Neil watched him go, then turned to me. “That is a massive overreaction.”
“No. It’s not.” I was beginning to wonder if Neil truly couldn’t see how he had made both of us feel. “And I know it’s not, because I’ve been through exactly what you just put him through. I have felt consistently throughout our relationship that if it came down to the wire, you’d choose Valerie over me.”
“That is absurd!” he barked.
“Oh, what I feel is absurd? That’s exactly the kind of gaslighting Ross tried on Demelza, and look how that turned out!” I shouted.
A combination of anger and puzzlement scrunched up Neil’s face. “Who are these people you two keep talking about?”
“It’s a show!” I stamped my foot. “Now, excuse me. The man we love just stormed out of this house into the freezing cold with no coat on, and I would like to go save him from pride-induced hypothermia!” I stomped into the foyer, grabbed one of my winter coats from the closet—and one of Neil’s since El-Mudad’s stuff hadn’t arrived yet—then stepped outside and slammed the door behind me.
Chapter Nine
The soles of my ballet flats crunched on the salt carefully applied to our front steps and walkway by the grounds people. My breath clouded the air; my anger had probably raised my temperature enough that it looked like steam from a nuclear power plant’s cooling towers. El-Mudad hadn’t gotten far. I saw him stalking off toward the garage.
“Hey!” I called, jogging to catch up with him.
He slowed and turned, rubbing his hands over his bare arms. “You should go inside, Sophie. It’s cold.”
“Um, duh? That’s why I’m here.” I held out Neil’s leather coat. El-Mudad was a bit broader in the shoulders, but it still fit him. “Put this on, or you’ll die.”
“It’s not so bad,” he argued through bloodless lips. He took the coat and jammed his arms into the sleeves.
“Don’t take it out on the lining,” I said, trying to joke. I’d never seen El-Mudad angry before. I had no idea if humor would work on him. He gave me an annoyed glance, and I sighed. “You know, we’ve never fought before?”
“I’m not fighting with you,” he clarified. “I’m fighting with Neil.”
“No, I meant ‘we’ as in the...triple ‘we’.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder to indicate the front door. “I think we’re all having our first fight.”
“The first of many, if Neil doesn’t stop this asinine obsession with his ex-lover’s personal life.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m overreacting. I know I am. I’m overreacting.”
“I don’t believe in overreactions.” I hugged myself in the hopes that gathering my coat closer would somehow generate warmth. “I just believe in reactions.”
“Liar.” A smile touched the corners of his mouth. “You apologize for overreacting all the time.”
“It’s different when it’s me,” I grumbled.
“It always is. And that infuriating ego is one of the many reasons I love you.” He reached up and touched my cheek with his practically frozen hand.
“What about Neil’s infuriating ego?” I asked, and El-Mudad’s expression hardened.
“I just can’t understand this...toxic obsession with Valerie. I see how you react to her. I know you feel the same.” He stopped abruptly and tilted his head back, looking straight up into the sky as though he could wish our problem into space.
“Am I that obvious?” I slipped my arm through his and gave him a nudge. “Come on. Let’s go inside the house. We don’t have to go make up all nicey-nice with Neil. We can just talk.”
“You’re right. He’s probably on the phone to her right now, anyway,” El-Mudad said bitterly.
“He won’t be.” I could state that with absolute confidence. “He’s fucked up enough with me over her in the past. There’s no way he would lie to me about calling her.”
El-Mudad didn’t say much as we followed the gentle curve of the drive. It split in two, one path arcing off to return to the main gate, the other rounding the house to lead under the porte-cochere. I didn’t have my key to the kitchen door on me, but I did have the code to the security box. I punched in the numbers with frozen fingers and held the door for El-Mudad.
“We took the long way,” he said with a humorless laugh. He sounded so tired. Worn down by the Neil-and-Valerie-bullshit-extravaganza. I almost wanted to warn him that he hadn’t seen anything yet, but that just made me angry. There wasn’t any reason either of us should have to deal with any more of it.
“You want me to make some coffee?” I asked.
He tossed Neil’s coat over one of the tall chairs at the island and headed for the big round table in the breakfast nook, where we’d just eaten dinner only a little while before. He put one hand over his stomach and grimaced. “No. The acid...I’ll be up all night with heartburn.”