Bitter Arrangement: Chapter 27

Cass looks around the house. “I love this freakish place,” she says, clapping her hands together.

“Freakish?” I pour her a glass of wine. I’m about to get myself one, but I hesitate and decide to skip it. Cass doesn’t comment on my sobriety when I grab some seltzer water instead. “What’s wrong with it?”

“There’s like no stuff anywhere. And we both know you’re a stuff girl.”

She’s got a point. “I brought pillows.” I gesture at a pile of throws at the end of the couch stacked in a very neat pile.

“And they’re doing a lot of work.” Cass arches an eyebrow. “The place is also very… you know.”

“I don’t know. Say it.”

“Clean.” She grins and waves her hands at my glare. “No, no, not clean, I mean organized!”

“Are you saying my old house wasn’t?”

“I’m saying your old room was like a junkyard. No offense.”

“Oh, yeah! None taken!” I stomp over to the pillow pile and toss a couple on the floor. “How’s that? Better now?”

She arches her eyebrows. “How’s the husband going to feel when he finds those?”

“He’ll probably lint roller them and make sure they’re back in their proper place. Got a problem?”

“Not at all. He sounds dreamy.” She pretends to swoon as she falls down onto the couch. “I’m just saying, this place isn’t your normal style.”

“It’s a process, okay?”

“If there’s anyone up to the challenge, it’s you.” I sit down beside her, and she leans on my shoulder. “Seriously, Riley, how are things with him?”

I think about the wound, the blood, the desperate escape, the heist attempt, the raunchy and amazing sex. “It’s not bad,” I say.

“Not bad?” Her eyebrows arch. “I feel like that only scratches the surface.”

“We’re learning how to live together.”

“Wow, I’m getting such a vivid picture of your domestic life.”

“He’s a neat freak, okay? I mean, look at this place; obviously, this isn’t my doing.” I wave my arms and gesture all around.

“Other than that?”

“He falls asleep in like ten seconds when he wants to. He reads every night before bed.”

“He reads? Seriously?”

“History stuff mostly. A few sci-fi thriller novels. He listens to podcasts too, like dozens of them. I think he’s the smartest guy I’ve ever met.”

“I’m having a hard time connecting podcasts and history books to your scary-looking mobster husband.”

“I know, right? But it’s true.”

“And what about, you know—” She waggles her eyebrows up and down. “The intimate stuff.”

“We’re working on it.” My cheeks turn red, and I drink the seltzer to hide my embarrassment.

“Sounds like you’re working on a lot.” Her voice softens as she snuggles in closer. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m good. No, really, I’m honestly good. Alexan’s nice to me. He’s cold and distant, but he’s also protective and caring. I was worried he’d end up being a controlling prick, and it’s really not like that.”

“I’m honestly so relieved to hear you say that. I was partly worried I’d show up here and find you, like, a battered shell of your former self.”

“Nope, still the same old me. Thriving and conniving.”

“And badly rhyming.” She sits up and stretches her legs. “Alright, so we’ve established you’re still a wretched goofball. Can you show me the rest of the place?”

I give her a tour of the rest of the place. We joke around and poke fun at each other the whole time, and I realize how much I missed her. It’s like I came to live with Alexan, and my old life went on pause. I didn’t reach out to friends, and I barely heard from them, except for Cass. But now that the shock of my marriage is wearing off and the reality of my life is setting in, I’m starting to take stock of where to go from here.

And maybe it’s not so bad, this whole situation.

Minus the murderous organized crime syndicate hell-bent on cutting our throats, obviously.

We end up on the back porch. I want to tell Cass everything about what’s going down, but I really can’t get her involved. She’ll want to go to Liam, and Alexan already made it clear that he doesn’t want anyone else to know, much less the head of the McGrath family. Instead, I give her an update on Brenden, which she doesn’t seem too surprised about.

“I’ve heard rumors,” she admits. “Just some of the cousins talking, you know? They said whatever Brenden did went really bad, but I don’t think anyone knows how much trouble he’s in.”

“He thinks he can handle it himself, but I don’t know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Honestly? Right now, I’m going to keep calm and avoid making it worse. But I can’t sit around and wait for his situation to resolve itself.”

“I didn’t think so. That wouldn’t be the Riley I know.”

“Can you do me a favor? Can you ask around about it?”

“Sure, I promise I’ll see what I can find out.”

We change the subject, but I keep thinking back to the way my brother sat at the kitchen table, hunched over his wounds. Normally, he’s got a big smile on his face, and the world’s like a playground, but now he seems withdrawn and terrified.

It kills me, seeing him like that.

We’re finishing up when Alexan comes home. He doesn’t notice us out back at first, and I have to wave him down to get his attention.

“Cass, this is my husband, Alexan. And Alexan, this is my best friend.”

“Great to officially meet you,” Cass says, smiling huge at him.

He frowns at her and stares for a long, awkward moment. I don’t get why he’s being so cold, but he finally quickly shakes her hand.

“You too,” he grunts.

“Uh,” I say, looking between them. “Cass and I were just hanging out. You want to join?”

“No,” he says, turning away.

“Are you sure? She’s a total delight.”

“I’m sure.” He steps inside.

I glance at her. She frowns back at me in confusion as he walks away.

“Must be busy,” I say, completely uncomfortable.

“Totally. No worries. I have to get going anyway.”

We hug and promise to hang out again soon, but the vibe is completely ruined, all thanks to my husband’s icy introduction. I walk her to the door and see her out before storming back inside, rage ripping through me like a storm.

That fucking asshole.

I ask so little of him. This is the first time I had someone from my life prior to him over to visit, and he acts like he couldn’t care less. It infuriates me beyond belief, and I stomp into his office like I’m going to crack his head.

“We need to talk,” I snap at him.

He barely looks back. “No, we don’t.”

“The way you treated Cass downstairs was rude. You realize that, don’t you?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“You were so standoffish and weird, like you clearly didn’t want her here.”

“I don’t care if you have friends over. This is your house too.”

“Then why the hell did you act like a total dick down there?”

He finally turns to me. His jaw is tense, and I can see the stress all over him. “I’m distracted.”

“That’s not a good excuse. I get it, things are complicated right now⁠—”

“No, baby, you don’t get it.” He rubs his forehead with the heel of his hand.

I step back. That’s the first time he’s ever been short with me. I don’t even know what to say. “What happened today?” I ask, my tone softening a touch. I feel myself spiraling, and I need to pull out of it. “Why are you like this right now?”

He closes his eyes and leans his head back. “Mantis has been following me for a while now.”

That gets my attention. I lean against the wall, arms crossed, heart beating rapidly. “Okay, so what? That’s not a huge deal, right?”

“Normally, it wouldn’t be, except there’s this fucking thing.” He gestures at the watch, jaw flexing. “And I shot one of their soldiers earlier.”

My mouth falls open. “You did what?”

“I sent them a message. They can’t get too fucking close and expect me to do my job. But now I’m thinking it might’ve been a little…” He levels me with a hard look. “Impulsive.”

“You did something impulsive? Mr. Cold Planning and Rationality did something emotional and impulsive?” I shake my head in wonder. I’d laugh, but this isn’t even remotely funny. “I’m finding it hard to believe.”

“I had my reasons, except now I’m thinking maybe they were flawed. I think I shot that guy because I’m pissed off. I’m angry that those fuckers chased after my wife and nearly hurt her.”

“Jesus, Alexan,” I whisper. “Mantis wasn’t even there.”

“Those guards were Mantis. Maybe indirectly, but still. And I know, I get it, my anger was a little misguided.”

“So you shot someone. You shoot people all the time, right?”

“Not all the time.” He opens his eyes and looks at me. “But yes, with some frequency.”

“Then you’ll get over it. That still doesn’t make your behavior downstairs okay.”

He leans forward, elbows on his knees. I expect him to argue. If this were my father or any of the other men in my life, they’d have a thousand reasons why I’m being unreasonable and they’re totally justified in being a total prick.

But he doesn’t do that.

Instead, he nods slowly.

“You’re right,” he says.

I pause. I’m not used to hearing that during a fight. “I’m right… about what?”

“I shouldn’t have been rude to your friend. I’m stressed and processing a potentially very bad decision, and I wasn’t available to be a decent husband. For that, I’m sorry. And tell Cass I apologize as well.”

I just stand there, anger slowly draining away. “I think this is the first fight I’ve ever actually won,” I admit, not sure what to do with myself.

“Don’t think of it as winning. Think of it as engaging in a mutually respectful relationship.”

“Who are you?” I ask.

He gets to his feet. My big, beautiful husband levels that cold, icy stare at me, and his lips curl into a smirk.

“I’m yours,” he says and comes toward me. “How angry are you?”

“I was pretty pissed coming up here,” I admit.

He stops in front of me and puts his hands on my hips. I keep my arms crossed as he leans forward, his body pressing into mine. “Angry enough that you want to lash out at me?” he asks softly.

“Are you turning this into a sex thing?”

“I’m offering to make up for my mistake.”

“By doing sex things?”

“If you want to be crude about it.” He leans forward and kisses my neck. A tingle runs down my spine. “Then yes.”

I lick my lips. God, what’s wrong with me? Is my libido really that hungry?

He did apologize, though. And if he’s not messing around about shooting some random Mantis guy earlier, I can understand why he might be a little distracted.

Cass will accept his apology.

As I run my fingers through his hair, I realize I’ve already accepted it too.