by K. M. Scott
Even as I said that, I knew not everything had been perfect for her.
Chapter Ten
Tristan
My mind continued to replay those early days of us together, and along the way as I walked down memory lane, I remembered a time later before the children arrived when things became rockier. I’d heard that the honeymoon couldn’t last forever, but the problem wasn’t between Nina and me.
The problem was all me.
Checking the time on my watch, I winced at how late I’d have to work tonight. If the head of the digital division of Stone Worldwide didn’t take so long to explain every damn decision she’d made to help me clean up the Karl mess, I’d be at the penthouse with Nina by now.
Not that what she had to report wasn’t important, but this was the fourth time this week I’d worked late and missed dinner with my wife. It was becoming a habit I knew I had to break, but as Jessica Carver droned on and on about resources and success in each particular area of her division, I struggled to figure out just how to get her to get to the point. She’d already given me her full report, so I had no idea why she insisted on continuing.
“Well, it sounds like you’re handling things, Jessica. Thankfully, Karl was never very tech savvy, or your division would have been on the front lines with the cleanup.”
She beamed a smile that showed off her perfectly straight, white teeth. I’d heard from someone that she’d been some kind of model at an earlier point in her life, and one glance at her told me that was probably the reason someone—likely her parents—had spent a fortune on that smile.
“Tristan, you can count on me and my team. Whatever you need or want from us, I promise we’ll deliver. You won’t be disappointed.”
I’d always found Jessica to be more salesman than necessary, but it never hurt to have a division head who believed in their work and the people working with them. I took another glance at my watch and opened my mouth to tell her I needed to go, but she took the break in our conversation to launch into yet another explanation of how the digital division was handling the post-Karl issues at Stone Worldwide.
“So your company is never endangered online, I’ve hired a team of the world’s foremost experts on cybersecurity. Josh Tamblin is known on every continent as a former hacker who’s worked with the British and German governments to ensure their security, and I’m happy to say he’s now a Stone Worldwide employee doing the same for you,” she said proudly, barely taking a breath before she started talking again.
“And Alexander Krishovsky is here too,” she said, handing me a sheet of paper across the desk. “I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”
Before I could tell her I had, my office door opened and Nina walked in looking none too happy with me. A quick glance at her expression said she didn’t like the fact that I was nearly two hours late.
I quickly stood and walked over to meet her as she marched across the room toward me. “Nina, I didn’t expect you to visit. This is Jessica Carver. She runs the digital division here.”
Jessica stood up to shake Nina’s hand, and I watched my wife’s eyes move from a quick study of my division head wearing only her skirt and blouse I suddenly noticed had the top two buttons undone to her black suit jacket slung over the back of her chair and her black heels on the floor underneath my desk. I knew Nina well enough to understand that slight frown on her face hid a far bigger unhappiness inside her.
“How nice to meet you. What division do you work in?” Jessica asked with a smile as she extended her hand to shake Nina’s.
Before I could correct my colleague’s mistake, Nina said flatly, “I work in the home division. I’m Mrs. Stone.”
Sliding my arm around her waist, I pulled her close to me. “Nina is my wife, Jessica.”
She looked back toward Nina and laughed. “Oh, I’m so silly. I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you from your husband’s picture of you he keeps on his desk. I’ve seen it so many times before, but I guess I just didn’t place you. It’s so lovely to meet you.”
“Yes, it’s quite lovely to meet you.” Turning to look up at me, Nina gave me a forced smile. “Tristan, do you have a few minutes to talk privately?”
The overly sweet tone of her voice told me whatever she wanted to say wasn’t going to come with a smile when we were alone. I excused myself and led Nina into a side room off my office. As I closed the door, I watched as the pleasant expression slid from her face.
“I know I’m late. I’m sorry. I just had this one last meeting, but it’s gone on far longer than I thought it would,” I said before kissing her on the cheek. “I swear I didn’t mean to be late again.”
“Is tall, leggy, and so comfortable with you she doesn’t have to wear shoes in your office the reason I never see my husband anymore?” Nina asked sharply.
“No,” I answered, wishing I had put on my suit coat before she walked into the office. “This is our first meeting.”
As if she’d read my mind, Nina tugged on my collar. “And yet you seem very comfortable considering this is your first meeting with her. Tristan Stone in no suit coat? Half the time I can’t get you out of one, and she seems to have managed that just fine.”
I caught her hand and brought it to my lips to kiss her fingers. Looking into her eyes, I tried to find a way to show her she didn’t need to worry. I didn’t give a damn about Jessica or any other woman in the world.
“All the mess Karl left has to be dealt with. That’s why my meetings have all run late this week. I promise I’ll be finished in an hour.”
Nina’s bottom lip turned down in her usual pout. “It’s nearly nine o’clock already, Tristan.”
Cradling her face in my hands, I tilted her head so she had to look at me. “You know I love that pout of yours. I promise. One hour. Go back to the penthouse and we can have a nice night there instead of going out to the house.”
Her pout turned to a frown. Sulking, she said, “I didn’t want to stay at the penthouse again. You promised me we’d stay at the house from now on. What happened to that promise?”
“I’m sorry. I just have so much to do here. You told me you understood.”
Instantly, I knew I’d said the wrong thing.
She pulled away from me and shook her head. “Don’t put this on me. I always understand. This has been going on for months. You’re gone all day from the crack of dawn, Tristan. It’s not too much for me to want to see you before I fall asleep at night. Even worse is the fact that you’re spending your time tonight with someone who’s so comfy that she’s half undressed and you look pretty comfortable too. Tell her to put whatever she has to say into an email and come home.”
“You know I can’t do that. I promise this won’t take much longer,” I said, taking her into my arms to convince her not to be angry at me like I had to already a few times this month.
She wasn’t wrong. I rarely got to spend any time with her anymore. The problems Karl caused kept creating ripple effects nobody had anticipated, so whenever a problem came up, I had to deal with it.
The problem was that meant I had to stay at the office more than I wanted. But I’d broken my promise to Nina so many times over the past three months that I knew tonight I had to make good on this one.
I held her to me and reveled in how good she felt in my arms for the first time that day. “I swear I’ll be home in an hour. We can drive out to the house if you want. I don’t mind driving in tomorrow morning if you don’t want to stay at the penthouse. Whatever you want, I’m good with it.”
She looked up at me with sadness in her eyes. “Tristan, I’m not asking for much. I just want to see you.”
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I whispered against her skin, “I know. I love you and want to see you too.”
“One hour, Tristan. You promise?”
I nodded. “I promise.”
Closing my eyes, I try to stop myself from remembering the rest of that night. Looking back, all I could think was how shortsighted I was then. It never occ
urred to me that I’d never be able to get back those moments lost to work.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t around as much as I should have been back then,” I said quietly as Nina lay in her hospital bed. “Who am I kidding? I’m sorry I wasn’t around enough for years. I never thought one day I’d be regretting so much and wishing I could turn back the hands of time to give me a chance to do better.”
My mind drifted back to that night, even as I winced at the memory that I didn’t get home in an hour like I promised Nina. By the time I got to the penthouse, it was dark and there was no sight of her.
I flipped on the light in the living room and looked around for Nina where she usually waited for me. Disappointed, I saw tonight was different. I glanced up at the clock and saw it was already after eleven.
Slowly, I walked toward the bedroom hoping to see her lying in bed. At least she’d be there, even if she’d already fallen asleep. In the dark, I strained to see the outline of her body under the covers as relief washed over me.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her, I leaned over and kissed her softly. “I’m home, Nina. I’m sorry I’m late.”
Her eyelids fluttered open, and she looked up at me. “What time is it?”
“It’s okay. Go back to sleep.”
She sat up and shook her head. “I waited that hour you promised, but I guess you had other things to do. I’m going to go back to the house.”
“Now? It’s after eleven. Wait until morning,” I said, easing her back toward the bed.
But she pushed me away, surprising me with her anger. “Why wait until morning? So I can be alone in a house in the daytime? What does it matter when I go? You won’t be with me, so now or morning doesn’t matter.”
I watched as she flipped the covers off and pushed past me to stand up. I’d seen Nina angry before, but this felt different.
Like something had changed between us.
Following her out to the living room, I tried to convince her that she should stay. “I’m home now, Nina. Since you’re up, we can have a nice night together. I can call down and order from room service. What do you want?”
She stopped dead and then spun around to face me. Her beautiful eyes flew open wide, filled with rage. “I want my husband! We’ve been married for such a short time. Do you know I’ve spent more time with Jordan than I have with you in the past six months?”
Her outburst surprised me, and for a moment I stood frozen to the spot. I had to make her understand this was only temporary. We had the rest of our lives to be together.
Taking a step toward her, I reached out for her hand. “I know it’s been busier than I thought it would be, but I promise it won’t be forever.”
Nina yanked her hand away and shook her head. “I’m so tired of your promises, Tristan. You promise me things all the time, and then when they don’t happen, you always find a way to convince me to believe you again. Why can’t you understand that never seeing one another isn’t the way to run a marriage? All I ask for is for you to devote your nights to me. I’m sure women like Jessica there at your office think that’s too much to expect, but I don’t.”
“This is just for the time being, Nina. We won’t always be like this.”
“We won’t be anything, Tristan,” she said sadly. “You made me fall in love with you by all the wonderful things we did together. Now, it’s like all you care about is that company.”
I looked around and said, “That company pays for all of this. The houses, the cars, the trips, everything. I’m the head of that company, Nina. You knew that when you married me.”
Finally, she moved close to me and looked up with sadness in her eyes. “I don’t care about any of that. I’m just a middle class girl at heart. My parents had what they could afford and nothing more, and they were happy. I don’t need a plane or homes in exotic locations. I didn’t marry you to have things. I married you because I loved you. Now I feel like I’m married to someone I barely recognize. Karl never wanted us together, and it looks like he’s getting his wish.”
Pulling her to me, I hugged her tightly, hating what was happening to us. “Don’t say that. I love you. You’re my world, Nina. You know that.”
“I know I’ve spent every night eating dinner alone this week. I feel like you’re slipping away from me, and I don’t know what else to say to make you understand, Tristan.”
Pressing a kiss onto the top of her head, I said, “I’m not going anywhere. No slipping here. I just have to take care of things at work to make sure what happened with Karl can never happen again.”
Against my chest, she whispered, “And until then, I’ll be a distant second in the order of importance in your life.”
“Don’t say that.”
Nina looked up at me and shook her head. “Do you know you spent more time with Miss Short Skirt at Work than you did with me today?”
“First thing tomorrow, I’ll institute a company-wide dress code so every employee must wear pants,” I said, hoping to make her smile with my lame attempt at a joke.
It didn’t work.
Instead, she sighed and pulled away from me again. “You’re belittling me,” she said with a frown.
Fuck. I thought her unhappiness with me tonight had come from seeing Jessica in my office earlier. “You have nothing to be jealous of, Nina. I have to spend time with her and all the other division heads getting thing straightened out once and for all.”
“Please don’t make this about her or my being jealous of her. It’s not okay. This is about you and me, Tristan. You’re never around, and I’m lonely. Imagine not seeing me much in the past few months and then walking in on me with some good looking man who’s obviously far too comfortable around me. How would you feel?”
The thought of Nina with any other man made my chest hurt. I didn’t want to think about how I’d feel if I walked in on her sitting with some guy who looked so at home with her that he’d taken his shoes off.
“I’m sorry. I never mean to hurt you or make you feel like you’re not the most important part of my life, Nina.”
“You say that now, but tomorrow night I’ll be alone again,” she said sadly. “I love you, but I feel like I’m in this marriage all by myself.”
I hated the gulf that I’d allowed to come between us in just a few months. Although she stood not even two feet away from me, at that moment I understood why she felt like we were slipping away from one another.
“What if I promise to be home every night at six?” I offered.
Nina’s face twisted into a grimace. “You said that last month, Tristan.”
Opening my arms, I stepped forward and wrapped them around her. “This time I mean it. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep my promise, Nina.”
I felt the tension in her body melt away, and she hugged me tightly. “I’m just talking about balance. That’s it. I don’t want us to drift apart in the first year of marriage.”
“That won’t happen. We’re just having adjustment issues. That’s all. We’ve been through a lot already. We’ll get through this, too.”
A sound in the hallway outside of Nina’s room tore me from my memories, and I turned to see a nurse wheeling a cart past the door. In truth, I didn’t want to think about that time now. I’d promised so often before that night, and only when I worried that I might lose the woman I loved did I swear to myself that I’d fix the problem I’d created.
Nina deserved better than that.
I softly kissed her hand and whispered to her, “I’m sorry about those months when I chose work over you back in the beginning. I took you for granted, and even though I know it wasn’t the last time I made that mistake, that’s where I blame myself for letting it begin. I need you to know now that I never meant to be like that.”
As I sat there wishing she would sit up and say something—anything would be better than this terrible silence—all I could think was how many moments I missed with her and how I might never get any more with her again.
Chapter Eleven
Tristan
“Mr. Stone?” a man’s voice said behind me, and I turned to see Dr. Rankin.
Standing, I eagerly walked over toward where he stood in the doorway. “Have you found anything out yet? Do you know what’s wrong with my wife, doctor? This is the third time you’ve taken her out for tests.”
I watched as he sadly shook his head and frowned. “Not yet, but we’re making progress. We’ve ruled out pneumonia, so there’s that. She’ll be back up from the MRI in a few minutes, and I’ll be taking a look at the results from that. I know it feels like it’s been a long time today, but I just need you to hold on for a little while longer. I hope to have some answers soon.”
“What could be wrong with her?” I asked, more from the guilt of what I may have missed about my own wife than expecting him to give a specific answer.
“There are a number of areas we’re checking, Mr. Stone.”
I took a deep breath and let it out as my fear and guilt ratcheted up inside me. “Other than feeling like she had the flu for the past week and spiking a fever a few times, she’s never been sick.”
The doctor nodded and gave me a supportive pat on the shoulder. “I promise you we’re working as fast as we can to find out what’s going on. I want you to keep in mind that she’s not getting worse while she’s in the medically induced coma, so give us a little time and we’ll figure this out.”
“I’m not a man who favors mysteries when it comes to my family,” I said, hating the feeling of helplessness this whole situation forced on me.
“Either am I, Mr. Stone. I’ll let you know what I find on the MRI.”
“Thanks, doctor.”
Just as he left, the two orderlies returned pushing Nina in her bed back into the room. I stepped back as they adjusted what they needed to and then smiled at me as they walked out. Looking down at her, I marveled at how beautiful she looked lying there so peacefully.
I knew the doctors were doing everything they could and working as fast as humanly possible, but I just wanted to see her open her eyes again. I wanted to see her sweet smile when I told her I loved her and she repeated that back to me.
