Lone King, page 6
“Hopefully, my business in the city works out the way I want it to so I can get back to take a dip with my nephews. See you later!”
I leave as Ava juggles Matty and his bottle. I really do love hanging out with everyone here, but I’ve got something even more important to deal with today.
The elevator doors open, and I step out, noticing how quiet the apartment is. Then again, it’s two floors and way too minimalist for my taste. We seriously need to get some real furniture in here. The last owners of this place must have been the type of people who think the word sparse is something positive.
“Hey, Lucy! I’m home!” I call out in my best Ricky Ricardo imitation.
I get no response, but she may not have heard me. I’ll just walk around and see where she’s hiding herself.
By the time I finish searching the first floor and haven’t found her, I’m starting to wonder if she’s even here. She texted and said she was waiting for me. Maybe she meant in the bedroom.
Excited by that idea, I start to undress as I walk upstairs. I’ve got my shirt off and I’m ready to strip off my pants when I see her pacing back and forth across the master bedroom floor.
I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her body. She feels warm against me, and I close my eyes to enjoy it. “Didn’t you hear me when I yelled?” I whisper in her ear.
She turns out of my hold, a sure signal she’s not happy about something. Standing with her arms across her chest and giving off some serious pissed off vibes, she levels her gaze on my face.
“What’s up?” I ask as I toss my shirt on the back of that weird minimalist chair that’s basically a hunk of wood and a single piece of what looks like gray pipe holding things together.
“We need to talk, Marius.”
Never in the history of all mankind has a woman said those words and then the conversation turned out to be pleasant. Seriously. Do they teach females this that day they take them all out of the classroom in grade school when they claim to tell them about their periods? Is it something like they show them the ins and outs of menstruation and then spend the rest of the time instructing them on how to make sure males understand they’re unhappy?
I reach for my shirt since I get the feeling this isn’t going to be one of the great naked times we have together. “Oh?”
Although she probably wants me to say something more, I’ve found that saying as little as possible when a woman is upset is the best plan of action. Say too much and they have a ton of ammunition for whatever fight they want to have.
No, the best course for a man is to say the least amount possible. Oh, and be affectionate. That confuses them, which gives the man a chance to avoid the worst of it.
Her green eyes practically stare bullet holes through me. Did I happen to mention that these tactics work on most but not all women? Unfortunately, I’m in love with one of the women they don’t always work on.
Like right now, for example.
She looks gorgeous today. Not that she isn’t always beautiful, but something about her long black hair against the royal blue tank top she’s wearing makes me want to sweep her up in my arms and haul her off to bed, which is conveniently just a few feet away.
Too bad the frown on her face says we won’t be having any good times in the bed anytime soon.
“Marius, I can’t keep doing this. I know you want me to, but I can’t. Not anymore.”
We’ve had this conversation before. At least I know how it goes, not that I enjoy it any more because I’m familiar with it.
“Why?”
Her dark eyebrows come in toward her nose like angry black slashes. Smiling, I lean in and kiss her, hoping to make that expression disappear.
“Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are when you’re furious with me? It’s confusing yet arousing all at the same time.”
She puts her hands on my naked chest and pushes me away from her. “I’m serious. I can’t do this anymore.”
So we’re really going to do this right now. Fabulous.
“Can we at least move this conversation down to the kitchen? I’m starving. Since Eleanor isn’t up on her feet yet, we’ve all been cooking, and let me tell you it’s been eye-opening how bad most of us are at that. Ava’s pretty good, and surprisingly, Ronan makes a mean fajita dinner, but the rest of us better not quit our day jobs.”
A pout mars her beautiful face. “You aren’t taking this seriously. I can’t keep lying to everyone anymore. It’s too much.”
I slide my arm around her waist and pull her to me. God, she feels so fucking good pressed against my body. Do we really need to have the same conversation we’ve had dozens of times before when we could be having a much better time between the sheets?
Since I made the mistake of asking that very question the first time we had this discussion and found out just how stupid that was, I don’t give voice to my idea. When she’s this serious, it’s best to just confront the issue head on.
“It won’t be forever. I promise.”
When she gives me a look that screams she doesn’t believe me, I add, “Have I ever lied to you?”
She sits down on the edge of the bed and sighs. “No, but we’ve been lying to everyone for ages. I don’t want to do it anymore.”
I push her hair back off her face and bend down to kiss her. “What’s this all about?”
She hesitates for a few seconds and then says, “You have no idea how much I wanted to be there for you when Eleanor got sick. I was in the same room as you, and I couldn’t show any support or affection for what you were going through.”
Oh, so that’s what the problem is. I can deal with this.
Smiling, I say, “It’s okay. I knew you were sympathetic. It was practically coming off you in waves the whole time you were there with me. I knew, so it’s not like you couldn’t show me affection. I felt it. I really did.”
Surprisingly, that doesn’t make her feel better.
She stands up and pushes me away before storming off, so I follow her down the stairs, the whole way trying to explain that I know how she’s feeling. When we reach the first floor, she spins around and folds her arms across her chest again.
Never a good sign.
“You think you know how I feel? Tell me, Marius, how does it feel to lie to your best friend? Or even more, how do you think it feels to be alone more nights than I’m with you? We’ve been together for two years. I agreed to hiding our relationship because I understood you wanted to keep things just between us. That’s not working anymore, though.”
I don’t say anything to that because she’s right. Every word is the truth. I was the one who asked her to keep things hidden all this time.
“In my defense, I’d say I’ve been lying to my best friend since I’ve been lying to Matthias.”
She screws her face into a look of complete disgust and walks away, so once again, I follow her. If I had known this conversation would involve so much moving from one place to another, I wouldn’t have worked out this morning.
I catch up to her in the kitchen, and I’m secretly thrilled because I’m starving. As I head for the refrigerator, she groans behind me.
“I’m listening. I swear I am. It’s just that I’m hungry.”
“Not to worry. Thank God I make sure that refrigerator is always full. You know what I am? It just dawned on me. I’m your Eleanor. I’m the person who makes sure you’re happy, just like she did when you all were growing up. If I washed your clothes, I’d really be like your own personal housekeeper.”
I grab some ham and cheese before closing the refrigerator door and heading for the island, sort of creeped out about her referring to herself as my personal Eleanor. “You’re not that at all.”
As I search for the bread, she turns serious. “Marius, I’ve loved you for so long I can’t imagine my life without you. I can’t do this anymore, though. I want the world to know about us.”
Her words stop me dead, and I turn around to look at her to see if she really meant what I think she said. “What are you saying?”
She’s calm when she answers, “I’m saying I can’t do this anymore. If we can’t tell the people we love that we’re together…”
I watch as she stops herself, unable to finish that sentence. This is usually the part of the argument where I tell her it won’t be much longer, but I doubt that’s going to work today.
Maybe it’s time for the truth.
Walking over to where she’s standing on the other side of the island, I slide my arms around her and pull her to me. I’d be lost if I didn’t have this woman in my life. She has to understand that.
“I’ve never had anything all to myself like this relationship. Growing up, I was the middle of five sons. Our relationship is special because you’re all mine. I don’t want to share you with anyone. I don’t want to have my family in our business. Why can’t it just be the two of us like it’s always been?”
“Because I’m tired of lying. I love you. I’m starting to wonder if it’s something you don’t want to tell me. Are you ashamed of me? Is that it?”
That she can even ask that tells me she’s far more serious than usual about this issue.
“I love you, Duck. I promise someday it won’t be like this.”
Unlike before, she doesn’t spin out of my hold. That’s a good sign. I might be winning this argument.
“When, Marius? I want children. I watch Ava with the boys, and all I can think is I want to have kids of my own. Not someday in the distant future. Soon. How does that happen when I can’t tell anyone who the father is?”
So much for winning.
“I don’t know. I promise it will happen, though. In the meantime, I give you anything you want. We travel. We stay in the most incredible places. I buy you every piece of jewelry you point out to me. You hated us sleeping in hotels, so I bought you this penthouse. Whatever you want, I make sure it’s yours. That has to show you how crazy in love with you I am, doesn’t it?”
She kisses me and then steps out of my hold. Looking around, she says, “I know you think spending money on me is what I want or that it makes up for having to lie about us, but neither of those things is true. I don’t love you because you have money or because you bought me a penthouse. I don’t even get to tell anyone I own a goddamned penthouse, Marius! I’d love to invite my parents here to show them this place. And what about Ava? She’s my best friend. You don’t think I’d love to bring her here and tell her the man I love bought me a damn penthouse?”
“I promise, Eden. Soon,” I say, reaching out for her.
“When?” she asks, like the tenacious creature she always is.
To be honest, I usually love that dogged way she has of never giving up. Right now, though, it’s making me wonder how long I’m going to be able to keep us a secret. I don’t want to share her or us with anyone. Why can’t she understand that?
“Just a little longer. Please? Let us be just us for a little while longer.”
Eden relaxes against me and rests her head on my chest. “Don’t make me leave, Marius. It would break my heart.”
She has no idea what it would do to me if I lost her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Eden
As I join with Ava to slather the boys in sunscreen, I can’t help but wish I could tell her the truth. Marius has no idea how hard it is to keep this lie up. There are so many times I’ve wanted to share something sweet he did for me, and I’ve gotten to share exactly none of it with exactly zero people.
That says nothing of how much I love him. I’ve never been this crazy about a man in my entire life, and ordinarily when something that incredible happens, a woman gets to share it with her best friend. Me? I get to pretend I’m some happy single girl who gave up on love a long time ago.
“You seem quiet today. Anything wrong?” Ava asks when we finish the slathering.
I force a smile and shake my head. “All good here. Maybe I should put some sunscreen on too. All these years of tanning are going to make me look like an old leather car seat at some point.”
Ava laughs at my attempt to distract her from my mood. “You’ve always been so lucky. You never burn. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. We’re both brunettes, but I burn every time.”
“It’s the blue eyes.”
She nods like that news disappoints her. “I guess. It would be nice to have some color sometimes. I wonder if the boys will get their father’s complexion.”
The two of us look at Theo on her lap and Matty still in the stroller with their brown hair and brown eyes just like Matthias has and then at each other. Laughing, I say, “My guess is you’re going to be the only one in the family who never tans. Sorry.”
When we’re talking about lighthearted things like this, I can tell myself it’s not a big deal that my entire life is currently a lie. It’s when we’re serious that I have terrible bouts of guilt. I so want to tell her how happy Marius and I are. I want to tell her how we got together since that’s such a great story. I want to share with her how he bought me that diamond necklace she always says she loves. When she asked me about it, I had to lie and tell her my boss bought it for me for a job well done on some project. For months, she was sure I was sleeping with him.
It's not like I’d even have to tell her everything. I just want to share the great stuff with my best friend.
“By the way, Matthias told me that guy from work said he’d be happy to come to the party. I hope you like him. I have a really good feeling about this one.”
Ava has set me up with no less than five guys since I got together with Marius two years ago. Each time, they were perfectly nice people I had to pretend to give a chance and then let down gently because I don’t want anyone else.
My best friend would know that if I didn’t have to keep lying to her.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” I say, confident I don’t sound as enthusiastic as she would like me to be.
Thankfully, Ava is preoccupied with Theo, who at the present moment has decided that his fingers belong in his mouth. All ten of them. At the same time.
“Can you hand me one of those baby wipes? He’s got my entire arm covered in spit.”
I laugh and hand her the container of wipes, positive she’s going to need more than one. I don’t know what that kid’s fascination is with his mouth, but he’s constantly shoving something in it. It would be one thing if he swallowed everything, but what he seems to do more often than not is put things in his mouth and then remove them covered in saliva, which he then gets on everyone.
As she attempts to clean herself up, someone walks out from the house. Assuming it’s Matthias, I don’t turn around, but then I see Marius walk over to join us instead. Like always, I have to pretend I’m not happy to see him, so I grab my phone off the table and begin to scroll through my emails.
“Ladies, are we swimming on this beautifully sunny day?” he asks and then crouches down to talk to Theo. “You’re definitely swimming, little man. You’re like a fish.”
“In his own spit, maybe,” Ava says. “I need to get him cleaned up first. You can take Matty in, though.”
Marius looks over at the stroller and stands up. “Okay, then he and I will do some uncle-nephew bonding. Ready, buddy?”
Even as I pretend to read some email, I sneak a peek as he strips out of his t-shirt to reveal his muscular arms and chest, to say nothing of the washboard abs. How this man expects me to pretend that we aren’t together when he insists on doing stuff like this is beyond me.
He lifts Matty out of the stroller and pats his bottom. “You sure these things you put on them don’t make the pool a mess?”
I look up and see Ava shaking her head. “Don’t worry. They do the job. You won’t be swimming in baby poop or pee.”
Turning to face me, Marius smiles, and it’s real work not to show how he makes my stomach do a flip when he’s so sexy. “That sounds delightful. Sure you don’t want to come in with me and the little guy?”
With a shrug, I answer, “Not today. Thanks.”
He winks at me and then walks away with Matty to get into the pool. I swear he does that on purpose because he knows I have a hard time pretending we aren’t together. It would serve him right if I came out and told Ava the truth while we’re sitting out here today.
“Come on, Eden. Don’t be a stick in the mud,” Marius calls out from the pool as he lifts Matty in the air like some Lion King redux.
Looking around, I don’t see Ava or Matthias, so the coast might be clear for a few seconds, at least. I walk over to the edge of the pool and look down at Marius.
“What’s the end game here, dear? Do you want me to spill the beans? If not, then I’m not sure why you’re acting like this.”
If it’s possible, he looks even better wet. How can someone always look so good? It’s impossible, yet Marius King somehow achieves that.
He glances over toward the door of the house to see if anyone’s around and then up at me. “No, Duck, I don’t want you to spill the beans. Just get in the pool. We can have a good time, and no one will be the wiser.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “Are you kidding? If his mother sees you and me having a good time together, she’s going to try ten times as hard to get us together. It’s tough enough pretending now.”
As Marius considers what I said, Matty splashes his little hands in front of them. I’m fine with coming clean and telling Ava everything. In fact, I’d be happier if we did tell the truth. It’s Marius who wants to keep us under wraps.
“At least sit down on the edge?” he says in a way that makes me feel like I’m being the bad guy here. “I promise Matty and I won’t splash you.”
Even though I don’t believe him, I sit down on the edge of the pool and let my bare feet dangle in the water. “Now there’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”
He positions Matty in front of him, hiding behind his little body while he says, “Aunt Eden, how could you think someone as innocent as I am would do anything like splash you on purpose?”
