Chapter 3. Sinclair POV

Sinclair

Something was wrong.

I didn't know exactly what it was but I just knew something was really, really wrong. The feeling had started as soon as Cathleen had said yes to marrying me. I had thought that maybe it was just nerves about taking this big step, but no that wasn't it. 

I had to wonder if I was making a mistake. Was it too soon? We had been together for over a year and this was the next logical step. Cathleen had never talked about starting a family and maybe that was something I should have brought up before proposing, but I wasn't even sure I wanted to start a family. I didn't know what kind of father I'd make. Mine had been an asshole. I didn't have any blue print on what a good father was supposed to look like. 

Cathleen and I were perfect in every way. We just seemed to slide together like well lubricated wheels in a machine. She understood me and I got her too. We were both busy and driven people and never made demands on each other's times. It had worked perfectly in the beginning but I had to admit that of recent we had started to feel more like business partners than a couple. Hell, I'd probably know more about my business partner than about her. 

She didn't exactly hide any thing, she just didn't talk about herself. I couldn't even tell if she didn't like to, if she was hiding something or of she just couldn't be bothered. I didn't want to think about these things at the moment though. She was a private person. Some people just were. 

You've never met her parents, a voice in my head said. Maybe they weren't close. 

But she's never even really talked about them. 

The voice in my head sounded suspiciously like my best friend Luce. He hadn't exactly told me that asking Cathleen to marry me was a bad idea. At least not in so many words. He had accused us of barely knowing each other and I had brushed it off at the time. 

But now...

I stepped into the large hut that was going to be our home for a week. I wondered what Cathleen thought about it. I had been to her apartment twice and it looked a hell of a lot like mine. Minimalist and curated entirely by an interior designer. The hut was the picture of chaotic design and yet it all felt very relaxing. Even the different colored couches, chaise lounge and multicolored pillows somehow worked. 

The bed was by far the most interesting part of the room. It was a four poster king-sized bed with a comforter and quilt that looked like a rainbow had thrown up on it. I had been very specific about not wanting the bed adorned with roses and shit. The last thing I wanted to do was spook Cathleen. She was already acting extremely skittish. It was why I hadn't argued earlier when she wanted to catch up with work. If she needed It to feel in control again then who was I to stop her. I knew that getting to where she was had been doubly hard for her even if she didn't like to talk about. I knew what douches most men in power could be. Especially to a young, pretty woman on the rise. She was probably undermined at every turn and had to do double the work to prove herself. I understood all of that. I understood her not wanting to broadcast our relationship because she didn't want doors to be opened to her because of my name. She was as Independent as they came and it was one of the reasons I had been attracted to her. 

But sometimes. Just sometimes, in my deepest fantasies, I thought about being a hero to my woman. Her knight in shining armor that could save her and protect her. I thought about being needed by my woman. It was crazy and I tried not to think about it too much. 

Cathleen was a prize. An all round prize. I hadn't been able to keep my eyes off her the first time I had seen her and that feeling hadn't changed one bit. She was a knock out, and she knew it. 

"I couldn't find a menu. Do you have any ideas for dinner? I'm starving." All my thoughts came to a screeching halt. Cathleen was in my shirt. It was something that had never happened before and something I hadn't thought I'd love so much. The feeling of satisfaction that bloomed to life in my chest was more than a little disturbing. 

Her mahogany brown hair was in a bun at the top of her head, exposing the planes of her face. She had the most beautiful blue eyes ever. The color so light that it appeared silver in some lighting. They looked almost translucent. Her mouth was a work of art too; plump, red mouth that was just begging to be kissed, the top slightly fuller than the bottom. If she ever tire of putting old, white, entitled, know-it-all guys in their place, she could easily make a career as a model. She was far more astounding than all the ones that threw themselves at me anyways.

The black t-shirt she had hit just mid thigh and I ached to know if she had on anything under my shirt.

"I planned for us to dine outdoors today. Are you up for it?" I asked.

"Okay. I'll go get dressed." 

Fuck no.

"On a second thought, I think we should stay in." I backtracked hurriedly. "We can call the front desk and they'll bring dinner over. There's a bit of a chill in the air and you've just been ill. I don't want you outside in the cold."

She smiled and I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw a hint of relief in her expression. "I wonder if there's pizza." 

I laughed. 

"What?"

"This vacation may have been the best idea I've ever come up with. You? Pizza? I have got to see this."

"Isn't the point of a vacation to do things differently than you would do in your normal life?" She raised a challenging brow at me.

"Fair point." I conceded. "I'll call the front desk. Toppings?"

"Pepperoni and more pepperoni." 

"I'll order red with that because why not?" I asked. 

"They'll think we're crazy." She giggled. I gaped at her. I had never heard her make that sound the whole time we were together. I liked it more than I ought to. "We're in this gorgeous place by the sea where the menu is probably 'sea food extraordinaire' and we're about to taint their sacred walls by eating pizza and red wine. We'll get kicked out." She groaned dramatically.

"They won't if they know what's good for them."

"Ohh." Her eyes lit up. "What are you going to do them, big, strong sir?"

"Buy seven crates of eggs and lots of toilet paper and do some redecorating." I winked.

"Gassssp. Don't tell me. Let it not be so. Sinclair has a naughty side." 

And you have a fun side that has been the most closely kept secret I wanted to say. 

"Don't tell anybody. I'll lose my wall street cred."

She made a zipping motion against her mouth, then whispered from the side of her mouth. "Our little secret." 

The resort worker that delivered our pizza and wine shot us a stupefied look before hurrying away like she didn't want to catch whatever crazies we had. It sent Cathleen into a bout of laughter. "You can't eat pizza without watching TV. Thems the rules." 

"I'm not a big fan of TV." It was an understatement. I couldn't remember the last time I had sat in front of one. My life was work and going to parties to form connections for work. I wouldn't even know what to watch on TV if I wanted to. 

"I'm this close to giving you back your ring Sin." She shot me a look of disgust that had my lips twitching. 

Had she just called me Sin? 

Cathleen didn't tolerate nicknames. She called me Sinclair and I called her Cathleen. None of that Cath nonsense for her. Pet names were also another huge no for her. She had told me once that they reminded her of being sexualized by men from work. I had never called her one again. 

I had never thought I would be having a heated debate about what mindless show to watch with Pizza, but here I was. 

"I'm not a big fan of TV but I absolutely loathe reality shows. Nothing about them is reality. These things are curated and scripted. "

She shot me a dirty glance. "I don't like you."

I grinned. "You agreed to marry me. I think you like me enough."

"I knew I'd regret saying yes. I just didn't think it'd be this soon. You've rejected every suggestion I've brought up and I don't see you coming up with any."

"I told you. Not a big fan."

"This isn't working. Okay, how about we play a game."