Page 44 of Her Wicked Husband (The Huxleys #2)

Fiona

Awkward, awkward, awkward. Bryce leaves for work at crack of dawn, and doesn’t return until well after I fall asleep. The bed’s indented next to me, so I know he came back at some point during the night. Otherwise, I might suspect he’s sleeping at some hotel.

On the other hand, we agreed to share the same bed each night, and he isn’t the type to go back on his word. Is he sulking about the kiss?

When he put the choker around my neck and wished me happy birthday, I could barely stop myself from crying again. The small celebration at his parents’ house was his doing. He’s the only one who’d remember.

I vowed I’d never care about anybody ever again, but he keeps testing my resolve.

Part of me wants to take the leap, but the bigger part—the one that’s paranoid about self-preservation—says no.

If things go wrong…if my heart is ripped to shreds again after falling for Bryce again , I’m never going to recover.

The first time was difficult enough. I’m not fully over the ordeal—so many scars still mar my soul.

Is Bryce upset because he believes I used him for my petty revenge against Jude over the phone? Once the highly charged moments passed, logic reasserted itself. I recognize what I did was immature… albeit sooo satisfying .

Since the ground rules of our marriage don’t say anything about my getting a job, I send out a few résumés for marketing positions.

If I’m going to be in L.A. for two years, I need to have a routine, with a job, so I’m not wasting my life sitting at home.

Plus, I don’t want to use Bryce’s money if I can help it.

We are technically married, but it feels wrong to touch the credit cards he left out on the kitchen counter.

A week later, I head to a café to meet with Akiko, whom I was hoping to see again.

With me is a huge bouquet of pink peonies and hands clammy with nerves.

Crimson red roses caught my eyes at the flower shop, but they wouldn’t fit the muted, elegant décor of her home.

Hopefully Akiko likes them. I gave flowers to Sherry all the time, but she never seemed to really see the bouquets.

It wasn’t until later that Zachary told me to stop because Finley never gave her flowers, and it made her feel uncomfortable.

Since then, I’ve never bought flowers for anybody.

But I didn’t want to meet Akiko empty-handed, and I don’t know her well enough to pick something else.

Located on the first floor of the Aylster, Merry is an opulent café done with sparkling golden marble and a fresh flower centerpiece on each table covered with a thick white cloth.

Crystal chandeliers hang from the high, airy ceiling.

Classical music flows from the sound system. Very classy. Very expensive.

I spot Akiko in a booth. She’s in a chic sage-green dress and matching jacket. Black pearls hang from her earlobes and circle her neck. I’m glad I put on a cream-colored top and floral apricot skirt. Otherwise, I’d feel underdressed.

She stands and hugs me. “Thanks for coming out to see me, my dear.”

“Hello, Akiko.” I hug her back, then shift my weight awkwardly and present the flowers. “Here. For you.”

Her eyes widen, and she lets out a soft exclamation. “Oh my. They’re gorgeous. Thank you!” She buries her nose in the peonies. “They smell so good. I love them.”

Some tension in my shoulders loosens. Although in my head I knew she wouldn’t openly reject the flowers, deep inside I was braced for it.

She studies my face with concern, then relaxes. “You look well.”

“Thank you.” I flush as we sit down at the booth. “Sorry I made you worry at dinner the other night. I shouldn’t have broken down like that.”

“Not at all. You should let it out. It isn’t healthy to hold everything inside. Besides, if you can’t let go with your family, who can you do it with?” She pats the back of my hand.

A server comes over to take our order. Akiko gets green tea, and I opt for milk tea. She purses her lips. “Let’s also get some dessert trays. They’re so good here.” She requests a set of tiered trays with two of everything.

“That’s way too much, isn’t it?” I ask in surprise. Given how little she served at the dinner, I don’t suppose she’s going to eat more than a bite or two.

“I like to try what they have on offering. We can split them, so it won’t be that much.

” She gives me a mischievous smile. “Just between you and me, I’m obsessed with desserts.

It’s just that I try not to overeat because diabetes runs in my father’s family.

But since it’s our first mom-and-daughter date, I believe it’s correct to splurge. ”

A tight, hot knot forms in my throat at the easy way she calls me her daughter. I inhale to regain control of my emotions. I refuse to cry again!

The waiter returns with our drinks. He places two gorgeous white porcelain pots filigreed with silver on the table, then expertly pours the green tea into the matching cup for Akiko and does the same with the Ceylon tea for me, then sets a miniature jug of fresh organic milk beside my tea.

Then comes a huge silver frame holding five trays laden with various mini-desserts.

“Wow.” I was here a couple of times before with the Obermans, but never had their desserts. Apparently, Finley never did because Sherry was worried about cavities, so I wasn’t allowed to have any either.

Akiko takes a bite of a chocolate mousse. “Mmm. It’s good. Have some.”

I pick up the other piece. The rich cream fills my mouth, and I close my eyes in bliss. “This is a ma zing.”

She sighs softly. “If they’d just get their green tea right, the place would be marvelous.”

I glance at her teacup. Unlike most green tea, it’s actually verdant green. “What’s wrong with it? ”

“Just a little off. I can see why Bryce complained about it.” At my curious gaze, she adds, “He’s always disappointed with green tea in America, so he just sticks to coffee.

He got spoiled because my mother introduced him to how green tea ought to taste.

She was a tea master. In Kyoto .” Akiko smiles with pride.

“A little unusual for a woman, but it was her dream and she achieved it.”

“She must have been a lovely woman.”

“She was. She doted on the boys, and they were very sweet to her. When she passed away, she included them in her will.” Akiko’s eyes mist. The affection in her gaze shines.

“My cousins joked that she liked her gaijin grandsons more than her blood relatives, but I’m glad they had such a loving relationship. ”

“Your family sounds amazing.”

“ Our family,” Akiko says. “You’re Mrs. Bryce Huxley. Speaking of which…” She places a glossy black bag on the table. “For you.”

I look at the unexpected offering with surprise and pleasure. I pat myself on the back for bringing the flowers.

“Open it,” she says, her eyes twinkling.

I pull out a long black velvet box. It bears no logo.

Inside are creamy pearls so lustrous they seem to glow from the inside.

Studs, a necklace and a bracelet lie on the soft satin bed.

My first instinct is to drop it like a hot potato, but I manage to place it gently on the table.

“Thank you, but I can’t possibly accept these. They’re too valuable.”

“Nonsense. They’re for my daughter-in-law.”

“But—”

“I gave a set to Lareina, too.”

I’m not your real daughter-in-law . The words get stuck in my throat.

The air in my lungs grows thin, and I bite my lower lip.

“I…I don’t think I should. I mean, Bryce and I—” I abruptly stop.

What can I say to her about Bryce and me?

The whole complicated and sordid truth? How it was supposed to be about two million and my paying it off with my body?

Or that it’ll end in two years and there won’t be anything between us?

Embarrassment heats my face. The need to hide the real reason for rejecting the gift pulses hard in my skull. At the same time, I can’t accept something I don’t deserve. I don’t want to deceive Akiko when she’s been nothing but kind to me. “We’re…complicated,” I say finally.

Akiko laughs softly. “Fiona, every relationship’s complicated. I suspect yours is even more so, with all the history between you.”

I freeze for a moment. “Did…Bryce tell you?”

“He didn’t have to say anything. I just knew when he told me your name.

” Akiko sips her tea. “He didn’t come home for break his junior year.

Josh told me he was busy, but I knew that was a lie.

Bryce opted to spend the summer in Japan with his grandmother, and then he came home, looking more haggard than ever.

And it wasn’t because my mother fed him too little food.

He just didn’t eat. Then later, when he bought the house he lives in now and redid the backyard, he picked those shrub roses. I’m sure you saw.”

I nod.

“When he chose them, I told him they wouldn’t look as nice with the other trees and shrubs he had. I recommended calla lilies, hyacinths, daffodils and yellow chrysanthemums.”

Her recommendations are on point. They would look prettier in the backyard, more prominent and noticeable.

“But he said he didn’t want anything else. Do you know what that particular breed of rose is called?”

I shake my head.

“Fiona. They’re called Fionas.”

The revelation hits me like a hammer. I’m so dazed, I can’t even blink as I try to process.

Why did he want anything that would remind him of me in his backyard, which he could see every day from the living room?

When I went to Wisconsin, I left everything that would remind me of my past in L.A.

and did my best to never look back. If Zachary hadn’t died the way he did or Aaron hadn’t owed so much to the damn loan sharks, I wouldn’t have contacted Bryce again.

“Did he know? About the roses?” My voice is hoarse.

“Yes. The landscaper told him before he finalized the order.”