Page 14 of His Valentine
“Yep. Got it.” He’s already got one of the screws in and is working on the other one.
“You’re making sure the screws are nice and tight, right?”
“Of course,” he says. There’s a tiny tinge of annoyance in his voice, and I shoot him a look.
“I’m just making sure,” I say.
Magnus nods. “What’s next?”
I look back at the instructions. “Let’s see. The stabilizer bars go on next. Okay, we’re going to need the long screws, the plastic washers, and the nuts that look like this.” I show him the page. He gives it another super quick glance, then reaches over and starts grabbing stuff.
“No, not those screws,” I say. “The other ones.”
“Whichones?”
“The slightly shorter ones.”
“Thought you said ‘long screws.’”
I let out a breath. “If you’d looked at the instructions for more than a split second, Magnus, you’d know which ones I was talking about.”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just draws in a breath and lets it out. “Can you just hand me the right pieces, please, then?”
“I can. But don’t get mad if I’m slower than you.”
“Why would I get mad at you? Lena—”
“You’re rushing it!”
“I’m not rushing anything,” he says. “Look, if I see a part and I know where it goes, I’m going to go ahead and put two and two together. This isn’t rocket science.”
“No, but it’s our child’s crib. It needs to be done right. You almost used the wrong screws.”
“I would have figured it out.”
Annoyance throbs in my chest. And then…fear. This was exactly why I was hesitant to get involved with Magnus. If things don’t end up working out between us, it’s going to be so much worse with a baby involved.
“I can’t do this,” I say. My voice almost breaks.
“Hey,” says Magnus, the edge gone from his voice. “It’s okay. Let’s take a break.”
I shake my head. He doesn’t understand. “I don’t just mean the crib. I meanus. Magnus, we can’t even put a piece of furniture together. How are we going to raise a baby together?”
He reaches out and squeezes my leg. “Okay, first of all, I’m sorry for being short with you, Lena. But this is one tiny argument. It’s not a big deal.”
“But one argument leads to another, and…” I shake my head. “I know I’ve told you that my parents got divorced when I was little. But what I didn’t tell you is that I overheard them arguing. Alot. It suckedsomuch when my dad left. I can’t do that to my child.”
“That won’t happen with us.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No. I do. You and I are meant to be together. Not just because of the baby. But because you and I are meant to be.”
I want to believe him. I really do. But fear is still holding me back.
“I’m sorry, Magnus. I need some space. I need to be alone right now.”
“You want me to leave?”