Read Listed: Volume IV for Free Online Page A
Authors: Noelle Adams
smile sympathetically and speak kindly to whomever he was terse with,
thanking them for everything they did to help.
She
didn’t try to talk to Paul. Obviously, any attempt at friendly conversation
would be futile.
When
they’d gotten off the plane, Paul had tried to get her to put her leather
satchel on the baggage cart with the rest of their luggage for the porter to wheel
to the car. She’d refused, ostensibly because she’d wanted to have her laptop
and Shakespeare with her for the car ride to the north of the island but mostly
because he’d been so bossy about ordering her to give it up.
Now
she was regretting her stubbornness, though. Her bag was really heavy with the
laptop, Paul’s old hardback edition of Shakespeare, and several other
potentially useful items she’d tucked away in it. Although the airport wasn’t
large, they did have to walk a bit to get from their gate to where the car was
going to pick them up.
She
didn’t complain though, since she’d been the one who insisted on carrying the
satchel.
If
Paul was just walking at a normal speed, it wouldn’t matter. He was moving
through the airport with long, impatient strides, however, and Emily could
barely keep up.
Eventually,
she stopped trying. She was out of breath. Her satchel was too heavy. There was
no reason they needed to hurry. And Paul was infuriatingly grumpy.
She
wasn’t going to run to keep up with him.
When
he noticed she was no longer beside him, Paul turned around and walked back
toward her.
She
glared at him, but he just ignored it. Without speaking, he reached over and
lifted the strap of her satchel off her shoulder and moved it onto his.
Then
he just started walking again.
Emily
stared in outraged astonishment at his lean back and long legs in his expensive
clothes.
Why
the hell had she ever thought it was a good idea to get married to such a
presumptuous, bad-tempered man?
She
was tempted to just sit down on the floor of the airport in well-deserved
retaliation. She didn’t though, since it was a rather childish impulse. She
walked after him, not trying very hard to catch up. As it happened, she did
catch up because Paul had simply stopped in the middle of the hall, evidently
waiting for her.
She
hoped his waiting was a sign of remorse at his gruff mood, but he didn’t say
anything when she fell into step with him. She didn’t say anything either,
mostly because she didn’t trust herself to speak without biting his obnoxious
head off.
They
eventually made it to the hired car waiting for them, and Paul returned her
satchel after they’d both climbed into the plush back seat.
Paul’s
phone rang then, and Emily listened to him have a brief conversation with someone
who had evidently called to tell him that a project he was working on was put
on hold indefinitely.
When
Paul hung up the phone, Emily slanted him a look of annoyed impatience.
“What?”
he demanded, catching her expression.
She
rolled her eyes and looked away, determined not to get into another argument
with him, since nothing could be resolved until he was out of this mood.
“If
you have something to say,” Paul said in a clipped tone, “then just say it.”
“If
I have something to say!” she repeated in outrage, her patience snapping like a
twig. “What the hell is wrong with you today?”
“Nothing
is wrong with me. There have been a number of frustrations—”
“That’s
ridiculous!” she interrupted. “You’re acting like people have engineered all
these things on purpose to spite you. I don’t care if you’re in a bad mood. You
can’t take it out on everyone around you. You’re acting like the world is out
to get you today. I'm telling you it’s not!”
He
gave a long-suffering sigh. “I do not think the world is out to get me. I’ve
had a lot on my mind today, and things aren’t going smoothly, but there’s no
reason for you to overreact just because I expect a certain level of service
and—”
“A
certain
thanking them for everything they did to help.
She
didn’t try to talk to Paul. Obviously, any attempt at friendly conversation
would be futile.
When
they’d gotten off the plane, Paul had tried to get her to put her leather
satchel on the baggage cart with the rest of their luggage for the porter to wheel
to the car. She’d refused, ostensibly because she’d wanted to have her laptop
and Shakespeare with her for the car ride to the north of the island but mostly
because he’d been so bossy about ordering her to give it up.
Now
she was regretting her stubbornness, though. Her bag was really heavy with the
laptop, Paul’s old hardback edition of Shakespeare, and several other
potentially useful items she’d tucked away in it. Although the airport wasn’t
large, they did have to walk a bit to get from their gate to where the car was
going to pick them up.
She
didn’t complain though, since she’d been the one who insisted on carrying the
satchel.
If
Paul was just walking at a normal speed, it wouldn’t matter. He was moving
through the airport with long, impatient strides, however, and Emily could
barely keep up.
Eventually,
she stopped trying. She was out of breath. Her satchel was too heavy. There was
no reason they needed to hurry. And Paul was infuriatingly grumpy.
She
wasn’t going to run to keep up with him.
When
he noticed she was no longer beside him, Paul turned around and walked back
toward her.
She
glared at him, but he just ignored it. Without speaking, he reached over and
lifted the strap of her satchel off her shoulder and moved it onto his.
Then
he just started walking again.
Emily
stared in outraged astonishment at his lean back and long legs in his expensive
clothes.
Why
the hell had she ever thought it was a good idea to get married to such a
presumptuous, bad-tempered man?
She
was tempted to just sit down on the floor of the airport in well-deserved
retaliation. She didn’t though, since it was a rather childish impulse. She
walked after him, not trying very hard to catch up. As it happened, she did
catch up because Paul had simply stopped in the middle of the hall, evidently
waiting for her.
She
hoped his waiting was a sign of remorse at his gruff mood, but he didn’t say
anything when she fell into step with him. She didn’t say anything either,
mostly because she didn’t trust herself to speak without biting his obnoxious
head off.
They
eventually made it to the hired car waiting for them, and Paul returned her
satchel after they’d both climbed into the plush back seat.
Paul’s
phone rang then, and Emily listened to him have a brief conversation with someone
who had evidently called to tell him that a project he was working on was put
on hold indefinitely.
When
Paul hung up the phone, Emily slanted him a look of annoyed impatience.
“What?”
he demanded, catching her expression.
She
rolled her eyes and looked away, determined not to get into another argument
with him, since nothing could be resolved until he was out of this mood.
“If
you have something to say,” Paul said in a clipped tone, “then just say it.”
“If
I have something to say!” she repeated in outrage, her patience snapping like a
twig. “What the hell is wrong with you today?”
“Nothing
is wrong with me. There have been a number of frustrations—”
“That’s
ridiculous!” she interrupted. “You’re acting like people have engineered all
these things on purpose to spite you. I don’t care if you’re in a bad mood. You
can’t take it out on everyone around you. You’re acting like the world is out
to get you today. I'm telling you it’s not!”
He
gave a long-suffering sigh. “I do not think the world is out to get me. I’ve
had a lot on my mind today, and things aren’t going smoothly, but there’s no
reason for you to overreact just because I expect a certain level of service
and—”
“A
certain