Nothing to see here.”
What?! I scrambled to unlock the door and jumped out of the car. I did not need my neighbors seeing this. I looked in the direction Point had been talking, but no one was there.
“You asshole,” I seethed. “You tricked me.”
He grabbed my hand, pulled me out of the way of the door, and slammed it shut. “You always were surprisingly gullible.”
“I am not gullible,” I whined. “And I need my purse out of the car.”
Point tightened his grip on my hand. “You’re not going anywhere, Dee. I let go of your hand, and you run into the house and lock me out.” He opened the door, managed to grab my purse, and slammed the door again. “I’m not as gullible as you.”
“Calling me gullible is just as bad as your friends calling me a bitch.”
He pulled me toward the front door. “We really going to go back to debating this shit?” We stopped in front of the door. “Open it,” he demanded.
I didn’t want to. “I think this is where we end our night. It was nice seeing you again, Point, but I think you and I never seeing each other is for the best.”
Or at least not for thirty or so years. Fifty would be nice.
Point stared at me.
“You weren’t this intimidating when we were married.” He was strong and very much the alpha in our relationship, but he wasn’t this intense.
“We’re still married,” he growled. “Open the door.”
I tipped my head back and looked up at him. “If I didn’t know you, I would be slightly afraid of you right now.”
“Are you?” he asked.
I paused for a beat. “Well, no. I don’t think you’ve changed so much to where you’d hurt me.”
He lowered his voice and leaned toward me. “I’d never hurt a hair on your head, Dee, let alone lay a finger on you.”
My heart skipped a beat. I stuck the key in the lock and twisted.
“You had to hear me say I wouldn’t hurt you?” he drawled.
I shook my head and pushed open the door. “No. I saw the old Point.” It was the first time I had really seen him. I held open the door and motioned for Point to come in. “Let’s get this over with.”
He closed the door behind him, and I led the way to the kitchen.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
I opened the freezer and pulled out a tin foil pan. “Heating up dinner since you ruined ours at the restaurant.”
My stomach rumbled at the thought of leaving the delicious patty melt on my plate. The lasagna I made and froze a month ago was going to have to do.
“Pretty sure you were the one who ran out, not me.”
I shrugged and laid the pan on top of the oven. I cranked the temperature to three-seventy-five and took the foil off the top of the pan. “Because you kept talking about things I didn’t want to talk about.”
Point moved to the table and sat down. “You want to know the thing that surprised me the most when you left?”
Ugh. He didn’t take the hint that we needed to stop talking about any of this. “What surprised you?”
His voice was quiet and soft. “The fact you ran. I never took you for someone who would just run away when things got slightly tough.”
I slid the pan into the oven. I turned to face him and leaned against the counter. “I didn’t run because things were tough. I ran because I didn’t know how to love you and not lose myself.” Bloody hell, I had finally said what I actually wanted to. “How was I supposed to make a life with you and live my dream while wondering if you were giving up your dream for my dream?”
Okay, that came out a little confusing, but it at least came out.
“I think that’s the first coherent thing you’ve said to me all night.” He laid his arm on the table and kicked his legs out in front of him. “Not that I exactly understand why you feel that way, but I get it.”
“Good. You can let yourself out then.” I had said it and now it was time to go.
Point chuckled. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, Dee.”
“That only happens if I tell you I don’t love you anymore, right?” It was an ill-timed joke. I laughed lamely and sighed. “Ha.”
“Stop trying to scare me away, Dee.”
“That’s like the tenth time you’ve called me that. You