An Illusion of Trust (Sequel to The Brevity of Roses) Read Free Page A

building behind it."
    "Where the swimming pool is now?"
    "Yes. Well, a few feet further back. STUDIO is how it's labeled here."
    "An artist's studio?"
    "I suppose."
    "Did Meredith tear it down?"
    "No, the pool was there when she bought the house."
    "How do you know?"
    He picks up my bottle and takes a drink. "Because the pool was Stephen's deciding factor on buying the house."
    Stephen, Meredith's first husband, a man neither of us ever met, is a part of our life because he was part of Meredith's life. Talking about her is always a risk. I no longer worry about Jalal drowning in those dark waters. Still, sometimes just a stray comment sparks a memory and he drifts away from me for a while. True, those drifts have decreased, in both length and frequency, during the two years I've known him. But what if that's only because we've built a new life together here in Bahía de Sueños? What if, by moving into the Coelho house, the place he most associates with Meredith, he heads straight back into the undertow? "Speaking of the pool …"
    Jalal stretches and leans back in his chair. "The stone wall will be finished before we move in. Adam would have to fly to get to the pool on his own and the last time I checked, he was still wingless."
    I force a smile. "I know you think I worry too much."
    "No." He reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze. "I shared your concern about the pool. But
some
of your worries … this thing about Adam sleeping with us—"
    "Oh," I say. "Show me again. Which will be Adam's room?"
    "Renee …"
    I press my finger on the blueprints. "Is it this one?"
    He sighs. "Yes."
    I look closer. "Where will you put the door?"
    "The door is there." Jalal slides my finger an inch to the right.
    "No, not the door to the hallway. Where will the door from his room to ours be?"
    "Renee, I promise we will have a state of the art monitoring system. If Adam wiggles a toe, you will hear it. If he so much as blinks, probably."
    I jab at the blueprints. "There has to be a door between our rooms. No. Wait. Which room will be the baby's?"
    "Well, we both know the baby will
sleep
in our room for a year—at least. But you could decorate the room next to Adam's as the nursery."
    For a moment, I stare at the blueprints and then fear slams me. "This won't work. That house is too big. The rooms are too far apart. We can't live there, Jalal."
    He looks at the ceiling and blows out a breath.
    "I'm sorry," I say. "I should have paid closer attention before you started—"
    "We
are
moving, Renee." He stands and pulls me into his arms. "Beginning tomorrow, you will go with me every day to the house and practice sprinting down the hall from our bedroom to the nursery, so when I finally convince you to let the baby sleep there, you can break the sound barrier every time you hear a peep on the monitor." He tilts my chin up so our eyes meet. "Or … I will tell Ben to install a doorway from our room to Adam's. The nursery is already connected to his through their bathroom. Straight shot."
    I hug him. He tries so hard to allay my fears. "Thank you for putting up with my craziness."
    "I love your craziness." He slides his hands down to cup my ass and presses me closer. "How long do we have before Adam wakes up, Mrs. Vaziri?"
    "Long enough, Mr. Vaziri."

    Later, when I hear Adam stir, I jump out of bed and scramble for my clothes. Jalal will never understand how it rips my heart to hear Adam cry out when he realizes he's alone.
    "Hey," Jalal says. "Are you coming to Coelho with me tomorrow?"
    "Why? You said you'd add the door."
    "The door is a done deal," he says. "I want you to look at each room and discuss the remodeling with me."
    "Each room?" He starts to respond, but I wave him off. "Adam's awake."
    Adam stands in his crib, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. I pick him up, barely settling him on my hip before I lean over his crib and vomit. He begins to cry. In seconds, Jalal appears and takes him from me. I wipe my mouth with a corner of Adam's