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“No, I want an answer,” Bethany stated firmly.
“Ms. Champagne’s personal life is not our business,” Casimir gritted through clenched teeth.
“It’s okay, Mr. Perez. She has a right to know. After all, I am here coaching the two of you to find your way to a healthier marriage.” I steeled my heart as I prepared the next words I would speak.
Bethany Perez smiled at her husband as if to say, “I told you so.”
“My husband passed away five years ago. We were married for three years.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Dr. Champagne,” Casimir apologized. Compassion colored his onyx eyes, which appeared to glow regardless of his mood.
I simply nodded in response and schooled my face into a cool mask of professionalism as I rounded my glass desk and escorted them to the door.
“Don’t forget to schedule your next appointment on the way out. As I stated in our opening conversation, I won’t be able to meet next week because I will be out of town, but we can reconvene the week after.”
“We’ll see you then. Have a safe trip,” Casimir Perez stated.
“Thanks,” I responded kindly, turning my smile toward Bethany Perez. “Don’t forget your homework, Mrs. Perez.”
She did not acknowledge the statement but sashayed out of the office in her four-inch navy heels.
“I’ll make sure she does it,” Casimir Perez stated, a slight grimace briefly distorting his handsome features.
With a slight nod, I replied, “You do that.”
“I’m sorry for my wife’s behavior,” he apologized.
I tugged my chain again and replied, “You have to stop doing that.”
“What?”
“Apologizing for her. She’s an adult. Allow her to be who she is, and if any apologies are to be made, she must be the one whomakes them. You cannot apologize for her. Those are her actions and her words. Not yours.”
Casimir Perez smiled that gorgeous smile at me and caused me to tug on my chain again. This time, it broke free from around my neck, and I gasped in shock. It slipped from between my fingers as I tried to clutch it. We both kneeled to grab it at the same time.
“Thank you,” I stated when he grabbed it first.
We stood up, and I held my hand out to retrieve my necklace.
“Allow me,” Casimir Perez stated.
I stared at him for a moment too long, and he held up the necklace with a polite smile. “Please. Just ensuring it fastens correctly and stays that way.”
I shouldn’t have, but I held my hair up off my neck. Casimir moved behind me, placed the necklace around my neck, and fastened it. The feel of his fingers against the back of my neck and the warmth of his breath sent a warm sensation through my body. I inhaled and held my breath, needing the moment to pass.
Just before I released my hair, Casimir Perez dipped his head with his lips so close to the shell of my ear that I could have sworn I felt his lips against my ear.
“I married the wrong woman,” he whispered in a deep, sensual voice just before he stepped out from behind me and walked out the door.
I stood frozen in the middle of my office, and I wondered what exactly he meant by that statement.
Giselle & Casimir
Two Weeks Later – Giselle
“Mr. Perez, where’s Mrs. Perez?” I asked, smoothing my black and white striped, knee-length pencil skirt over my hips. I shook Casimir’s hand, and not for the first time, I noticed it was tapered and slightly smooth, with just a bit of roughness to keep that masculine touch intact.
His eyes wandered to a potted palm in the corner of my office as if it were an interesting object he had just spotted, before he turned his rapturous gaze back on me. “Bethany had an important commitment that she couldn’t get out of today.”