Chapter 38

KIMBERLY’S POV I arrived home earlier than usual, curiosity bubbling inside me like a pot on the verge of boiling over. Xavier's cryptic words from earlier in the day lingered in my mind: “When you get home, I’ve got a surprise for you.” What did he think? Xavier Ravenwood was never that man who'd surprise me with gifts for no apparent reason. Just the thought of him put my heart beating, but I quelled it again into servitude. I cared less for whatever he prepared for me; after all, it was some sort of deal for him; our marriage, it was just a pact which one day ran out. I knew it was silent the moment I stepped into the house. "Xavier?" my voice echoed a bit in the huge foyer. No answer. I took a deep sigh and set my bag down on the closest chair and walked to the kitchen. At least, I thought, I could cook him dinner while waiting for him. It became a habit I picked up in the first weeks of our marriage. Then it just, you know, seem polite; that's what made the arrangement almost norm