in front of the mirror. I couldn’t figure out what had made Nicholas’ mood so terrible. When we were upstairs, he appeared pleased to see me.
I let out a sigh and splashed some water on my face. As I inhaled deeply, my anxiety began to slightly subside. When I looked in the mirror and saw him standing behind me, I jumped.
“Why did you come in here?” He stalked over and I turned to face him.
His arms encircled my waist and his hands were firmly planted on the counter on either side of me. He leaned in close and looked upset, his eyes blazing and his cheeks flushed.
“I came to see how you were doing. What on earth was that?”
“Me? Are you serious? What’s going on with you?” I wasn’t going to stand by and let him guilt-trip me. “You become enraged and gloomy after Francis makes a joke about me working at this company. What? Am I unqualified to work here?”
He shook his head and laughed sarcastically. “Why the hell would I think that? Was that what you assumed?”
“What should I have thought? Huh?” I pushed his chest to get him to back off a bit, but he resisted.
He moved in closer instead. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, “I was angry with myself.”
I disregarded how close his lips were to mine.
“What makes you mad with yourself?”
His eyes stayed on my lips for a moment until he stared right back into my eyes. He hesitated to tell me something. I raised my palm to touch his cheek.
“Say it, Nicholas.”
He put his forehead to mine while his eyes were squeezed closed. He said, “It should have been me.” He took his hands off the counter and placed them on my hips. “You smiled at Francis when he recommended taking classes and joining the company. I was outraged. I was envious.”
In an effort to understand what he was trying to say, I ran my thumbs under his closed eyes.
Did he believe Francis and I were flirting?
“I don’t know what you mean. You asked me to come to the office to meet Francis. Do you not trust us?”
“No, it’s not like that. I have the utmost confidence in Francis.” He again opened his eyes after exhaling heavily. Seeing the anguish so firmly there pained me. “I should have been the one to support you in your academic endeavors. I should have been the one to inquire about your interest in participating in the company. T o inquire about your desire to go down that route. He brought it up so casually when you two first met, and it made me realize how awful I am. I would do anything to not fuck up our marriage.”
I understood that everything pointed towards an awful relationship with Rosemary. We would have to talk about it and it needed to happen sooner than later.
Knowing that my temper tantrum at the table had just fueled his fears, I mentally berated myself for it.
I hugged him as fiercely as I could, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Nicholas, you aren’t messing anything up. I’m not easily frightened off. You are being way too harsh on yourself, do you realize that?” I stepped back and gave him another look. “It’s not like there is a handbook out there with directions for what we have to do in a relationship. I think we are allowed to be unsure occasionally. When I pushed you away outside, I am aware that I didn’t do anything to help the situation.”
“You may have thought I didn’t want you at the company, but I now fully understand your perspective. I apologize.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer, I gave in to my urge to kiss him. Our gentle kisses calmed my agitated nerves, and I sighed contentedly. “I am sorry for being a brat,” I added.
He moaned in my ear after a few minutes of passionate kissing.
“As much as I want to keep doing this, if we get caught screwing on the restroom counter, all your employees will know that you are a bunch of horniness.”
I was glad to hear him laugh as I giggled against his neck.
“I still find it unbelievable that you followed me into the women’s restroom.” I gave him a lighthearted smack on the shoulder.
“Nothing on this planet, Willow, could stop me from following you if you fled because of something I did.”
I gasped, knowing he was telling me the absolute truth.
We returned to the table with the others after smoothing our clothes. The recent scene involving Nicholas and me were purposefully ignored by Courtney, Francis, and Geoffrey.
It was better that way.
Thankfully, the remainder of the meal was primarily small talk. Francis insisted that we grab dinner after Courtney and I were done with our errands.
The rest of the day went without incident despite the dramatic start.
I perused through stores, chatted on the phone with Lory, and gossiped with Courtney. However, I was constantly thinking about the impending discussion I needed to have with my husband.
I needed to discover his past for the sake of our relationship.
“What?” I exclaimed.
“I’ve arrived! I’m currently heading to university to dump my belongings at my dorm. Do you have time to meet me afterward?”
Courtney and I were looking through some shoes when Lory called.
“How? I assumed you wouldn’t show up next week.”
“Well… Let’s just surmise that there is a particular someone-whose name rhymes with-oh, I don’t know what it rhymes with right now. So your husband set up a private flight. Right now, I’m being driven to the university in a limo.”