Chapter 287 The Lie Unravels 2
Yardley watched Nancy like a hawk for the rest of the evening. He noticed every small gesture and familiar habit.
Each little sign confirmed what his gut had been telling him since the elevator incident.
Nancy stuck to Orion like glue all night.
She dragged out their bedtime routine with extra stories, extra water, and extra everything until their son finally fell asleep around nine thirty.
She took her time going back to their master bedroom.
When she got there, she found Yardley fresh from the shower, wearing only gray sweatpants and sitting against their king size headboard like a hunter waiting for his target.
She immediately regretted her plan. She should have pretended to be asleep first. Big mistake.
“Go get ready for bed,” Yardley said. His voice sounded calm as he looked at his phone.
Nancy forced the most awkward smile ever. “Right. Yeah. Of course.”
She spent almost two hours in their marble bathroom.
First she took a long shower, then did her skincare routine, then organized the medicine cabinet twice.
When she finally opened the door, hoping he had fallen asleep watching TV, she walked right into a very awake, very suspicious husband.
“You were in there so long, I thought you got lost,” Yardley said. His broad shoulders blocked her path to their closet.
“Oh. Ha. Right.”
Nancy stared at the wooden floors and tried to walk around him toward her side of the bed.
He saw her move coming and blocked her escape route. “Why are you so nervous tonight? Scared I’m going to call you out for lying now that your memory is back?”
The room suddenly felt ice cold.
Nancy’s panic kicked in hard. Did this man used to be a cop or something? How does he always see right through me?
She forced herself to look into those intense eyes with her best innocent face. “What? I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yardley’s smile turned dangerous. “Then you won’t mind if I test that theory. Since your supposed memory loss, you’ve been kissing me like some scared teenager on her first date.”
“But before the accident? You knew exactly what you were doing.”
In their big bedroom, with only soft light from the bedside lamps, their slightly heavy breathing sounded really loud.
Yardley’s rough fingers lifted her chin as he kissed her with pure hunger and possession.
This wasn’t like the careful, hesitant kisses they had shared since she supposedly lost her memory. This was fire and desperation and years of complicated history.
He kissed her like a starving man. His thumb stroked along her jaw in a way that made her knees weak.
Every nerve in Nancy’s body lit up. Her resolve fell apart faster than a house of cards. She melted into him. Her body gave away every secret she had been keeping.
Warning bells went off in her head. If this went any further, there would be no going back. No more pretending, no more lies. And she definitely wasn’t ready for that conversation.
Nancy pressed her hands against his bare chest, trying to create some space.
But Yardley was done playing games.
His arms wrapped around her waist like steel bands, pulling her against him until she could feel every hard muscle.
She was already dizzy from his kisses. All rational thought had completely disappeared.
Just as his hands started moving under her silk pajama top, someone pounded on their bedroom door.
“Mom! Dad! Are you guys awake? I had a really bad nightmare about monsters! Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”
Nancy jumped back like she’d been electrocuted, her chest heaving as she tried to regulate her breathing.
Her voice came out shaky when she called back, “Orion, sweetie, we’re awake. Just give Mommy one second, okay? Go grab your stuffed dinosaur.”
Yardley looked like he wanted to put his fist through the drywall.
His voice came out rough as gravel. “Don’t even think about it. The kid needs to learn to sleep in his own bed.”
Nancy smoothed down her silk pajama top with trembling fingers. “He’s seven, Yardley. He just had a bad dream.”
Yardley watched his opportunity slip away, his jaw tight enough to shatter molars.
Poor Orion had absolutely no idea he’d just inadvertently saved his mother from a very intense conversation.