“The baby is coming in July.” She handed Evelyn some dirty dishes. “He wants to remodel the cabin. He wants to get married as soon as possible.”
“Is that why he’s being weird?” Evelyn asked.
“No,” Violet said, but she didn’t offer any more information. Because whatever was happening with her and Wolf right now...it was their complicated upsetting business. They went back to the cabin, and yet again, he was a beast in bed. Tearing her clothes off as soon as they walked through the door, carrying her back and pleasuring her until neither of them could breathe.
And then he was asleep before she could say anything.
He had gone someplace where she couldn’t reach him.
He was completely shut off. However inaccessible she’d found him before...he was winning at it now. And this time without any of the charm.
“I hope you like lasagna,” she said when he walked in that night.
“Who doesn’t like lasagna?”
She was tempted to saymaybe you, because you are an unknowable creature, but she didn’t.
“I guess not many people.”
“I was thinking,” he said. “We need a new kitchen. You do a lot of cooking, which is nice. But I want you to have some better stuff.”
“That’s really sweet. Thank you.” He wasn’t being at all sweet and they both knew it.
“And we’re going to need to sort out the bedrooms. Probably remodel the bathrooms while we’re at it.”
“Sounds almost like a new construction.”
“I could do most of it myself. But it is going to take time. And you know, before the baby is born, it might actually work for you to go and stay with your parents.”
“What?” Well, of all the things, she hadn’t seen that coming.
“This place isn’t going to be habitable,” he said. “And I don’t really give a shit. I’ll sleep wherever. But you need a nice place. And you might as well be close to the doctor.”
“Oh.” It all made sense now. The creeping horror of it. “You... You want me to leave.”
“It just seems smart,” he said. “For you to go stay where you’re comfortable during the pregnancy, and while I get this sorted out. The place is going to be gutted. While I’m at it, probably going to replace the roof. It’s going to mean some camping for me.”
“You are so full of bullshit, Wolf Garrett, it is unbelievable.”
“What?”
“You want me to leave, because you want to be by yourself. Because you have been desperate to try and pretend like I’m not actually here for all this time. And don’t think that I haven’t noticed that. You are... You’re incredible.”
“I’m sorry, what asshole would ask his pregnant fiancée to live in a hovel while it’s being remodeled? How am I a bad guy for wanting you to be comfortable? How am I the bad guy for wanting you to have a nice place to live?”
“Because it’s not what you want. It is not at all your goal. Your goal is to get rid of me.”
“I am marrying you,” he said. “I don’t want to get rid of you.”
“Right. So none of this has to do with me being in love with you?”
He stopped, his jaw turning hard. “No.”
“Weird. Because I think it does. We were good. We were good and then you...”
“And then what? I quit pretending? I quit acting like a sweet, biddable boyfriend?”
“You were never that,” she said. “No. You started trying to push me away. You’re trying to push everybody away. You were even an asshole to your family.”