Page 71 of Crying Shame

He grabbed the plates. “We have dinner every night.”

I served the rice and chicken. “Cooked by your chef and with Sam at the table. This time, it’s just you and me.”

He found the silverware and a bottle of wine. He opened it. “That sounds great.”

My face heated. “You were out of parsley, but I hope you like what I made.”

The benign conversation wasn’t what we needed, but my fears stood in my way of talking about anything more serious.

He said, “You can order anything—“

I lifted one eyebrow, and he lowered his head. “Never mind.”

We sat down to eat, and silence clung to the air.

“This tastes great,” he finally said.

None of this was his fault. I relaxed and asked, “Really?”

He finished chewing. “I never lie to you.”

The brightness in his face set my heart aflame. I’d never hurt him again. “It’s one of your best qualities.”

I might be able to keep the vow I’d made to myself as he was so wonderful. Being with him made me better.

35

Elon

After we'd made love, she’d not clarified her feelings at all. In fact, the wordowedstill made me flinch. It was like she couldn’t stand to tell me that she loved me.

We washed our dishes, and I wasn’t sure how to fix everything.

I needed to stop pushing.

A text came through on my phone, and I read Arman’s messages about the children and how much fun they’d had.

“Sam’s asleep," I told Clarissa. "I’ll bring him up.”

“I’ll get his room ready,” she said.

I took solace in the fact that we worked as one unit now. The elevator ride down gave me a minute to list some of my blessings—Clarissa was here, and she smiled and joked with me.

I just needed to give her the reins.

My brother stood outside on the sidewalk, and I waved at Maddie in the limo as I retrieved the sleeping Sam from him.

Sam was another blessing. I held him over my shoulder as he was heavy. “Thanks, Arman.”

He nodded. “I hope you and Clarissa worked out your issues.”

My brother and Maddie had been fated to be together from the beginning. Arman wouldn't understand at all. “It’s a work in progress.”

“We’ll talk soon,” he said.

Unlike Arman, who'd always led a charmed life with whatever he wanted coming easily to him, the rest of us had to figure it out. I took the elevator back upstairs with Sam.

As I made it to the door, Clarissa opened it and asked, “What happened?”