Unexpected Top (Ball & Chain) by Cassandra Carr Page A

“Cissy, baby.” Len gently pushed her hair out of her face. “Don’t cry. I’m an ass. Or, well, a jerk.” She sniffled but didn’t contradict him. “We’ll work this out. Don’t give up on me. Can you take tomorrow off?”
    She nodded and he leaned forward to kiss her head. Cissy grabbed the back of his neck and held his lips to hers. “I love you,” she choked out.
    “Oh honey, I love you too. And I’m so sorry. We’ll figure this out. I promise.” Pulling the thin coverlet up, he tucked it around her. ”Get some sleep. We’ll call in sick in the morning and then talk as long as we need to, okay?”
    “Yeah.”
    Satisfied the crisis was at least temporarily averted, Len went into the bathroom, exiting a few moments later and climbing into bed next to his wife. He had to fix this. He had to. Life without Cissy was just too horrible to contemplate.
    * * * * *
     
    Cissy lay awake for a long time, listening to Len’s slow, even breathing. No doubt the alcohol was helping him sleep. She had no such luck. Could she believe Len was sorry and wanted to fix things? It felt as if their entire marriage predicated on what happened in the morning.
    When that morning came, Cissy gave up on sleep and rose, padding into the bathroom to shower. That task completed, she stepped into the bedroom to get dressed and call in sick to work, expecting to see Len still sound asleep, but the bed was empty. Turning toward the door, she sniffed. Coffee and something else. Was Len making breakfast? The mind boggled.
    Throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, Cissy then walked downstairs, not sure what she’d find. She nearly fell over when she took in Len with an apron over his bare chest and a pair of shorts, turning eggs in a pan. Cissy couldn’t remember the last time he’d made breakfast. Had he ever made breakfast?
    “Hey. Did you call in yet?”
    “N-no. I’ll go right now.”
    “Don’t take too long. I’ve got bacon too and the eggs are almost ready.”
    Who are you and what have you done with my husband? And when did you learn how to cook breakfast?
    “I’ll hurry.” In a daze she walked out of the kitchen. She couldn’t get over it. Len had made breakfast. Of his own volition.
    Maybe he was serious about trying to fix their marriage.
    A spark of hope rose within her, but she forced herself to tamp it down. Unless and until Len proved to her he was serious, that this wasn’t a one-time thing because he felt guilty about drinking too much the night before, she couldn’t put too much stock in it.
    She called her office and then returned to the kitchen just as Len was setting two laden plates down on the table. He’d already fixed her coffee, and when she took a sip she was surprised he’d gotten the proportions right.
    He cocked a brow at her. “You think after, what, fifteen years with you I didn’t know you take your coffee with a lot of half-n-half and a little bit of sugar?” Cissy blushed and Len smiled. “Sit and eat before it gets cold.”
    “It looks great,” she ventured, still not sure what to make of this man. Maybe he’d been abducted by aliens during the middle of the night. Aliens who, instead of doing gross tests on his person, taught him to be respectful and thoughtful. If she found out that was the case she’d probably kiss the poor things no matter what they looked like.
    They ate in silence, each of them probably waiting for the other to start what might very well be an uncomfortable discussion. When he finished, Len stood and began to clean up and Cissy continued to eat, watching him in silence. By the time she took her last sip of coffee, Len was drying the frying pan from the eggs.
    After putting it back in the drawer with the other pans, he leaned on the counter. “Want to talk outside?”
    “Sure.” Together they went out onto their back deck, an area Cissy loved and one of the reasons she’d wanted to buy this house. They’d always known they weren’t going to have