“Did you have a good day?” Leo asks, coming up behind me and kissing my neck after dinner. Which he came home in time for, despite being busy.
My lips curl into a smile as I shove the memory of Fiona out of my head. “Yeah, it was … productive.” I rinse the pot and put it on the dish rack.
“Oh?” He kisses my jaw and spins me around. “What did you do?”
I know he’s probably going to be concerned about my whereabouts for a while, and I know I deserve that. The call at lunchtime and the text message this morning were proof enough that it will take some time for him to get past what I did. But today? He doesn’t need to know. I think it was more for me than for him anyway. The pain her actions have caused affects us both. And I think I needed to confront her after all.
Leaning in, I kiss the center of his stubbled chin. “Not much, just hung out with Lola this morning then came home to catch up on laundry and cleaned the house.”
Which isn’t really a lie. Cleaning is a great way for me to work out my frustrations. Well, that and chocolate. And sex, but we’ll get to that tonight, I’m sure.
He hums and I squish my face into his throat to feel it vibrate against my nose. “I know where you went,” he says with a quiet that both terrifies and excites me.
Well, shit. Fucking Lola, I bet she told Trey.
“Do you, now?” I ask his skin.
He folds his arms around me, burying his nose into my neck and squeezing me. “I do. And I love you.” He places a soft kiss underneath my ear then releases me and walks out of the kitchen. Feeling cold without his warmth, I rub my arms and smile to myself.
“Shower time, kiddos!” I hear him holler to them from upstairs as he turns the water on.
Okay, I guess he’s not mad then.
Driving into the city to the women’s shelter the next morning, I can’t help but feel a little guilty. Maybe I should’ve told Leo what my plan was after all. But I know he would’ve stopped me, and I need to do this. He knows I plan on taking some time away, and he’s happy about that, but he doesn’t know that I haven’t told them yet or that I’m going there today to do that.
And to see a certain green-eyed male with a devious smile.
Parking my car, I jump out and grab my purse. Flicking my sunglasses down onto my nose, I lock it and walk down the street to the front entrance of the shelter. Jared’s not out the front and I’m glad that he’s not waiting for me. But as I walk inside, I start to worry that he might not show up.
“Dahlia, good morning.” Glenda smiles as I approach the staff room.
“Hey, how’s everything going?” I take my sunglasses off, sign in, and put my purse away.
She snorts. “Caught someone trying to steal old bread out of the back dumpster on my way in, so I told them we’d make a meal for them for free. They ran off.”
I wince, hating when that happens. Unfortunately, some people aren’t too proud to ask for help. No, they’re simply too scared.
“But good other than that. Lord, it just breaks my heart when all they have to do is ask. I’d thought about putting a sign on the door, just in case they come back.”
“Yeah, but we both know it could be some time until they come back this way.”
She sighs. “Yep.”
“I need to talk to you actually.” I take a step back, feeling kind of nervous. “I’m going to have to take some time away. Just for a month or two.”
“Oh?” She quirks a brow at me. “This wouldn’t have something to do with a tall, dark-haired male with bright green eyes, now would it?”
Shit. My cheeks heat as I struggle to meet her gaze. “Yeah. It does.”
She nods, smiling sadly at me. “I figured as much, but don’t worry. No one else assumes a thing; the boy is a terrible flirt.” She shakes her head. “None of my business. But are you okay?”
I lean against the wall. “I will be. Things have been hard at home with Leo for a while now, but it’s looking up. I think we’re going to be okay. So it’s best to make sure I respect his wishes regarding …”
She pats my arm. “Got it, sweetheart. Don’t worry.” Sighing, she says, “We’ll miss you, though. Don’t be gone too long.”
“Thank you. Just let me know when he’s finished,” I find the guts to say.
“Will do. You just take care of you and yours.” She pats my arm again and toddles off to the storeroom.
Feeling relieved as well as sad, I head to the kitchen to wash my hands, put my apron and hair net on, and then some gloves. Closing the fridge after grabbing the sausages, I see Jared walking out of the pantry with a pencil tucked behind his ear and his eyes on what I’m guessing is the grocery checklist.
“Hey.” I place the sausages down on the counter.
He glances up, his eyes studying my face before his lips curve into a small smile. “Hey, Blondie.” He puts the checklist down and walks over to me. “You doing okay?”
“I feel like I should be asking you that.” I eye the yellow bruising still evident underneath his eye and along the side of his jaw. My fingers twist together, causing the latex gloves to squeak. “Can we have coffee after?”
He frowns, his beautiful eyes hardening a little.
“Looks worse than it feels and yeah, sure,” he finally says. “I’ll meet you out front.” He grabs his checklist and disappears again.
My shoulders slump. Why does the idea of maybe hurting him get to me so much? I busy myself with preparing lunch with Tilly before finally hanging up my apron then taking my hairnet and gloves off.
Walking out of the bathroom, I fluff my hair and grab my purse. After saying goodbye to Glenda, I walk outside into the bright autumn sunshine. The cool wind has me tugging my gray knit cardigan over my chest as I look around for Jared.
“Boo,” he says from behind me, causing me to shriek and a few onlookers to give us wary glances. I spin on my heel, grinning up into his face before taking a step back when I realize how close we are.
“I might be older than you are, but I’m still too young to die, trouble,” I grumble jokingly to him as we start walking down the street to the cafe on the corner.
He chuckles, opening the door for me when we reach it. I walk over to an empty booth, watching as he sits on the other side. It almost feels like Deja vu, sitting exactly where we are, a month after that first time I let him take me out for coffee.
“I’m so sorry, leaving the way I did last week.” I cringe. “I had no idea that would happen. You know that, right?”
“It’s all good.” He grins. “Besides, nothing ruins a hard-on quite like an angry husband storming into the room.”
I snort, my laughter halted by the waitress who stops by our table to take our order.
“So on with it then.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
“On with what?” I ask even though I know exactly what he means.
“You wanted to tell me in person that you’re done using me as your plaything, you wicked woman.” He winks.
I burst out laughing. “Oh, my God. Shush. You were not my plaything.”
He looks down at the menu, skimming a long finger over it then spinning it around on the table. “What was I, then?”
A knot forms in my throat, and I force myself to swallow it down. “You’re my friend.” I reach over and grab his hand.
He lets me, looking up at me. “Funny, it felt like a little more than that to me.” He links his fingers through mine, twiddling my wedding ring around. Tears prick my eyes as I watch him.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
His shoulders lift. “Can’t be helped, Blondie. It was only meant to be a bit of fun, right?”
I frown at him when he finally meets my gaze and lets go of my hand. He laughs. “You can’t honestly think I’d want anything serious to happen with a woman who’s married and has two kids.”
Yeah, that stings. But I get it. “Fair enough,” I mutter.
“It was meant to be fun, but I guess you kinda stole something from me along the way.”
“Jared …”
“It’s okay.” He holds up a hand. “My mistake. Next time I’m looking for a distraction or a little fun, I know to be a bit more selective.”
We thank the waitress when she places our coffees down. I stir mine, looking over at Jared while he stares out the window at the busy street outside. He takes a sip of his coffee then shifts in his seat, tugging his wallet out and putting a piece of paper down on the table.
“Tell your husband I said thanks, but I won’t be needing this.” He taps it then picks his mug back up, eyeing me over the rim as I turn the paper around. My lungs seize in my chest as I take in the check for a hundred thousand dollars. Holy shit.
“He paid you to stay away from me?” I breathe.
He shrugs again. “Can you blame him, really? But yeah. Though it seems a little unnecessary now, doesn’t it?” He clears his throat. “Despite his asshole tendencies, I’d say the guy must care about you”—he holds his fingers a few millimeters apart—“just a tiny bit.”
I know he’s trying to lighten the moment, but I can’t laugh when this is anything but funny.
He fucking offered him money to stay away from me.
I get that he doesn’t trust me like he once did, but I had no idea it was this bad.
“Things are better then?” Jared asks when I keep staring at the check like it’s going to grow teeth and physically bite a chunk out of my heart.
Tearing my eyes away from it, I swallow thickly as I look up at him. “Yeah, they are.”
He nods. “What changed?”
He doesn’t say it, but I know he knows it’s got to do with him. It’s not only that, though. “Something happened to him, earlier this year.” I blow out a breath. “It, um, well, it messed him up pretty bad. He didn’t know how to handle it, and I finally found out what happened.”
Nodding again, he picks his mug back up, and I do the same, blowing on my latte and taking a few small sips.
“Bad enough to excuse how bad things got between you two?” He puts his mug down.
Is it? It’s hard to judge such a thing really. He should have told me, but I understand his reasons for not doing so. “Everyone deals with things differently, I guess,” I settle on saying.
“By making their wife miserable?” His dark brows furrow.
I wrap my hands around my mug. “I don’t think that was his intention. He’s a good man who was struggling with something terrible. Does it excuse the way he treated me?” I shrug. “No, probably not. But I’m willing to look past it, to forgive him and try again. Especially seeing as he’s willing to do the same for me.” I eye him pointedly.
He smirks. “Got a good point there, Blondie.” Looking down at his coffee, he asks, “So this is a goodbye then, right?”
My heart splinters. But it is, and I’m okay with that, even if it hurts a little. Because I love my husband. Probably more than any sane person should after what I’ve been through. But I know him. I know the man I married—and I’ve finally got him back. I’m not giving that up for the world. For anything. “Yeah, it is,” I admit quietly.
“Well”—he tips his head back, downing the rest of his coffee—“I’m glad I could help out, babe. Let me know if he ever becomes an ass again. My services will always be available to you.” He winks.
Laughing, I shake my head. “That won’t be necessary, but thank you.” I sigh. “And even if he does, that’s not me, Jared. I don’t regret knowing you, and I never could, but I won’t do something like that to him or myself again.”
He bites his lip, staring at me for a heartbeat too long before rising from his seat.
“I guess I’ll see you around then, Blondie.” He throws a ten-dollar bill onto the table. I give him a watery smile as tears prick the backs of my eyes, making it hard to try to talk. He looks down at me then gently grabs my chin, tipping it up to meet his green eyes one last time. He lowers his head to kiss me softly on the forehead then walks away.
My heart constricts as I watch him through the window, walking into the busy flow of pedestrians before disappearing.