you'll have to tell me what this is about. Because what I see right now is that I did something that needed to be done. Something that was my responsibility to begin with, and all I did was take care of it."
The color that had fled her face was back, a bright flush of color in her cheeks. It was the color of suppressed anger. Any chance he had to be calm snapped like a twig at her stubborn silence, especially after she started speaking.
"And that was somehow your cross to bear, huh? Had to do the 'right thing', had to fix the problem, and you had to do it without communicating with me first?"
"Even though that's a monumentally insulting statement, I'm going to choose to ignore it for the time being." He dug his fingers into his throbbing temple. "You're pissed because I didn't ask you first? Or because you didn't get to pick it out? Because I'm really trying to figure out the problem here."
She tilted her chin up, so defiant in her stubbornness. It used to be a trait he liked. Right then though? Nope. He sure as hell didn't. All he could do right then was just try to keep his balance, considering they'd spun so quickly into a direction he was never anticipating.
"This is not about me being able to pick out furniture, although you are absolutely right that that's not what I would have chosen. This is about you constantly making unilateral decisions about things that involve both of us." She stepped closer to him, her chest heaving and her eyes on fire. "Did it ever occur to you that I might want to be financially involved in making such a major purchase for our baby? In fact, I remember telling you that I wanted to help, and you brushed me off. Do you remember any of this? That maybe, just maybe, I have a shit ton of money saved up right now because my business is doing really well, because I have lived rent free for the past year, and because, in case you've forgotten, this is my child too."
"In case I've forgotten," he repeated slowly. He felt so blindsided it was almost ridiculous. Because even though he was good and swept up in the tide of anger pulling them both along, she was right, he'd never once thought that she might want to buy something like that. And that pricked his pride just enough for him to not admit that she was right. "Is that supposed to be a joke? We live together. I bought this house so we could do this together, and you ask if I've forgotten this is your child too?"
"Tate, you are not the sole provider in this relationship. Being able to do this was important to me. I'm not your wife, I'm not even your girlfriend. I moved in here because it made sense. But that doesn't mean you get to steamroll all over me whenever the hell you feel like it."
He laughed, harsh and cold. She looked a little shocked at the sound. "So because I try to do something nice, I'm steamrolling? Well, I'll certainly remember that for future reference."
From the movement of her jaw, it looked like she was practically gnawing on her tongue to keep from saying something, and that sparked a tiny thread of thought in his head. He laughed again, this time softer, more disbelieving. "You know, I never thought you and Natalie had anything in common, but I see it now."
"Excuse me?" Her eyebrows shot up, along with her volume.
"Oh yeah. I had to keep my skills as a mind reader fairly sharp during my time with Natalie. Good thing too, considering I now have to be one with you."
"What are you talking about?"
"You didn't tell me either."
"I didn't tell you what?" she snapped out, not backing down an inch.
"You didn't tell me that you wanted to buy the furniture. You didn't tell me that you had something picked out. How the hell do you get to be mad at me for doing exactly what you had planned all along?"
She sucked in a breath, and he could hear it shake as it filled her lungs. "Don't do that. Don't you dare do that to me."
He threw up his hands. "Do what?"
"Don't you dare be all rational when I'm in the middle of a really good pregnancy rage, okay? It's not fair, because I cannot just make myself be calm."
She was