Authors: Opal Carew
“Not at all. I was going to help you get set up today.”
A few minutes later, he arrived with the boxes. He set them on the kitchen table, and then moved the box of food to the kitchen counter. She felt very awkward being around him after seeing him in that video. Knowing he and her husband had been lovers.
And maybe still were.
“How are you this morning?” he asked with a smile.
“Oh, fine.” She started unpacking the groceries, laying the vegetables and packages of meat on the counter.
Will put them in the fridge while she grabbed some cans from the box. Although the kitchen was large, she kept coming into contact with him. A brush of his arm as he reached for a bag of flour from the box, her hip bumping his when she turned around after putting the milk in the fridge. Then her butt backed into his crotch as she was putting onions under the counter and he reached over her to put away a box of cereal.
She stood up and tugged on the hem of her T-shirt, then returned to the box. It was empty now. Will took it off the counter. River grabbed some scissors from the drawer and walked to the table, then opened the big box that held her nail polish supplies.
She stared at various bottles of base, pigments, glitters, and flakies inside with a smile of delight. There were also nail polish bottles, steel mixing balls, and she’d bought extra funnels and measuring spoons. She already had labels, and had ordered some small black boxes to place each bottle in to give the packaging a higher-end feel.
Will laughed. “I hope you look at Kane with that same look of awe.”
She started pulling the bottles out of the box. Will didn’t say anything when she didn’t answer, but he must be feeling the awkwardness. Which wasn’t fair of her. He was giving up his valuable time to help her and … well, she knew this wasn’t a real marriage to Kane. If Kane was keeping a lover, even one that she had to see all the time, that was his prerogative. He hadn’t told her about it—and there was no reason he had to—and she wondered if that was exactly so she wouldn’t feel awkward around Will.
Will helped her unpack all the items and organize them on the table.
She picked up a couple of little baggies of glitter, admiring the lovely colors.
“Where are we going to work?” Will asked.
We.
It felt so strange to her that this wealthy business entrepreneur, a partner in a big corporation, was going to spend the day helping her mix nail polish.
“I guess on the kitchen counter. I’ll lay some plastic down to protect the granite countertop.”
“Wait, it says on this bottle,” he said, reading the label of the suspension base, “that you need to work in a well-ventilated area.”
“Sure, I’ll turn on the fan and open the window.”
“I don’t think we should chance that. It’s a nice day out. Why don’t we work out by the pool?”
Her automatic reaction was to resist his suggestion. But he was right. She needed to be careful about breathing in the chemicals and pigments. Fighting him would just be spiting herself. She agreed and selected the base, pigments, and glitters she’d be using today and put them back in the box, then tossed in the mixing utensils and bottles. He carried them outside.
He set out the opened polish bottles and she used a syringe to draw the base from the big bottle and fill ten of the little bottles, then she popped a little funnel in each and measured out pigment and dropped it in the funnels.
“Are you really going to do this a bottle at a time?” Will asked.
“Well, for now. I’ve never done a bulk set of polish before. I’m afraid if I mix it in a bigger bottle, it might not come out right.”
She handed him a toothpick. “You can push the pigment down. It tends to clump in the funnel.”
Will sat and poked the powder with the sharp wooden pick to loosen it while she measured some of the silver holo glitter and tossed it in on top, and then she added some fine peacock-blue glitter.
When they had all ten bottles done, she used her little hand-held mixer to blend everything, then Will dropped two steel balls in each and capped them. Finally, ten complete bottles sat on the table, glistening in the sunlight. She smiled, ridiculously happy that she had just made the first step in her growing business.
“Now just three hundred and ninety to go,” Will said.
“Actually, we still have another fifty or so over that to do,” she said as she assembled one of the flattened, divided boxes she’d bought to store the polish. “I plan to send several sets out to bloggers and YouTube vloggers for review.” She placed the full bottles inside.
Then she glanced his way, wondering if he would abandon her now that he’d gotten her started.
“Okay, well, we’d better get moving then.” He started setting out more of the small glass bottles.
* * *
Will enjoyed working with River. Her obvious joy at working with these colors and bright glitters made him smile. She seemed to genuinely appreciate his help, too, but he sensed something was off. Last night, they had gotten to know each other a little better and seemed to be forming a bond, but today she seemed tense around him. Whenever he got too close, like when they were putting away the groceries or when he accidentally brushed her arm when he was setting out the little bottles, she stiffened.
They spent the whole day filling bottles and mixing polish. She did a batch of several different colors and he loved watching the delight in her eyes when she opened a new colorant or glitter pouch.
Finally, when she showed no signs of stopping, Will leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“Time for a break. How about some dinner?”
“Oh, no, I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”
He was sure she was trying to get rid of him, but he was intent on finding out what had gone wrong between them.
“I insist. You’ve got some steaks in there. How about I show you how to use the grill on the stove?”
“Okay. Thanks,” she said reluctantly. She placed the latest box of finished polish on the growing stack, and then followed Will into the house.
Will showed her the various controls on the stove, and he spiced up the steaks while she made a salad. Soon they were sitting at the table with dinner and a nice red wine. When they were finished, he sat back and watched her sip her wine.
“So I notice you’ve been a bit uncomfortable around me today. Did I do something wrong last night?”
She gazed at her wine as she swirled it in her glass. “No. It was very nice of you to keep me company yesterday.”
“Okay, if it’s not that, then what’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong.”
“I don’t believe you. Look, I’m Kane’s best friend … you’re his wife … I’d like us to be friends. If I’ve done anything wrong, I’d like a chance to fix it.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just … an awkward situation.”
“What is? The reason you and Kane are married?”
She pursed her lips. “The fact that I’m married to Kane, but that you two are … uh…” She shrugged.
“Partners? I’m not sure how that’s awkward.”
“No, I mean…” She gazed his way, and bit her lip. “I know that you and Kane … that you’re … more than just business partners.”
His stomach clenched. “You mean friends?” But he was sure that wasn’t it.
She shook her head.
“What do you mean, River?”
“I mean that you two are … lovers.”
He sighed and sat back in the chair. How the hell did she know?
“Did Kane tell you?” he asked.
Kane had told Will that he didn’t want her to know. That it would make things awkward between all of them.
“No, he didn’t say a thing. I … well, it was an accident, but … I found a video on Kane’s computer.” She gazed at him with wide eyes. “I wasn’t snooping. I just wanted to watch a movie and…”
“It’s okay. I don’t think that. I … Ah, fuck, River. We didn’t want you to know. We didn’t want it to be awkward for you.”
She nodded and sipped more of her wine. “It’s just strange. The idea that he’s having sex with me and that you two are still…” She trailed off.
“What? No. We aren’t still together like that.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “When he told me he was going after you again, he ended it with me. You are his full focus. He is totally and completely dedicated to making things work between you.”
* * *
River stared at Will, the warmth of his hand surrounding hers comforting.
“Really?” she asked, elated.
“Of course. He will be totally faithful to you.”
“I…” But she choked up. She sipped her wine again and cleared her throat. “But what about you? Do you still love him?”
“I want him to be happy. And our friendship will always be sound. I think the only thing that could threaten that is if you decide you don’t want me around.”
Her heart ached as he said the words. “You really think he’d shut you out of his life if I didn’t like you?”
Will nodded. “His personal life, yes. If it made you uncomfortable. We’d still run the business together, but he might go so far as to ask me to relocate. Then we’d run business meetings over Skype.”
She couldn’t believe she’d have so much power over Kane’s life.
She squeezed Will’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize your friendship with Kane. I promise.”
* * *
After their conversation, River felt more relaxed around Will.
He was a good friend to Kane. She couldn’t believe that he would put his friend’s happiness ahead of his own that way. But then, people did that kind of thing for the people they love.
Was Will in love with Kane? The thought broke River’s heart. That he was in love with Kane and couldn’t be with him.
If she hadn’t accepted this business proposal with Kane … to be his wife in return for building her business … would he have stayed with Will?
But she knew in her heart that Kane would never be willing to make his relationship with Will public. Kane would want a marriage that his friends and family would find acceptable, and that was her role.
She and Will cleared the table, and then they did the dishes together. After that, they settled into the living room with another bottle of wine. Will popped the cork and filled her glass.
Will was a good-looking man. Sexy and charismatic. And she felt safe and comfortable around him. She was sure they could become good friends. And she was amazed that he didn’t resent her. Or if he did, he hid it well.
They chatted and laughed. And drank more wine.
“I love how engaged you are when you’re mixing your nail polish,” he said. “You so clearly love it.” He smiled. “And you’re very talented.”
She shrugged off the compliment. “As you saw, there’s no real magic. I just mix the ingredients together.”
“I’m not letting you get away with that. It’s your unique creativity that allows you to combine everything just so to make something beautiful.”
Elation filled her at his encouragement.
She rested her head against his shoulder. “That’s nice of you to say.”
He slid his arm around her. She was sure he sensed that she didn’t get much encouragement. Of course, he knew how people had viewed her in college. They didn’t call her creative. They just called her strange.
She gazed at his beautiful hazel eyes, so thoughtful and full of warmth. A tingling started deep inside her, followed by a coiling heat.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
She giggled. “To tell the truth, I was thinking that it’s a good thing you’re gay.”
He frowned. “Why? Because that makes me safe to be around?”
“No. Because you’re so attractive and I’m a married woman.” She giggled again. Oh, God, had she really said that out loud?
He tucked his finger under her chin and tipped it up, his expressive eyes heating.
“River, get this straight. I am not gay.”
Then his lips found hers and she sucked in a breath. Then leaned into the kiss.
His mouth moved gently on hers, and then his tongue slipped between her lips. Her arms glided around him without her consent and she held him close. Their mouths moved together and heat spiraled through her.
Then he ended the kiss. “Fuck, I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Then why the hell did you?”
River’s gaze darted across the room to see Kane standing there glaring at them.
River’s chest constricted. “Kane…”
Will was on his feet. “Man, I’m sorry. But nothing happened.”
“It didn’t look like nothing to me. To
me
it looked like you were hitting on my wife.”
“Kane, you know I’d never do that.”
“I’d believe that a lot more if I hadn’t just seen you manhandling her.”
River had never seen Kane so angry. It was palpable, like an electrical field crackling around him.
“Now get the fuck out of here.”
Will frowned and sent her a glance, then strode across the room. A moment later, she heard the doors of the elevator close behind him.
She drew in a breath as the silence hung around them. Kane’s indigo eyes turned to her, and she shifted under his angry stare.
“Kane, it wasn’t Will’s fault. It just—”
“Stop,” he snapped, his eyes blazing. “And you’re right. It wasn’t his fault. You’re my wife and you have certain responsibilities. That includes not letting another man touch you.”
She watched him, forlorn, and more than a little unnerved by the anger blazing from him.
“And there’s another responsibility you have as my wife.” He unfastened his belt and pulled it from his pants. She tensed, for a split second, afraid he intended to hit her with it.
But she realized the blind fear was just a flash from her past. Kane was not her father. He was nothing like him. Kane would never hurt her like that.
He tossed the belt aside as he walked purposely toward her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Their gazes locked and the disappointment and … oh, God, the pain—deep and poignant—in his eyes, took her breath away.
He placed his hand on top of her head and pushed her down, until she was on her knees. He unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock. It was long and flaccid.