The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,62

it’s ready.”

Living with Carson was easy.

We fell into a routine immediately. My alarm clock went off before hers, and in the beginning, she used to groan in protest, but then, she just got used to it and stopped waking up every time it went off. I did my workout in my personal gym before I got ready for work.

We usually left for the office around the same time, so I had my driver drop her off on the way.

In the past, she would throw a tantrum and insist on walking, but she didn’t do that at all. She just accepted it. She didn’t talk about my wealth much, but she didn’t make a fuss about it either. She knew it was a part of my life—plain and simple.

We never came home at the same time. Sometimes she stayed late at the office, and sometimes I did. Whenever she didn’t come home, I never texted her to ask where she was. If she was no longer working on big exposés like the pharmaceutical industry, then I knew she was perfectly safe. She was either working late or getting a drink with one of her friends. And I wasn’t the kind of man to keep tabs on her.

She wasn’t the kind of woman who would allow it either.

She never asked where I was when I stayed at the office late. We both respected each other’s independence and commitment to our jobs, which was nice. We had our time together when we were both in the penthouse, and on those crazy days, it was enough.

I loved seeing her every single night, no matter what kind of day I had. Even if we didn’t say much, just having her there made me feel better. If I had to see Rose at the office, I only had to think about the woman waiting at home for me, and all my bitterness left.

Her friends claimed she was messy, but I didn’t see any signs of that. She never left dishes in the sink, she didn’t leave her clothes on the floor, and her vanity was always organized and tidy. Even if she weren’t, it wouldn’t have bothered me.

When I came home late that night, she was sitting on the couch in front of the TV with her laptop on her thighs. “Hey.” She immediately perked up when she saw me, her eyes lighting up in happiness. “Guess what?”

I approached the couch then bent over to kiss her, greeting her the same way I did every day, happy to see her the moment I walked through the door.

She softened at my kiss, like she looked forward to this moment as much as I did. “I got my wedding dress.”

“Yeah?”

She turned the computer around to show me what she’d picked out. “I ordered it online, and I’m going to get it fitted when it comes in.”

“Thought I wasn’t supposed to see the wedding dress before the big day?” I held up my hand over the screen to block it from view.

She rolled her eyes. “That’s a stupid superstition. I don’t buy that bullshit. We can have all the bad luck in the world and it’s not going to break us, so shut up and look.” She pushed my hand down so I could see the screen. “What do you think?”

It was low cut in the front and had a high slit along the leg. “Very sexy.” It wasn’t poufy, more of a cocktail dress, and casual. “It’ll look amazing on you.”

“And it’ll look amazing when it’s not on me too…” She waggled her eyebrows.

I chuckled then leaned down to kiss her again. “Yes.” I loved it when she flirted with me, when she had the confidence to present herself as the sexy woman that she was. She wasn’t arrogant about it, but not oblivious to it either.

I walked away and loosened my tie as I headed to the bedroom.

She turned back to her computer.

I went into the closet and stripped off my clothes and tossed them in the hamper so my housekeeper would take them to the dry cleaner tomorrow. I hated wearing a suit every single day. If it were up to me, I’d be in jeans and a t-shirt all the time, a hoodie in the winter months. When I turned around, I stilled when I noticed her bent over on the bed, looking back at me in just her panties.

“Fuck, I really like this living together thing.” I came back to her and dropped my