Page 96 of Married With Lies
Richie Amato waves a hand. “Go ahead, kids. Have a nice night.”
Cale lifts me to my feet and braces a firm arm around my waist. One of the bodyguards moves to open the door for us and Cale waves him off.
“Get working on those babies!” Kiki cheers as Cale steers me out of the room.
Neither of us answer her. Cale’s arm doesn’t leave my waist and he walks briskly, forcing me to keep up in my heels. Not a word is spoken between us as we cross the courtyard, pass the hot springs, and reach the lodge building where we’re staying.
It’s only when we’re about to enter our suite that I dare to take a peek at his face, which is downright thunderous.
27
SADIE
Cale finally releases me once we’re inside the suite.
With each passing second I feel more foolish and now that we’re alone, the feeling only intensifies. The first thing I do is kick off these absurd shoes that I can barely walk in. Next I hastily remove the gold earrings and necklace. They get stuffed into my small handbag so I don’t need to look at them anymore.
What am I doing?
First, I clearly have no talent as a seductress.
Second, I’ve behaved like a high maintenance brat.
Cale’s behavior isn’t anything to brag about either but he’s his own problem.
After my disastrous relationship with Grant, I swore to myself that I’d never again stray from the real me. Yet here I am, playing games to get the attention of my fake husband, who is obviously not amused. I tried to be something that I thought he might want and attempted to blend into his world, instead of inviting him to share mine.
Cale throws his jacket down and empties his pockets, tossing each item down on an accent table by the door.
Keys. Wallet. Phone. Gun.
Just a collection of ordinary everyday items.
Then he unbuttons his cuffs, rolls his shirt up to his elbows and drags an armchair to the center of the room. He drops into the chair, knees slightly apart, his jaw set, and stares me down with the arrogance of a king.
“Take it off,” he says to me in a purely cold tone he’s never used before.
“You mean the dress?” I sure wish my voice didn’t squeak but my heart is pounding. His anger is unfamiliar. I’m afraid I might have poked the beast more than I meant to.
Cale tilts his head and runs his eyes up and down my body. He’s doing this on purpose, taking his time about answering. He knows I’m rattled.
“Yeah, the dress, Sadie. TAKE IT THE FUCK OFF.”
My stubborn streak surges and suddenly I want to tell him where he can stick his demands. The weekend is obviously ruined and I don’t need to take this. I can just leave.
Even as the thought flashes through my mind it’s dismissed.
The truth is that I’m stuck here. Cale and I set out to fool a very dangerous man. We’re still acting in a charade. Cale is on high alert when he’s around Richie Amato and for good reason. While we’re here we are surrounded by Richie’s people.
Only in hindsight do I understand how I could have gone about this in a better way. I should have asked Cale to stay at the ranch for a few days, or even longer, once this weekend was over. When we’re alone together, things are different.
We’ve told plenty of lies, the two of us. But we don’t lie to each other.
And like it or not, Cale is in my head. In my heart. I need to deal with him. With this. With us.
“I’ll go change in the bathroom,” I say. “Then you and I need to have a serious talk.”
“No.” He leans back in the chair, parks his elbows on the arms and narrows his eyes. “Take the fucking dress off right here.”