My patience hit the wall and tipped it over. He wasn’t jealous. He was just pissed I had the audacity to not sit around and wait on him. I knew how that would end.

I wasn’t interested in Gabriel, but I had a point to make.

“You know what was also convenient? How he listened to me. I talked about library science and he didn’t tune me out. Did you know that someone can have a conversation with me and not check their phone? Not be on a computer? Not have their mind drift off to work? I talked to him, and get this—he talked back.” I lifted my hands like who knew. “He remembered things about our relationship, and then he listened. He. Paid. Attention.”

Several emotions cascaded through Aiden’s fathomless eyes. Raw jealousy. Unfiltered hatred. Primal aggression.

I took a step back. My reserved and collected husband was ready to go nuclear.

He prowled closer. I couldn’t back up. The hard slab of the island pressed into my ass.

“He paid attention? Does he know your favorite color is eggplant, but you can’t stand the vegetable? You think its texture is like eating wadded-up wet toilet paper. You like cats—and dogs—you fucking love animals, but you’re afraid that if you take one in, you’ll empty out all the pounds and shelters in town.” He was inches away from me, his gaze only growing more intense. “You love flowers but you hate cleaning up the mess they leave behind when they die. When you walk through a cloud of cigarette smoke and everyone else complains, you don’t because it makes you think of your mom, and even though you live in the same town, you still miss her. You like our big bedroom and the king-size bed because you like feeling that you can twirl around like you’re in The Sound of Music. And the decorations on the walls drove you nuts when you moved in because they weren’t important. They were meaningless. And after a small house with limited space, you wanted to fill the walls with pictures. That’s why you chose Mama’s pictures. Because you knew I wouldn’t say no.”

My mouth gaped. By now he was pressed against me, a wall of big, determined man.