“Why don’t you let me take a look, then?” he acts like he’s going to go around me.
I grab a palette knife and hold it up at him. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not kidding. No looking. It’s a rule.”
“Not my rule.” He looks down at the knife. “Uh-oh. Are you going to stab me with your one-inch, painter’s knife?”
I lower the tool to my side. “No. Not if I don’t have to.”
He laughs and moves away, heading for the kitchen. “You want some coffee?”
“No. I need to go to sleep, and the caffeine will keep me up.”
“You should use the bedroom,” he says, banging around in the kitchen with pots and pans. “It’s quieter.”
“Promise you won’t peek at the picture?”
“Nope.” I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Then I guess I’ll be sleeping out here.”
“Oh, don’t be such a hardass. I won’t touch your precious painting.” He turns around and grins. “I didn’t figure you for the sensitive creator type.”
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes at him, confused as to why I’m annoyed. I probably just need to brush my teeth. Bad breath always makes me cranky.
I’m rinsing my mouth out with mouthwash when Jeremy shows up in the doorway.
“I peeked,” he says, taking a sip of coffee.
I check his expression, and when I see it, I know he’s lying. I’m not a total egotistical diva, but I’d know if he saw himself in that painting. He’d definitely have something to say about it.
I shrug. “Told you it was just a dog.”
“Why are you so worried about me seeing it?”
“Because, I don’t like anyone seeing an unfinished work.”
“Superstition?”
“Maybe.” I shrug. “If you want to call it that.” I brush my hair slowly, wondering if I can get away with not washing it today. I’m going to be sleeping the majority of the daylight hours. Maybe Jeremy won’t notice it’s a little greasy. And why do I even care what he thinks about my hair? Stupid. I have to stop playing this game with myself. I slam the brush down on the counter and glare at my reflection.
“I take it you’re not a morning person.”
I turn my glare on him. “I’m a great morning person, usually, it’s just that I’ve been up all night and I’m being harassed by someone I’d rather not be looking at right now.”
Argh, he makes me say the stupidest things.
He backs away with a hand held out in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it. You know, Laura wasn’t much of a morning person either.”
“Do not compare me to her.” The slow burn of anger bubbles up in me, but I have no idea where it’s coming from. It feels way too much like jealousy to be comfortable.
“Why?”
“Why? Because she’s dead and I’m not. She was your wife, and I’m not. Because it’s not healthy, that’s why.” I go back to brushing my hair because I have nothing else to do and apparently my mouth has gotten away from me once again. I’d run out of the house to escape my embarrassment, but it’s too damn cold outside.
Jeremy walks away quietly, leaving me to my misery — a sadness that is compounded by the fact that he isn’t fighting back. It’s like I’ve beaten a puppy or something the way it’s making me feel about myself.
When I’m sure he’s really gone back to the kitchen, I sneak out of the bathroom, let Jaws outside to do his business, and then go right into the bedroom without saying a word, locking the door behind me. I obviously need to get some sleep, and then when I wake up, I’ll apologize. I’ll make him see that I’m not a horrible person who should have her mouth taped shut with duct tape.
Chapter Twenty-Three
SLEEP, GLORIOUS SLEEP. THAT’S ALL I needed. I wake up with a new outlook, ready to fix what I broke this morning when I should have been sleeping and not talking to another human being. Jeremy didn’t deserve my snark. I need to apologize, assuming he’s even going to talk to me.
The smell of something cooking greets me when I walk out into the living room.
“There she is. Sleeping Beauty lives.” Jeremy glances up for a second before going back to his frying pan. He doesn’t sound angry, at least. That’s a good sign.
“What time is it?” I ask, trying to smooth my hair down. I probably look terrible, but it shouldn’t matter. It’s probably better if he sees me ugly; then he won’t be tempted to flirt with me anymore and vice versa.