My reply caused Braden to tilt his head and ask in obvious surprise, “Really?”
I snorted and lay back down. “Really. ”
“Well, that’s a good sign. ”
The smile in his voice for some reason caused my stomach to flip. And not in a good way. “What’s a good sign?” I asked, not really sure if I wanted an answer or not.
“You. Not minding the kids. ”
Yup, I definitely didn’t want the answer.
“If you don’t mind the noise of other people’s kids, then you’ll definitely not mind the noise our kids will make. ”
He might as well have wrapped his hand around my throat. I tried to swallow past the constriction his words had caused and I knew I had to get up, walk away, do anything, so that I didn’t have a panic attack. So it wouldn’t be obvious he’d freaked me out I waited as long as I could before saying, “You want a drink? I’m going to get a drink. ”
I felt his eyes on me as I shoved on my flip-flops and sunglasses, hurriedly tying my sarong around my waist. Not once did I look at him but I knew from his quiet, “Sure, babe,” I hadn’t been successful in keeping my freak-out to myself.
The whole time the bartender was making up our drinks the guilt clawed at me. I’d left Braden back there wondering what the hell had happened and if I was shutting him out. That was something I’d promised never to do to him again, and I had to keep that promise. With that in mind I took the drinks back to him and settled back onto my lounger.
After a few minutes of quiet I said, “Let’s go lie on our deck at the villa. ”
Glancing over at Braden I found him staring at me, his brow puckered in consternation. “Why?”
I held his gaze and answered pointedly, “Because I like the peace and quiet. I want that for a while yet. ”
Braden drew in a deep breath and slowly sat up to face me. Resting his elbows on his knees he leaned in and asked, “But one day you’ll want the noise, right?”
My heart started to bang around in my chest at the thought but I nodded tremulously. “Yes. But I just want it to be us for a while. ”
Something dark I didn’t quite understand flashed in his eyes but he kissed me, cupping my face in his hand, and he murmured against my lips, “All right. ”
When he pulled back his eyes moved behind me and he frowned at something. Feeling like there was definitely something off about his acquiescence, I asked, “You okay?”
I got a reassuring nod and he pulled back, standing up to gather his things.
Turning, I did the same, shoving my flip-flops back on and bending down to find my e-reader, which I’d hidden under my lounger in the shade.
“Do you fucking mind?” Braden snapped.
My head jerked up at his tone and my eyes collided with my neighbor. He was an older man, perhaps in his late forties, early fifties, he wasn’t with anyone, and he was staring in mild amusement over my shoulder at my husband. His eyes flicked to my boobs and then back to Braden.
Great.
I didn’t need to look around to know that Braden’s sharp aggression had drawn all of our neighbors’ gazes.
“Your woman is very beautiful,” the stranger commented in a thick accent.
I tensed and quickly turned around to face Braden, giving him a shake of my head. “Leave it. ”
He didn’t leave it.
He gently took hold of my wrist and pulled me behind him so he could lean into the stranger’s face. “My wife is very beautiful. But to you she’s invisible. Understood?”
The stranger nodded. “Understood. ”
I understood too. I understood I was mortified.
Not wanting to cause more of a scene, I let Braden hold my hand as we walked up the beach but as soon as we were out of sight I tugged out of his hold.
“You’re pissed off. ” He sighed.
“Yes, I’m pissed off. There was no need to speak to him that way. It was embarrassing. You were peeing all over me. ”
I heard his snort of laughter but didn’t dare look at him because I was afraid I’d kill him.
“That arsehole was ogling you all fucking day and ignoring every warning look I gave him. I don’t appreciate another man staring at my wife like he’s imagining fucking her when he knows I’m standing right fucking there. ”
“Is dropping the f-bomb three times really necessary?”
He sighed, heavily this time. “You’re still pissed off. ”
Yes, I’m still pissed off. “I’m confused. You overreacted and you know you overreacted. I’m just thinking the overreaction had nothing to do with that idiot staring at my breasts. ”