Read Online The Coach House by Florence Osmund - Free Book Online

grabbed her favorite chenille robe, and wrapped it around her wet body. Excited about the day and feeling playful, she tiptoed down the hall with the intention of surprising her husband-to-be with a seductive embrace. His office door was cracked open, and when she realized he was on the phone, she waited.
    “I like what it does to my commission,” he said to the person on the other end. After several seconds of silence, he said, “How do you live with yourself, man?” He paused again. “That’s all that matters to me. Let me think about how I can pull this off, and I’ll get back to you.” A few more seconds of silence. “Ha! Yeah, me, too.”
    Before Marie reached the door, he emerged. The warmth evaporated from his face as it turned red, his eyes full of fire. His fists went into a fast clench. “For chrissake, Marie! What are you doing? Eavesdropping?” he barked at her, his voice reverberating off the wall like an echo.
    Marie’s mouth fell open, her body deflating like a pierced balloon. She stood there, not saying a word, feeling the blood gradually drain from her face.
    Then, as quickly as it had appeared, his anger diffused. He raked his fingers through his hair and let out a huge sigh. “I’m sorry. Come here.” He put his arms around her. “You startled me, and I reacted like a jerk.” His unyielding arms held her tight. “I’m sorry.”
    She pushed herself out of the hug, walked to the bathroom, and closed the door, the hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach slowly tearing her apart.
    Richard followed her. “Honey, I said I was sorry,” he said through the door. “I was on an important call, and remember, I’m not used to having someone else in the house.” He waited for a response. “Can I come in?”
    Marie sat on the edge of the bathtub while she decided which voice to trust—the one in her head or the one in her heart. What’s wrong with him? And on our wedding day?
    After a minute, she emerged from the bathroom and said in a calm, deliberate voice, “What on earth could you have been talking about that would cause you to react that way? And so what if I overheard you? What difference would that make? Help me understand this.” She met his eyes. Suddenly he looked like a complete stranger to her.
    “I was talking to Andrew, my contact for iron lungs. It was just business.” She glared at him while she waited for more of an explanation. “They’re coming out with a new model that he thought I may be interested in for Fiefield. It’s a huge order, sweetheart. I got a little tense.”
    Something in his tone of voice stirred suspicion. “A little tense?” she mocked.
    “Look, when it comes to work, I get crazy. I don’t know what comes over me. I see now I’ll have to do better at controlling myself.”
    “I thought you told me the iron lungs were already ordered.”
    “I’m thinking about making a change to the newer models. It means a bigger commission. Look, it’s just business.” It was painfully clear he was being evasive. “Nothing you have to worry about.”
    She took a step back. “Why do you do that?”
    “Do what?”
    “Shut me out when you don’t want to talk about something.”
    “I didn’t realize I was shutting you out. We can talk about it further if you want, but I don’t think it’s the right conversation to have on our wedding day,” he said with a weak smile. “I can think of a hundred other things I would rather talk about.” He stepped in closer and took her hand. “Come here, love.” They sat close to each other on the bed. He looked seriously into her eyes. “Let’s not start out our life together with an argument. Can we agree on that?”
    Marie was aware there would be many adjustments they would both have to make, and if they weren’t any worse than this, maybe it wasn’t that bad.
    When he had finished with his shower that morning, Richard entered the kitchen in his robe, took her into his arms, and started to dance. He hummed