Rosewood Lane (Cedar Cove #2)(56)

“You look very peaceful,” he said.

“I feel wonderful.” She paused. “It was a lovely evening.”

The food was excellent, the merlot some of the best he could remember, but he sincerely hoped Grace was referring to the company and not the meal.

“I feel…free,” she said, eyes still closed. “I assumed that if I agreed to have dinner with you, I’d spend the entire night feeling guilty.”

“You don’t have anything to feel guilty about—yet.”

“Yet?” She lifted her head and stared at him.

“I’m going to kiss you Grace,” he said firmly, keeping his eyes on the road. “And when I do, you’re going to feel that kiss all the way down to your toes.”

“Ah…”

“It’s going to be a kiss that’ll knock you for a loop…and then some.”

“Cliff, I—”

“Do you have any objections?” he asked, his voice gruff, fearing rejection.

“Just one,” Grace whispered placing her hand on his knee.

“What’s that?”

“Stop this damn car and just do it.”

Cliff was more than happy to oblige.

Rosie and Zach were tense with each other over the Christmas holidays, and things didn’t seem to be getting any better in the New Year. Rosie tried, she honestly did, but Zach was increasingly demanding and unreasonable.

They were constantly bickering, constantly at odds. Some days she was convinced her marriage had been a mistake. Zach didn’t want a wife, he wanted a maid. Rosie had tried to live up to his expectations, but when she did manage to juggle her schedule to do these wifely chores, it always backfired. Breakfast was a good example. He apparently wanted her tied to the stove, yet no one was interested in her cooking.

Shortly before Christmas, in a conciliatory mood, she’d made meat loaf and mashed potatoes and even gravy. Eddie hated the meat loaf, and Allison complained about the potatoes. Rosie could have put up with their dissatisfaction if Zach had shown one bit of appreciation for her efforts. Instead, he’d pointed out that real potatoes didn’t come out of a box and that his mother had never used canned gravy. Well, she wasn’t his mother, as she’d told him. Zach had muttered, “You can say that again.” Rosie found his remark insulting and hurtful.

Today, though, everything was beginning to add up. That morning Zach had forgotten his briefcase at the house. On her way to a meeting with the church library committee, Rosie had brought it to the office.

Seeing Janice Lamond with Zach had opened her eyes. No wonder he was dissatisfied with his home life. Zach and this other woman were involved. They might not be having an affair—or were they?—but there was something going on between them.

Rosie brooded about it during her meeting. She skipped her volunteer stint at the school that afternoon. All day she seethed. With an unaccustomed burst of energy she cleared up accumulated clutter in the house, vacuumed and did five loads of wash. She had a casserole in the oven when Zach got home.

Standing by the kitchen door with her hand on her hip, she glared at him as he walked in.

“What?” he demanded when he’d taken two steps into the house.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?” He loosened his tie, looking weary.

“I want to ask you about Janice Lamond.”

“What’s she got to do with anything?” Zach spat out.

As if he didn’t already know. Whirling around, Rosie slapped a plate into the dishwasher. “I think it would be best if we talked about this after the children are asleep.”

Zach disappeared for five minutes; then he was back. “If you’ve got a problem I want to hear it now.”

“Fine.” Rosie yanked open the silverware drawer and took out the knives and forks for the evening meal. “I was at your office this morning, if you remember.”

“Yes.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter. “So what?”

“I saw the way your assistant looked at you—and the way you looked at her.”

Zach frowned. “You’re imagining things.”

“The hell I am.” The more Rosie thought about it, the hotter she burned. All day she’d been wondering exactly what was happening between her husband and this other woman. She was so hurt, so furious, she could barely think straight.

“There’s nothing going on between Janice and me,” Zach said after a stilted silence.

“Fine. I want you to get rid of her.”

“What?” Zach nearly exploded.

“If what you’re saying is true—” which, frankly, she doubted “—then you won’t mind getting a new assistant.”

“Because you’re paranoid about another woman. I don’t think so.” His jaw was tight and that stubborn expression came over him. “You’re jealous….”

“I have eyes in my head, Zach. I saw the way she looked at you.”

“Give me a break.” His hands were clenched now.

“No wonder I can’t do anything to satisfy you anymore. You’ve been picking away at me for months. I’m not a good enough housekeeper and our meals are below your high standards. That’s how it started, isn’t it?”