Page 111 of Dissonance

“We’ve spent a long time fitting around everything else. I don’t want that anymore. The company will happen; it’s not going anywhere, but it can wait until we’re settled. You come first, Thea. Always will.”

He…quit his job. Decided to build something new and didn’t ask me to change a thing.

This is what it looks like when someone’s all in. No conditions, no negotiations, just him choosing me, choosing us, and meaning it. And I need to do the same. Not give everything up, but stop holding a life I never thought I was missing at arm’s length, and let him in the rest of the way.

“When my dad came to see me, before everything happened with the false labor...” I feel him stiffen beneath me, and I place my hands on his chest, fingers toying with the fabric of his shirt. “He offered to help me find someone, another manager, someone experienced who could take on my clients while I’m on maternity leave. Run things alongside Mae.” I pause, chewing my lower lip. “I think I’m going to say yes.”

I look up, finding his eyes already on me.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I chastise, rolling mine.

“Like what?”

“Like this. All smug and knowing.”

“What?” he chuckles. “I think it’s the right decision.”

Well, that surprises me. “You do?”

“You’ve been running everything yourself for years. There’s nothing wrong with letting your company grow. It doesn’t mean you’re losing it.”

I don’t say anything, mouth pressing into a thin line, because he’s not wrong, and I don’t like it. In a couple of months, everything changes. The structure I’ve built my entire adult life around, the work that always came first, no delegating or slowing down or asking for help. I’m about to become a mother, and those two people can’t fully fit in the same body.

“Mae will oversee things,” I add, trying to convince myself as much as him. “She’s stepped up so much recently, and I trust her completely.”

“Good.”

“And this person—whoever my dad finds—would report to me. I’d still be running everything.”

“I know.”

“I just want that to be clear, and—”

“Thea.” His voice is gentle. “I know.”

I lose whatever I was going to say. His fingers tighten around my waist, eyes molten as shadows dance across his face. I’ve seen that look. I’ve seen it a hundred times. Half patient, half predatory, amused at my expense with insufferable delight.

“What?”

That almost-smile plays on his lips. “You’re riled up.”

“I’m not,” I snap.

“You are.” His hands pull me slightly closer, lips ghosting my jaw. “You always get like this when you’re defending something you love.” Another kiss. “I find it incredibly difficult to concentrate.” Another. “When you’re like this.”

“Lockie—”

“And I’m trying to be good.” He continues, his beard grazing my throat, making me shiver.

“Why?”

He pulls back enough to look at me, something close to reluctance moving across his face.

“Your blood pressure. The preeclampsia risk. Every time I—” He stops, jaw working. “I didn’t want to be the reason it spiked again. So I kept my hands to myself, thought it was the right call.”

I stare at him, deadpan. “For seven months?”

“Aye.”