“Jack, I can take care of it. You really don’t have to—”
“You don’t have to handle it all on your own. I’m here. I’m capable of moving a bookcase.”
“I know that. Of course you are, but I’m saying you don’t have to do it. I’m used to handling things on my own, and that’s what I’m comfortable wi—”
The sleeves had been rolled meticulously, so he lifted his head to give me a long look. I shut up.
Fine.
If he wanted to get his expensive suit dirty, he was welcome to do so. After scolding me with a simple stare, he started to walk around the bookcase.
“It might scratch the flooring,” he said as he glanced up at me and then back down.
“No, it won’t. I put four of those soft thingies under the legs, so it won’t scratch.”
That got him to look at me. “Thingies,” he deadpanned.
I couldn’t help it—my lips slowly curved up and I smiled, with my teeth showing and all. “Sure, it sounds ridiculous when you say it.” If one of us didn’t relax around the other, I was surely going to commit murder before the twenty-four months ended. Since I didn’t think Jack ever relaxed or had ever relaxed before, it looked like I was going to be the lucky winner in this marriage.
I was going to try my best to loosen up around him and ignore the fact that he was the type of guy I always stayed away from.
Because we were complete opposites.
Because we had very different outlooks on life.
Because, because, because…
He was standoffish, prickly, arrogant at times, aloof.
He gave me a quick unimpressed look and turned his back to me. “That’s because it is a ridiculous word.”
When he wasn’t looking at me anymore, I took a deep breath and glanced up to the heavens, though I couldn’t actually see them. “Your suit is gonna get dirty,” I said for the last time. When those hard eyes met mine, I lifted my hands up. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Oh, wait!” Before he could give me a sarcastic answer, I rushed out of the alcove, all the while yelling over my shoulder, “Give me a second and I’ll wipe it down first.”
He didn’t say anything so I assumed he was waiting for me to come back. As soon as I had a wet dish towel, I hurried back only to see he already had the bookcase up and standing.
“It’s not a big thing, but I want you to meet some of the partners in my firm,” he started as I stepped aside with the towel in my hand and he started to push the bookcase toward its new home. “There is a dinner tomorrow with two of the partners and a potential client, nothing formal, just a simple meal. They know we got married and asked me to bring you with me. I know you’re working day and night to open this place so if you can’t spare the time, you don’t have to join us for this one. I’ll explain it to them.”
I put the towel down on one of the tables and pulled the two chairs and another table that were in his way to the side. “No, I’ll come.”
He stopped pushing and tilted his head to look at me from the other side of the bookcase. “Are you sure? Like I said, you don’t have to.”
“We made a business deal, right? And you keep helping me when you come here. I have to do something in return,” I answered as I gripped the other end of the bookcase and started helping him turn it around so we could push it the rest of the way with the back facing toward the wall. A dinner wasn’t such a bad thing as long as we didn’t freeze up and he didn’t go all cold on me in front of other people—which wasn’t my problem.
“Right,” he said in a clipped tone, and we both started pushing.
The only problem about going out to dinner with Jack and his partners was that I could only imagine what kind of restaurant partners at a high-profile law firm would go to, and unfortunately, I didn’t have anything nice enough to wear to a place like that. Every cent I had earned up till that day, I’d put aside for the dream coffee shop I would open in New York. Now that dream was actually coming true, and when you were working