Caught in the Undertow (Hawaiian Crush #6) (3 page)

“You really don’t have—”

Derek was gone.

Sydney looked at Paola. “In my experience, just tell him what you want.”

“But you’re married,” Paola said. “You have the same bank account.”

Sydney shook her head. “Coen was the same way before we got married.”

Coen put his arm around her chair. “I have to make sure my lady is well fed. I like her muscles.”

Paola smiled. “You guys are so cute.”

“You should have heard them argue a second ago,” Henry said.

“We fight sometimes, but
we always make up,” Sydney said.

“I
kinda want to fight right now,” Coen said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Later,” Sydney said.

Coen sighed.

Sydney scooted closer to him
and rested her hand on his thigh. Her friends started talking about Thatcher’s recent art show but Sydney wasn’t listening. She stared at Coen’s face, unable to believe that she ended up with a guy she always wanted. He was everything to her. She felt comfortable challenging him, arguing with him, because she knew they’d always work out there differences. Coen was head strong and aggressive, but he was also passionate and devoted to her. Now she wished they were home and in the bedroom.

Sydney finished her salad then grabbed her bag. “I’ll see you later,” she said to Coen. She kissed him on the cheek when she stood up.

“What the fuck was that?”

“What?” she asked.

He stood up and grabbed her face, kissing her hard. “I’m your husband so kiss me like I am.”

She sm
iled. “You were talking.”

“You can interrupt me for a kiss.” He leaned closer to her. “You can interrupt me for anything.”

“Okay.”

“Will you be home on time tonight?”

“I’ll try.”

He glared at her. “You have to feed me.”

“You can feed yourself.”

“No, that’s why I got married.”

“You survived before. You’ll survive after.”

He sighed.

“There’s leftover lasagna in the refrigerator.”

“I guess I’ll take it.”

She kissed him once more before she left the cafeteria, feeling his eyes drill into her back and ass. Coen blatantly stared at her in class and was affectionate whenever he felt like it. Their rings of eternal love and their tattoos weren’t enough.

Sydney went to her next classes and wrote down every word of the lecture
s in her notes. She sat in the front row like she always did, being the obvious overachiever. She knew it annoyed people. If it annoyed her husband, it obviously irritated everyone around her.

When she was done, she had a break before she left for work. Coen was in class so she took a seat at the table. She took out her notes and started to go through them, her eyes glued to the page.

“Hey.”

She looked up and saw Aaron. “Hi…”

“Can I sit down?”

“Uh…”

Aaron took a seat. “I wanted to say congratulations on your wedding day.”

“Oh,” Sydney said. She wasn’t expecting that. “Thank you.”

“Coen’s a lucky guy.”

She nodded. “I love him very much.”

“So, how have you been, other than getting married?”

Sydney felt awkward. Just talking to Aaron made her feel like she was cheating on Coen. She’d be
annoyed if she saw him spending time with an ex. “Good. Just work and school.”

He nodded. “Cool. Are you still living at the shack?”

“Coen and I both live there.” She didn’t need to add that but she felt like she should.

“I think I gave you the wrong impression,” Aaron said. “I just wanted to talk to you as a friend. I really am happy for you.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry I’m being so hostile.”

“I understand. I was pretty forward the last
time we spoke.”

“So, are you seeing anyone?”

He shook his head. “Not seriously. I’ve been talking to a few girls, playing the field, I guess.”

She nodded. “Well, there are a lot of pretty girls here.”

He stared into her face. “You’re right about that.”

Sydney averted her gaze. “I should probably get to work.”

“Are you still pursuing a PhD?” It was like he hadn’t heard a word she said.

“Yes, if everyone will have me,” she said with a laugh. She packed her belongings and intended to sit in the car until her shift started. She didn’t want to risk being seen with Aaron by anyone she knew. It would get back to her husband, who would be livid.

“I’m sure you’re the most qualified candidate,” he said with a smile. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Sydney was about to stand up when she saw Coen’s friend
, Dan, across the room. They worked at the gym together and were good friends. He was even in the wedding. Sydney cursed under her breath.

“What?” Aaron asked.

“I—I have to go.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” he said quickly.

“I’m just in a hurry.” She turned down the opposite hallway so she could avoid Dan. But it didn’t matter anyway. The damage had been done. When she came home that night, her husband would have a few words to say.

She went to work and started working in the lab, not clocking in until her shift actually began.

Gilbert walked in and stared at her, seeing the experiment in action. “You’re crazy, Syd.”

“I got out of class early,” she lied.

“Maybe I should be the assistant and you should be the lead scientist.”

Sydney smiled. “I wouldn’t mind the pay.”

He opened his briefcase and pulled out a few catalogs. “I wanted you to have these. It’s information about the universities I mentioned yesterday.”

She took them awkwardly. “Thank you.”

“Have you seriously considered it? I’m not implying Hawaii U is a bad place, but there’s no guarantee you’ll be accepted. There is politics to everything.”

“If I don’t get into Hawaii U, I don’t know what I’ll do. I can’t just expect Coen to stop living his life and follow me everywhere.”

“And he can’t expect you to give up your dream for him. Marriage is about compromise. Talk to him, Syd.”

She nodded. “I will.”

“And if he gives you a hard time, I’ll straighten him out. I used to whip him with my belt.”

Sydney laughed. “I can’t imagine Coen being spanked.”

“He used to be a little shit. When he was twelve, he took my car out for a drive then parked it in the wrong spot. The dumbass wouldn’t have been caught if he just used his brain.”

“That’s my husband,” she said proudly.

He shook his head. “I’m glad he’s grown into a fine man.”

“The finest I know.” She turned away and finished working, dreading going home that night. She could only imagine how pissed Coen would be about Aaron. She didn’t do anything wrong and they hardly spoke about Aaron, but she knew her husband. He was very possessive of her. Anything could set him off.

After her shift was over, she drove home. She hadn’t turned on her phone because she knew it would be full of messages and missed calls from Coen, demanding to know what happened that afternoon. When she parked outside her house, she sat in the driver’s seat for a while before she walked inside.

When she opened the front door, Coen was standing there, his arms by his sides. His shoulders were tense and he had a maniacal gleam in his eyes, like he wanted to tear down the house just to repair it again.

She sighed. “Calm down.”

He marched to her then stared her down. “Why is one of my boys telling me you’re spending time with your ex?”

“I wasn’t,” she said calmly.

He stepped back and crossed his arms ove
r his chest. “Then what happened, exactly?”

“I was doing homework and he sat by me and started talking. The conversation lasted two minutes at the most.”

“And what was said?” His voice was low but the annoyance was unmistakable.

“He asked about our wedding and how school was going. It was totally innocent.”

He stared at the sincerity in her eyes. “Was he bothering you?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to threaten him?”

Sydney rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Coen, I can take care of myself.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry. Dan made it sound like you two were hanging out. I thought it was odd.”

“We just ran into each other.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’m sorry I got all—protective.”

“You mean fucking psycho?”

He smiled. “You like it when I’m psycho.”

“In bed.”

Coen extended his arms and pulled her into a hug. “I love it when my wife comes home.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close. “I do too,” she said. “But it hurts my feelings when you don’t trust me.”

“I do trust you. That wasn’t the issue. I just don’t want you to have an annoying ex on your ass. I’d take care of it.”

She rested her face against his chest and smelled him. “I’m so tired.”

“I made dinner.”

“Is it burned?” she asked with a smile.

“It’s hard to burn macaroni and cheese.”

She laughed. “That’s not dinner, Coen.”

“It’s the best I can do.”

Sydney pulled away and kissed him gently on the lips. “I’ll whip up some real food.”

“Yum.”

She put down her bag and prepared dinner in the kitchen. She made grilled vegetables with baked fish and set the table.

Coen ate his dinner across from her. He devoured his fish then ate the vegetables.

Sydney eyed him. “It’s better than macaroni, huh?”

He smiled. “My wife’s cooking is always better.”

She smiled and ate her vegetables.

“Baby, is that all you’re going to eat?”

She shrugged. “I’m not that hungry.”

“You barely ate lunch.”

“I wasn’t hungry then either.”

He put down his fork and looked at her. “You need to take a step back.”

She met his gaze. “What does that mean?”

“You’re working too much. Take less hours at the aquarium.”

“I’m doing research. I can’t just do that.”

“Then drop a class.”

“No,” she said. “I won’t graduate on time.”

“Drop your ecology minor,” he said. “You really don’t need it.”

“Coen, I’m fine.”

He glared at her. “You work all day, and when you come home, you work more. You barely get enough sleep and you’re so stressed that you barely eat.”

“Well, I can’t spend all my time with you. I’m an adult with responsibilities.”

“That has nothing to do this,” he snapped. “I’m concerned for your health.”

“
I’m fine, really.”

“No,” he said. “I’m your husband and I know you’re pushing it too far. You don’t have time for yourself to relax. Quit your job for the semester. I make enough money as a personal tra
iner. I can support both of us for the time being.”

“Coen, you’re making this into a bigger deal.”

He pushed his plate away. “I’m not going to change my mind about this. Life was meant to be enjoyed, not pissed away. You don’t even have time to enjoy the sunrise or dinner in the evenings. And your health is scaring me. How can someone survive off a salad for lunch and grilled vegetables for dinner?”

“If I was hungry, I’d eat more.”

Coen sighed. “We aren’t arguing about this. I’ll talk to my uncle tomorrow.”

Her eyes widened in anger.
“Coen! I said I was fine. Don’t interfere with my work. I want my name on his paper. I need this for graduate school.”

He stood up and leaned over the table. “Then drop a class.”

“Stop telling me what to do.”

“Too bad,” he said. “I respect your wishes but you’re killing yourself right now. When was the last time you slept in?”

Sydney left the table and tossed her bowl in the sink. It broke when it collided with the tile. She was too angry to care. She marched to their bedroom then slammed the door, taking out her books and studying. Coen stayed in the living room and didn’t come after her, which she was thankful for.

When it was past midnight, she put her books away and set her alarm. She and Coen argued and bickered but they didn’t have their first fight until now. She wondered if he would sleep on the couch. She hoped he wouldn’t. It would be weird not to
sleep with him.

The door opened and he walked inside. He stripped off his clothes and got into bed, lying beside her. Neither one of them said anything. Sydney was glad he came to bed even though she didn’t say it.