The Life You Stole (Life Duet 2)

I knew … I really did know he didn’t mean to make me feel unwanted. Just like I hoped he knew I wasn’t trying to make him feel bad. Sometimes censoring every emotion took too much effort. We exchanged vows. We brought two lives into the world. Surely that meant we could let a little vulnerability leak into the space between us without it ruining everything we’d worked so hard to build together.

Ronin paused before sliding into the car. With his back to me, he dropped his chin to his chest for a few seconds before he turned back to me.

“Right?” I shrugged, offering a half smile so that he’d know I wasn’t mad, just … I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure what word described how I felt in that moment. Maybe a little disconnected from my husband.

“Probably.” When he smiled, I caught a glimpse of the Ronin I married. The unrelenting flirt. My partner in crime and all shenanigans. Before I could cry from relief or even take my next breath, he kissed me.

Ronin kissed me like he needed me. He kissed me like we were the center of the universe. He kissed me like everything was fine and would always be fine. It wasn’t sexual like the night he caught me with Madonna.

This kiss said I love you.

“I needed that,” I whispered, more breathless than I had been on my jog.

White teeth peeked out from his soft lips. “Me too.”

“Drive safely.”

He slid into his car and winked at me. “Always. Um … I’ll have my phone on vibrate during class, so if you try to reach me and can’t, don’t worry. I’ll get back with you during a break.”

I returned a nod after he shut the door.

“Oh!” I knocked on the window.

Ronin rolled it down.

“Katie called. She’s pregnant.”

“That’s great. I’ll call her later and congratulate them.”

Ronin loved me. He loved my family. I married the perfect man. Why the hell did I struggle to have the perfect life with him?

After a quick shower, I called Lila since the kids were taking full advantage of sleeping late.

“Hello?”

“Hey! Haven’t talked with you in a while. I miss you.”

“I … well, I miss you too.”

“You should come to Aspen for the day. Ronin was supposed to have the day off, but he’s driving to Denver now to fill in for a friend who got sick and can’t teach his CPR and first aid class. We could do hot chocolate. I’ll make cookies. The kids would love to see you.”

“Oh, I can’t. I’m sorry. But that sounds like fun.”

“Why not? Come on!” I begged, laughing at my maturity level which reached maybe that of a ten-year-old.

“Soon. I just can’t today. I have other obligations. Graham is out of town, but I’m not off duty.”

“Fine.”

“Everything else okay?” she asked. “You and Ronin doing better than the last time I talked with you?”

“I’m not sure. I think so. He still seems so depressed. And I also think he’s experiencing pain some days even though he denies it. Are you feeling okay? I know not everything he feels is directly related to you, but my mind still goes right to that connection when I know he’s not well.”

“I’m good. So I’m not sure why he’s been off. Are you two…” she cleared her throat “…intimate?”

“Well, about that … the last time we had sex, it was …”

“It was what?”

“Intense.”

She hummed. “Intense is good, right?”

“Intense is ‘I could barely walk or sit properly the next day.’ It was this weird angry kind of passion. Possessive. It lasted most of the night, and we did … everything.” Biting my lower lip, I wrinkled my nose. “And we haven’t done everything in a long time. Not since we were first married.”

“O—kay.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I shook my head. “Sorry. That was clearly too much information. I guess my point is that we had the most intense sex of our entire married life, but he hasn’t showed any interest in having it since then—not even plain old forty-something sex.”

“What about Adrianne Craig. Any more from her?”

“No. I haven’t seen her since the day she drove him home. And Ronin hasn’t mentioned her. I’m hoping she got the hint and moved on.”

“Yeah … me too.”

“Oh, and Katie’s pregnant.”

“Evie! That’s great! Tell her congratulations from me.”

I rubbed small circles on my forehead to release the tension. “Yeah. I will. A slight catch or caveat to that good news.”

“What’s that?”

“Graham paid for Katie’s IVF.”

“He … he did?”

Clearly he didn’t tell Lila.

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s okay. Good. Right? I mean … if she couldn’t afford it. That’s a good thing that he helped her out.”

“Sure.”

After a few silent seconds, Lila cleared her throat. “You don’t think so.”

It wasn’t a question. She knew me. She knew my complicated and emotional relationship with Graham—most of it.

I blew out a long breath. “It’s not that I’m ungrateful. It’s just …”