I vowed, "I'm going to make it up to her."
"You'd better," Conor rasped. "I like her, Aidan. She's good for you. She won't take any of your shit,butyou're a rockstar to her so she'll cut you slack where other women wouldn't.
"I still can't believe you managed to fuck this up."
"It was one lie—"
Conor sounded unimpressed. "Definitely don't start with that."
My shoulders hunched. "I don’t know why I said that. IknowI fucked up."
"You're a man. We do stuff like that." He hummed, and I knew his attention had drifted a second. "But," he said slowly, his fingers tapping something on his keyboard, "you're in luck. She loves you. When women love you, they'll let you get away with shit if the apology is big enough."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't even know how to apologize for this."
"Well, let's face it, you didn't fuck another woman or lie about sexting some broad. This is about pride. Not betrayal."
"I don't think she'd agree," I said on a deep sigh.
"Nah, maybe not, but I figure information will get her to come around."
"What kind of information?"
"Tell her what's going on with the ECD. That’ll fascinate her, and with her contacts, she might find out some shit that we haven't uncovered."
My brow furrowed. "You being serious?"
"Yup. She's your wife, Aidan. She's not Ma. She's strong and capable and she's got a fucking brain on her that won't be happy peeling carrots in the kitchen on Sundays to feed the family.
"No disrespect to Ma, or Aoife for that matter. That shit makesthemhappy, but your wife ain't like that. She ain’t like them."
No.
She wasn't.
And I didn't want her to be either.
I loved that she was independent and headstrong.
I adored the way she challenged me. In bed and out.
I didn’t want her to change. Ever.
Rubbing my brow, I muttered, "If I get her involved with that, there's no getting her out again."
"No need to. She's your bride, Aidan. She'll be that until both of you die because, for some fucking reason, she loves your dumbfuck ass. Be grateful for that, show gratitude by opening up to her. She won't be happy being left out in the dark.
"Do this,deartháir, and you'll have a happy wife."
"And a happy life?" I choked out, hands gripping the wheel again, this time enough for the leather to creak.
"If you're lucky," he drawled. "Don't fuck this up. I expect to see her next Sunday at lunch."
He cut the call before I could answer, and I sucked in a breath.
With women in the past, I hadn't given a fuck if they'd walked off. Whether it was in annoyance or hurt. I'd been an asswipe back then...
Still was, apparently.