Taking her hand, he led her to the front door, unlocking and opening it in one swift movement. Inside the house, Nola watched confusedly as he marched from room to room, flicking on lights.
‘What is this place?’ she said finally.
‘It’s a property I bought a couple of years ago as an investment. I lived here when Stanmore was being renovated.’
‘Oh, right...’ It was all she could manage.
Maybe this was some kind of bolthole? She flinched as he yanked the curtains across the windows. If so, he must have a good reason for coming here now. But as she stared over at him anxiously she had no idea what that reason might be. All she knew was that she wanted to put her arms around him and hold him tight. Only, he looked so brittle, so taut, she feared he might shatter into a thousand pieces if she so much as touched him.
But she couldn’t just stand here and pretend that everything was all right when it so clearly wasn’t.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked hesitantly.
‘Yes. I’m fine.’
He smiled—the kind of smile she would use when sharing a lift with a stranger.
‘I’m sure you’re tired. Why don’t I show you to your bedroom?’
‘But don’t you want to talk?’
Watching his expression shift, she shivered. It was like watching water turn to ice.
‘No, not really.’
‘But what happened? Why did we leave the party?’ She bit her lip. ‘Why didn’t you tell them about the engagement?’
He stared at her impatiently, then fixed his eyes on a point somewhere past her head.
‘I’m not having this conversation now. It’s late. You’re pregnant—’
‘And you’re upset!’ She stared at him in exasperation. ‘Not only that, you’re shutting me out.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Shutting you out? You sound like you’re in a soap opera.’
She blinked, shocked not so much by his words but by the sneer in his voice.
‘Maybe that’s because you’ve behaving like a character in a soap opera. Dragging me from the party. Refusing to talk to me.’
‘And what exactly do you think talking about it will achieve?’
‘I don’t know.’ Her breath felt tight inside her chest. ‘But I don’t think ignoring whatever it is can be the solution.’
He gave a short, bitter laugh. ‘You’ve changed your tune. Not so long ago you managed to ignore me for three months without much problem.’
Nola felt her whole body tighten with shock and pain. Then, almost in the same moment, she knew he was lashing out at her because he was upset, and even though his words hurt her she cared more about his pain than her own.
‘And I was wrong.’
‘So maybe in three months I’ll think I was wrong about this. But somehow I don’t think so.’
She gritted her teeth. ‘So that’s it? You just want me to shut up and go to bed?’
His face hardened. ‘No, what I want is for you to stop nagging me, like the wife you’ve clearly never wanted to be.’
‘I do want to be your wife.’ The injustice of his words felt like a slap. ‘And I’m not nagging. I’m trying to have a conversation.’
He shook his head. ‘This isn’t a conversation. It’s an interrogation.’