Her nose crinkled. “The lies just keep stacking up.”
My exhale was heavy, and suddenly, so was my head, lolling back on the cushions. “Let’s talk about real things. You have a horse named Athena in Wyoming.”
“I do.”
“Your parents are divorced.”
“Yes. It’s been fifteen years now.”
“Amicable?”
“No. They broke each other.”
I closed my eyes. “They’re the reason you don’t believe in marriage?”
“The dissolution of their marriage was the first seed in my disbelief, yeah. The following fifteen years of bitter heartbreak planted it firmly in my heart.”
“What happened?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” Opening my eyes again, I gave her my attention.
“My parents were college sweethearts. Their plan was to live in California after they got married and eventually move to Wyoming to take over the family ranch. My mom kept postponing the move, and as the years went by, I think it became obvious to my dad she wasn’t going to keep up her end of the bargain. So, he lived with us part time and part time in Wyoming until he finally left her for good.”
Saoirse smoothed her blanket with her palms. “When I was young, my parents were crazy about each other. They were so different, but they worked in a huge way. And then, one day, it just…fell apart. Our family crashed and burned.”
“That was it? It was all over?”
She blew out a heavy breath. “I wish. My mother has been hating on my dad ever since, while my dad never moved on from loving her.”
“He still loves her fifteen years later?”
“Mmm…yeah. They aren’t in the same place often, but when they are, he can’t take his eyes off her.”
“Then why are they divorced?”
“Do you want to hear the nail in my cynical coffin?”
I grabbed the end of her ponytail, toying with her silky hair. “Give it to me.”
“I only found this out as an adult. After years of blaming my mother for splitting up our family, it came to light that my father had cheated on her.”
“I thought he was madly in love with her.”
“That’s the kicker. He is and always has been. But love and marriage are just words. They can be broken on a sad, lonely night in Wyoming.”
Her hair slipped between my fingers. I kept mindlessly playing with it until her head fell back and lolled to the side like mine.
“You ever think he knew his marriage was over, but he couldn’t be the one to end it, so he chose the nuclear option?” I asked.
“I think a lot of things, Luca. I don’t think my dad even knows why he did what he did.”
Since we met, Saoirse had been a firecracker. Even when she was mellow, she popped and fizzed. Seeing her go dark, the inherent light inside her dim, sparked a low, simmering panic in me. This wasn’t her natural state. It didn’t feel right.
“I’m sorry shit went south in your life, pretty girl.” I slipped my hand from her hair to cup the side of her neck. “I don’t think I like this cynical side of you.”
She tipped sideways, pressing against my hand. “I’m multifaceted. I can’t be sunshine and rainbows all the time. That would be boring.”
“There’s certainly nothing boring about you.”
The corner of her mouth hitched. “Now that I’ve spilled my emotional trauma—”
“I think we’ve barely scratched the surface.”
“And that was deep enough for this evening, thank you.” She reached for my hand, peeling it off her neck to hold on her knee. The pad of her thumb slid back and forth over my fingertips as she yawned.
“Tired?”
She nodded. “I really love sleep.”
That made me laugh. “I’ve noticed that about you.”
“Shut up, Luca.” She tossed me a lazy grin. “As I was saying, I may be cynical, but you’re a territorial prat.”
My brows rose. “Prat? Are you British now?”
“It fits the situation.”
“So you say.” I tried to yank my hand from her, but she clapped her other hand over it, keeping it on her knee. “Maybe I am territorial. Temporary or not, you are my wife, and I don’t appreciate seeing you out alone with another man, especially after you turned down my offer to have lunch together. Now that our relationship is public, I trust it won’t happen again.”
With a groan, she tossed my hand back at me. “I was alone with him for maybe five minutes while Niddhi and Amelia—who are women, by the way—were in the restroom. If you would have spoken to me or thought before acting, you would have known this.”
Her explanation made sense, but I still didn’t like the way that guy had been looking at her, getting close to her. I’d set that right. He’d know better in the future.
Now wasn’t the time to tell Saoirse any of this though.
“I hear you, and I understand my knee-jerk reaction was misinformed. I don’t regret it now that it’s over and done with.”
“You can’t make decisions that involve me without a discussion, Luca. That isn’t fair.”
“I get that. Believe me, Clara came back to my office after you left and tore me a new asshole. I had to take a call with our legal department while she stood over me. I’ve been properly chastised.”
“Not by me.” She folded her arms over her chest. “We’ll have to go to Wyoming this weekend, you know. There’s no way we can delay that now.”
“I told you I’d go. I meant it.”
“Okay. Then I should probably give you a crash course on the Kelly family so it seems like we actually know each other.” Her jaw cracked when she yawned again.
“I know a lot about you.”
“Oh yeah? What do you know about me that you didn’t learn from my background check?”
“What you taste like.”
Her mouth fell open with a huff and she kicked her foot out from under her blanket, connecting with the side of my leg.
“I know a lot about you too, Luca.”
She tried to draw her foot back, but I caught her by the ankle, giving her a sharp tug, which landed her flat on her back. I tugged her again, bringing her legs over my lap, her ass bumping against my thigh.
Leaning over her, I braced a hand beside her head. “What do you think you know?”
“I know you’re a brute.” She shoved at my chest without any real force.
“First a prat, now a brute. Those words sting, Saorise.” I lowered my face close to hers. “What else?”
Her eyes danced with mischief. The little firecracker was all lit up again. “You’re a mama’s boy.”
My mouth hitched. “Guilty as charged. What good Italian boy isn’t?”
“It’s cute. I like it.” Then she lifted her chin. “I know you talk a big game, but there’s nothing to back it up.”
Rearing back, I stared down at her. “What’s that mean?”
“It means you told me we were going to end up fucking, but this is the closest you’ve been to me unless we’re playing a part.”