Free The Escape Collection: (The Escape Collection) by Elena Aitken Page A

and splattered on the fridge, the tile floor, and Reid, who wiped it from his t-shirt with his finger, tasted it and raised his eyebrows in approval. I would have laughed if William hadn’t been standing in the doorway, looking confused and more than just a little pissed off.  
    “William.” I tossed the whisk on the counter and went to him. I kissed him on the cheek and he put his arm around my waist in an unusually protective and jealous move. William didn’t do public affection.
    “Looks like I interrupted something,” he said. I didn’t miss the look he shot in Reid’s direction. In nine months of dating, I’d never seen William look even remotely jealous before. But by the way he stared down my new roommate, it didn’t look like things were going to get off on the right foot between them.  
    In an effort to dissolve the tension before it got out of hand, I took William’s hand and made the introductions. “This is Reid.” I waved in Reid’s direction, and he nodded and offered his hand. William, ever the picture of perfect manners, reluctantly reached out to take the proffered hand, when I added, “My new roommate.”  
    He dropped his hand, leaving Reid hanging. William shrugged and leaned against the counter, tucking his hand into the front pocket of his perfectly ironed khakis. “Your what?” He glanced between the two of us before his gaze landed on me. His eyes were narrow and one eyebrow was arched in a slightly evil doctor type of way.  
    Clearly my plans for breaking the news gently over dinner weren’t panning out the way I’d hoped. Time for plan B. Except I didn’t have a plan B. “That’s what I was going to tell you, William.” I used my calmest voice and took his hand.  
    “She was going to tell you all about it over this dinner that she’s cooking you,” Reid said. He strode over to the stove and removed the sauce from the heat. “I was just helping out with a few of the details.” While I watched, Reid added lemon juice to the hollandaise. I didn’t even know I was supposed to put lemon juice in it. He took a quick peek in the oven before turning back to us. I dared to glance over at William, who no longer looked angry, just very suspicious. I couldn’t be sure which was worse. “Everything’s almost ready,” Reid said, drawing my attention back to him. “Why don’t the two of you take the wine and go sit down in the dining room? I’ll bring everything out in a minute.”
    “You don’t have to do that.”  
    “I want to, Whitney.” His smile was so sincere, I had no choice but to accept. Besides, all three of us knew if I finished up the cooking, we’d be ordering pizza.  
    I took William, who followed without argument, into the dining room and quickly pulled a tablecloth, cutlery, and some of Grams’ china from the hutch while he opened the wine and poured us each a glass. When the hastily set table was laid out, I sat across from my boyfriend, who still hadn’t said anything. William looked well put together as usual and was in his relaxing clothes, which for him meant he’d taken off his tie. Of course, our idea of relaxation clothes was very different. I’d never seen him in jeans, not one time in the last nine months. I even bought him a pair for his birthday but I secretly think he returned them because I’d never seen him wearing them.
    Looking down at my own outfit which was covered with the evidence from my attempt at cooking, I felt shabby and underdressed. “This is kind of nice,” I said in a weak effort to lighten the mood.  
    William crossed his arms in front of him on the table. “Were you going to tell me about this roommate situation?”  
    There was no point in playing dumb. I sat up straight and got right to it. “I only found out about it myself earlier today. Grams made the decision without even consulting with me. There’s not really a lot I can do about it.”  
    “Yes, there is,” William said. “Tell him to get out.