Personal Chef

Chapter 99

I just stared at the phone until the screen turned dark.

He'd gone ahead with booking the festivals even though we hadn't come to any type of agreement. I felt so many things all at once, but mostly I was angry.

Shawn walked back into the room with a smile on his face. I picked up his phone and shoved it against his chest.

"Andrew texted," I said as I walked past him on my way to the kitchen.

My back was to him but I knew that he was checking his phone. He'd undoubtedly try to diffuse the situation, but if he thought I was going to just accept this, he was nuts.

I pulled the chicken breasts out of the oven and checked to see if they were done.

"Chels..." he started as he joined me in the kitchen.

I snapped my head up. "I'm so fucking mad right now that you probably don't want to start this discussion. Cady does not need to hear us fight again."

He sighed and went to the cupboard to get the plates while I warmed the broccoli I'd steamed earlier and pulled the salad from the fridge. We sat at the table and ate in silence. When we were done, he did the dishes while I gave Cady a bath, nursed her, and put her in bed. He joined me in the nursery to kiss her goodnight.

"Can we talk?" he asked in a hushed voice after we closed her door.

I knew we needed to, but I was so upset that there was no way I could have any semblance of rational discourse with him. Reaching any sort of understanding when my emotions were so high was impossible.

"No. I can't tonight," I said.

I went into our room and changed into one of his t-shirts. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I crawled into bed. I couldn't sleep, though. Hours later he got into bed next to me, and I was still wide awake. Our bodies were side by side, but it felt like there were miles between us. My anger was replaced by hurt.

After only a couple hours of sleep, I got up the next morning for work. Shawn was at the gym, and he came home minutes before I had to leave.

"Chelsea, I-" he said as I dug through my purse for my keys.

"Stop! We don't have time to start something now," I said before leaving.

When Paige got to the bistro right after me, she greeted me and pulled me aside.

"Did you and Shawn get to talk at all?" she asked.

"Yes, and I thought things were going to be okay, but then something happened."

I filled her in on Andrew's message and how tense things had been after that.

"Fuck. This isn't good. Maybe you should just go home and try to work this out. We can cover for you here," she said.

"Honestly, I'd rather be here. I need some distance from him right now."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "Chelsea, you've spent the last four or five months not talking to Shawn about problems that are impacting your relationship. Don't brush this aside like your other issues."

"Believe me, we're going to talk about this. I just need to cool down and figure out what I need to say," I explained.

She gave me a big hug and we both got to work.

Later that afternoon, I let myself into the condo after bracing myself for a big talk. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised to find my mother-in-law sitting on the floor playing with Cadence.

"Hi, Karen. Where's Shawn?" I asked as I set down my purse and keys.

Her face fell. "Didn't he tell you? He had to fly to New York for a meeting with Andrew. He'll be back late tonight."