Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(76)

Bobby already had his shirt off by the time he made it into the bedroom. He stood at the end of the bed, and his eyes glowed with warmth as he smiled at her.

She repeated what the television commentator had announced. “Bobby Polgar just made chess history.”

“I hurried.”

Teri held her arms open. “How long before the next game?”

“An hour,” he said, frowning.

“That’s enough time,” she assured him.

His smile was back.

Bobby Polgar, husband of Teri Miller Polgar, continued to make chess history for the rest of that week. Without explanation, he disappeared after each match and arrived late for several of them. Refusing all interviews, he was less social and more reclusive than he’d been since entering the international chess arena. Speculation ran rampant.

Teri didn’t leave the suite for five days. She had everything she could want or need at her fingertips. In fact, she had more than she’d ever dreamed possible.

Thirty-Two

“I’d like to talk to you a moment,” Seth said after a silent dinner on Wednesday evening. They hadn’t mentioned the subject of the restaurant since last Friday, although it loomed between them. He hadn’t said any more about her idea for a tearoom, and Justine hadn’t brought it up. She was so bitterly disappointed in her husband that she could barely look at him. He’d acted as though her ideas and suggestions meant nothing. What hurt even more was that Seth hadn’t told her about his ideas, either. He’d just moved forward without her.

“All right,” she murmured, turning away from the sink. They’d spoken very little for the past five days, exchanging only mundane remarks about Leif’s needs. They still slept in the same bed, but as far from each other as possible, and they never went upstairs at the same time.

Seth had been avoiding her. He put in long hours at work. At least she assumed that was where he spent his time. For all she knew, he could’ve been in meetings with a builder and broken ground. Sad to say, she wasn’t privy to her husband’s plans.

Drying her hands on a dish towel, she glanced into the living room and saw that Leif was putting together a puzzle, Penny curled up beside him. He’d be content for a few more minutes. Pulling out a kitchen chair, she sat down while Seth poured himself a cup of coffee.

Instead of joining her at the table, he remained standing, leaning against the counter. Justine felt at a disadvantage, sitting while he stood, but didn’t have the energy to get up.

“I owe you an apology,” Seth admitted, surprising her. “I didn’t take this tearoom idea of yours seriously. I should’ve given it more consideration and I didn’t. Instead, I went ahead with my plans to rebuild—without discussing them with you first.”

Justine kept her eyes lowered. “I didn’t even know you’d made any plans, Seth. It was a shock.”

“No more of a shock than you seeing Warren behind my back,” he retaliated.

She opened her mouth to defend herself and swallowed a retort. Arguing wouldn’t help, and she didn’t want to say anything in front of their son. Leif had heard far too many of their disagreements already.

“Forget I said that,” Seth murmured, brushing his blond hair away from his face. Despite his words, his mouth was pinched, his expression disapproving.

“All right, I will.”

Her husband exhaled, as though he had difficulty controlling his frustration. “I want you to know I’ve done some serious thinking about what we should do.”

She dared to raise her eyes, almost afraid to hope Seth would be willing to hear her ideas.

“I love you, Justine,” he said, his eyes meeting hers. “You and Leif mean more to me than anything. I can’t risk losing you.”

Justine felt a lump form in her throat.

“I won’t destroy our marriage because I’m too stubborn to let go of an idea.”

Justine blinked rapidly to hold back tears. “I love you, too,” she said.

“More than Warren Saget?”

“Yes,” she cried. “A thousand times more!”

Seth pulled out another chair and sat across from her. He reached for her hand. Justine struggled not to cry; she hadn’t slept well in days, and she doubted Seth had, either. Lack of sleep had made her emotions more volatile than they already were.

“I think the best thing to do, since we can’t agree, is to sell the property. I’ve contacted a real estate agent and I’ve decided—” he hesitated “—if you concur, that is, we’ll put the property on the market.”

Justine was sure she hadn’t heard him correctly. “You’re willing to sell the land?” That wasn’t what she wanted, although at one time she’d thought perhaps she did.

He shrugged. “With the way property values have gone up in the last five years,” he continued, “plus what we’ll collect from the insurance company, we should be able to walk away debt-free.”

They could pay off everything they owed, but…“In other words, we won’t have anything to show for all the work we put into The Lighthouse?” She realized she was stating the very argument he’d made earlier. She saw the discouragement in his eyes and in the tight set of his mouth. She and Seth had taken a risk when they’d opened the restaurant. From the first day they’d opened for business, Seth had been determined to succeed.