Du Rose Vendetta

CHAPTER ONE Other People’s Dirty Laundry“She what?” Logan Du Rose squinted at his wife, an expression of surprise lighting his grey eyes from within. “Say that again.” Hana sighed, wishing she hadn’t started the conversation. Her friend had shared a secret and already Hana felt nausea rising into her throat at betraying her so soon. Four hours, twenty minutes and about five seconds. “Forget it,” she said, pushing her feet beneath the sheets and snuggling into the comfortable bed. “No way!” Logan snapped his book closed in a motion which made Hana wince. She closed her eyes and feigned sleep. A click sounded as Logan whipped off his reading glasses and placed them on the nightstand. He slithered beneath the sheets and propped himself up on one elbow facing her. The corded muscle beneath his shoulder flexed and Hana reached out a finger to trace the tattoo snaking around it. “Start at the beginning,” Logan said, his tone soothing. “No!” Hana squirmed with discomfort. “She told me in confidence and I shouldn’t have said anything. I promised not to.” She sighed. “But we tell each other everything and I didn’t want to spoil things by keeping a secret, especially one that wasn’t mine.” Her eyelashes fluttered against the pillow and she pouted. “You’d know, anyway. Then we’d get into a vicious cycle of you trying to find out and me struggling to stop you. Before we knew it, we’d argue and then who knows where we’d be.” Logan smiled, his lips curving upwards in a gentle arc. He reached out his hand and placed it on Hana’s soft cheek. His thumb caressed her lower lip. “And then we’d get divorced and then you’d bury me under the patio and then and then and then. I’m always amazed at how far your surmising goes.” His dark eyelashes fluttered and amusement created crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. “What comes after that?” Hana wrinkled her nose. “We don’t have a patio. And you’re too tall to go under the deck.” Logan gasped. “Geez wahine! You’ve thought about it.” He jerked backwards and the voile canopy lining the ostentatious four poster bed rustled. The laugh bubbled up from Hana’s chest and banished the guilt for a moment. The genuine horror in her husband’s expression made her snigger. She only stopped when he shifted onto his back and stared at the twinkling lights overhead. The tiny bulbs emitted an ethereal glow which bathed his olive face and smoothed out the contours. “Sorry.” She forced his arm up and snuggled beneath it, wrapping her legs around his like a koala. “I’ve no plans to bump you off, I promise.” Logan grunted and closed his eyes and Hana felt chastened. He shook his head and his hair swished against the pillow. “It’s okay,” he breathed. “I can build a patio.” Hana snorted and jabbed a finger into his ribs, feeling him curl inward and snatch at her hand. She sighed. “Husbands don’t count, do they?” Her voice held an edge of pleading. “I know you won’t tell anyone.” “No,” Logan concluded. “I won’t.” Hana sighed. “Libby told me something today and I still feel shocked.” She paused and considered her words. “She’s a mistress.” Logan’s hair swished against the pillow as he turned his head. “I thought that’s what you said, but assumed I heard wrong. A mistress of what?” “Of a man. Her boyfriend is married.” Hana shifted onto her stomach so she could gauge his reaction, suspecting it would mirror hers earlier. But Logan’s face remained impassive and he displayed his impressive ability to mask his emotions. “She says their arrangement suits her. They enjoy each other’s company and he goes home to his wife. He doesn’t expect her to take care of his dirty washing or look after him when he’s old and infirm. I looked her in the eye and believe she’s genuinely satisfied.” Logan twisted his lips and his brow furrowed. “So, it’s just s*x. There’s no emotional attachment?” “She says she loves him very much. They’ve been together five years. They have rules around their relationship. He texts and if it suits Libby, he visits her place. She only texts him in emergencies. They go out for dinner and to the movies like a normal couple. They just make sure they go to Auckland and not Hamilton.” Logan snorted. “Except they’re not a normal couple. He has a wife.” “I know.” Hana reached out and fingered the St Christopher around her husband’s neck. The chain slid through her fingers and the fine hairs of his chest tickled her palm. “I was that wife once.” “You told her that?” Hana nodded. “Yep. That’s why she came clean. She said she values our friendship and didn’t want to base our relationship on a lie.” “How did you leave things?” Logan stilled the soft fingers as the chain slithered across his skin. He clasped her hand. “Are you still friends?” “Yes. Much as I dislike her revelation, I still like her. I feel as though we’d clicked on a deeper level. It’s lonely up here sometimes and she filled a gap. I’d started to rely on her.” “It’s lonely because you’re married to me?” “Yeah.” A wistful smile parted Hana’s lips and she placed a gentle kiss against Logan’s muscular shoulder. “You’re a Du Rose and if the local women don’t already work for you, they spend their time lusting after you. It puts a distance between me and most of the women my age. I craved someone with shared life experiences who I could relate to and Libby seemed to fit. I still like her but I’m not sure how to move forward.” Logan snorted. “So, she doesn’t work for me and doesn’t lust after me.” He scratched his chin and shot Hana a sideways look filled with mischief. “What’s wrong with her?” Hana released a sigh of exasperation. Logan’s grey irises sparkled with understanding and his expression became serious. He pulled her close. She pressed her face against his downy chest and relaxed, a barrage of thoughts and emotions shifting around in her brain. “Do you want some advice?” His voice held a tenderness only Hana and his children ever heard. Gentle fingers stroked her hair as she nodded. “Base your opinion on her role as a friend. She’s an adult making adult decisions about her life. That need not involve you. If her relationship status bothers you then have that conversation. You can explain you want no part of it but wish to stay friends. If she’s the person you believe she is, she’ll settle for that.” The tick of a clock filled the silence as Hana pondered Logan’s words. She sighed. “It’s difficult. We’ve been friends for six months without issue and I knew she had a boyfriend, just not the circumstances. It didn’t bother me that she hadn’t introduced us. I value her friendship and the children adore her, but what she’s doing is wrong. There’s another woman somewhere whose heart will break when she finds out.” Hana’s arms snaked around Logan’s trim waist and she placed a kiss against his chest. “But you talk sense sometimes, Mr Du Rose.” “Do I?” He pulled away so he could gaze at her, his lips quirking upward into a knowing smile. “So, the toy-boy knows a thing or two then?” Hana snorted. “Don’t throw my age in my face, young man.” She jabbed a crooked finger into his ribs and heard the satisfying sound of him groan as his muscles tightened. He was usually much quicker than her to react. “No night-time privileges for you now.” “Says who?” Logan threw the sheet over their heads and burrowed them both deeper into the bed. Hana squeaked as strong fingers slid beneath the waistband of her pyjama shorts and coasted across the delicate skin of her hip. His lips found hers in the darkness, tentative and searching. Hana blossomed beneath his attentions and allowed the burden of someone else’s adultery to fade from her list of immediate concerns.