~Riley~

“It’s been two weeks,” I say to Nana as we sit in our pedicure chairs, getting our feet pampered. Trevor has been gone for two weeks, and I can’t say that it’s been a good two weeks.

“When was the last time you spoke to him?” Nana asks.

“It’s been a couple of days.” I lean my head back against the massage chair and take a deep breath. “Honestly, I’ve heard from him less and less as time goes on. And I understand that we’re both busy with work, and his phone is all messed up because he dropped it in the water, but it’s hard to not even hear his voice for days on end.”

“I can imagine so,” Nana replies. “I do know that that boy loves you. I don’t believe he’s trying to back away from you.”

“I don’t either, and that’s almost harder than if he was. He texts me and tells me he loves me, but he’s not making real time for me. I need to hear his voice. I need to see him.”

“Well, he can’t very well just fly up here on your every whim.”

“I know, Nana, but he can FaceTime me.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a video call on our iPhones.” I smile and pull my phone out of my pocket to show her how it works.

“Well, look at that,” Nana says with a smile. “I can start FaceChecking your mama, since she doesn’t bother to come see me.”

“FaceTime,” I reply with a laugh. “And yes, you should do that. She should go see you more than twice a freaking year.”

I don’t bother to hide the disappointment and disgust in my voice.

“She’s busy too.”

“That’s an excuse,” I reply. “Don’t defend her. I run a business and I come see you once a week. And not because I have to, but because I love you and I want to see you.”

“I know.” Nana reaches over to pat my hand. “You’re a good girl. I’m sorry that your gentleman caller is making you sad.”

“I love it when you call him that,” I reply with a soft smile. “It sounds old-fashioned and traditional. Do I have to hand in my feminist card because I like traditional?”

“If you do, I’ll hand mine in with you,” she says. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting a man to be a man, and to respect you, Riley, all while you earn an equal wage and have the same rights as a man. I marched in my fair share of women’s rights marches through the years for that very reason.”

“I know.” I nod and hand the tech my nail polish. I always bring my own. The thought of having them use polish that has touched someone else’s feet grosses me out. “And I am so proud of you for doing it.”

“Having traditional values isn’t wrong. And frankly, I’m a bit disappointed in Trevor that he’s made you feel insecure.”

“I wish I could talk to him in person. Maybe this is all in my head. I do overthink everything. There’s a meme going around that says something like ‘I have ninety-nine problems, and eighty-six of them are ones I’ve made up in my head.’”

“What’s a meme?”

“A picture with a quote on it.”

“Oh yes, I see those on the Pinterest all the time.”

“Exactly. So maybe it’s all in my head.”

“No.” She shakes her head and purses her lips as she watches the tech paint her nails. “I don’t think it’s in your head. You’re a smart girl, and you have good instincts. I’m sure he’s not intentionally being distant, but you should tell him that you need him to be more available to you.”

“That’s going to make me sound needy.”

“And what of it?” Nana demands. “Riley, life is short. You already live far away from each other. At the very least, you should be speaking every day. It’s not needy to express that you need more from the man you love, and if he says that it is, well, then maybe he’s not the man for you.”

“He might just be really busy.”

“Now who’s making excuses for whom?” Nana asks with a smile.

“I know, but it really could be the case.” She stares at me without speaking, but I can see her thoughts written all over her face.

Stop making excuses for him and talk to him.

“I’ll FaceTime him tonight and talk this over with him. Hopefully he had time to go get a new phone today.”

“Good girl,” Nana replies with a satisfied nod. “What do you have going on after this?”

“I thought I’d take you to lunch.”

“Well, this is a treat. I get to spend all afternoon with you?”

“Of course. And after lunch, we should do some shopping. I need some shoes for Kat’s birthday party next weekend. I already have a dress.”

“That sounds fun. I could use a new bathing suit for this summer.”

I feel my brows climb into my hairline in surprise. “A bathing suit?”

“They’re building a new swimming pool in the community, and I want to look good sitting by it this summer.”

“You should stay out of the sun, Nana.”

“There are umbrellas,” she says with a wink. “And we’re still a ways from summer, but I might find something fun.”

“We will have a look.”

“Good. I can cook you dinner if you like.”

“Yes, I would love that. Let’s make a day of it.”

“Let’s do that.”

I didn’t get to talk to Trevor last night. We texted back and forth, and he said he was tired. He also mentioned that work has been increasingly demanding, and that he misses me very much. I asked him to replace his phone, again, and he promised to put it on his list today.

“If he misses me so much, why won’t he fucking call me?”

“What’s that?” Kat asks as she walks into the office. She stops short when she sees my face. “Oh God. You’re pissed already.”

“Men are more work than they’re worth,” I reply, and toss a folder on my desk. “What’s up?”

“Well, maybe I shouldn’t talk with you about this now.”

“It’s as good a time as any,” I reply with a sigh.

“No. No, I don’t think it is.”

“Oh, for fuck sake, Kat, what the hell is it?”

“See? You’re very sweary.”

I narrow my eyes at her and she clears her throat, then shrugs one shoulder as if to say, What the hell?

She pulls her phone out of her pocket and taps the screen until she finds what she’s looking for.

“Have you seen this?” She passes the phone to me.

“I didn’t know you and Trevor are friends on Facebook.”

“We are, because I need to look out for you. Although he’s very dull. He never posts.”

I’m staring at a photo of Trevor and another woman. His arm is slung around her shoulders and they’re smiling at the camera.

It doesn’t look recent.

“He didn’t post this,” I murmur. “He’s tagged by Angie.”

The caption reads I always love spending time with this guy.

“What the fuck,” I whisper.

“So you haven’t seen this.”

“I blocked Angie because she kept sending me messages about Trevor, and he asked me to block her so she couldn’t cause any more trouble.”

“Oh,” she says. “So you wouldn’t have been able to see this anyway.”

I shake my head no.

“I don’t think it’s recent,” Kat continues. “I mean, his hair is a lot shorter in that picture, and he just looks younger, you know?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t look recent.” But what in the hell is going on? Without missing a beat, I grab my phone and call Trevor’s number, but it goes to voice mail. “Hey, it’s me. I need to talk to you. Please call me back as soon as possible.”

I hang up and pass Kat’s phone back to her.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” she says.

“I guess we’ll see when I talk to him.”

“What are you going to say?”

“I’m going to ask him if he’s seen this, and if so, why does it even exist? I mean, why won’t this chick just go away? She’s seriously pissing me off.”

“You don’t think he’s got something going on with her?”

“No.” I shake my head impatiently. “I believe him. I think this is her trying to make waves again, and I just don’t understand why she won’t go away. Trevor spoke to her and told her to hit the road.”

“Sounds like she’s psycho,” Kat replies. “And I’m a psychiatrist, so I can say this with some authority. Be careful. People like her are dangerous.”

“She doesn’t live anywhere near here,” I reply. “Maybe it’s time for me to take a break from social media for a while.”

“Is that even possible for you? With all of the social media stuff you have to do for Seduction?”

“No.” I rub my forehead with my fingertips. “You’re right, it’s not possible. But I can delete the apps from my phone and just post stuff on the computer when I’m here.”

“That could work,” Kat says with a nod, and turns to walk away. She spins back around, sticking a finger in the air. “Oh! Forgot to tell you. There’s someone named Stephanie here to see you.”

I frown and glance at my schedule. “I don’t have any appointments today.”

“She didn’t say what she wanted, just asked for you.”

“Okay. Thanks. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Kat nods and shuts the door behind her, leaving me in the office by myself. I wish Trevor would call me back now. I wish he would truly talk to me and tell me what’s going on with him. I wish his stupid phone would work right.

I trust him.

But I miss him.

And it hurts more than I ever thought it would.

It doesn’t look like he can call, so I walk out of the office and to the hostess area. There’s a beautiful brunette sitting on the bench, her hair and makeup perfectly seen to. She’s in a red sweater and black slacks with red heels.

“Stephanie?” I ask as I approach.

“Yes,” she says, and smiles. Her teeth are almost blindingly white against her red lips. “You must be Riley.”

“I am. I’m sorry, did we have an appointment?”

“Oh no.” She blushes and smiles with apology. “I’m sorry I didn’t call ahead, I just thought I’d take my chances that you’d have time to see me today.”

“I wish you had called. I’m afraid we’re not hiring right now.”

“Oh, I’m not here for a job.” She shakes her head and hooks her expensive designer bag over her shoulder. “This is a personal matter.”

“I see.”

I don’t fucking see at all.

“Come into my office.” I motion for her to follow me, and when I get there, I hold the door open for her. “Go ahead and have a seat over there. I’ll join you in a moment.”

“Thank you.”

I rush into the bar and find Kat behind it.

“I’m meeting with this woman in the office. I don’t know her, and she says this is personal, not regarding the business.”

“I’m coming along.”

“Wait.” I hold my hand up. “I don’t think I have a reason to be afraid, but I wanted someone else to know I’m in there with her.”

“I think I should go in with you.”

I chew the inside of my cheek for a moment, and then nod. “I guess it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

We both walk into the office, clearly surprising Stephanie.

“I’m sorry,” she says, clearly not sorry at all. “I was hoping to speak with you privately.”

“Kat is my business partner and my best friend. Anything you have to talk about can be said with her here.”

She sighs, and then nods. “If that’s the way you want it.”

I don’t reply as I sit in my chair opposite her and cross my hands over my desk. Kat sits at her own desk, facing us.

“My name is Stephanie Cooper.”

I blink at her for several seconds. She doesn’t elaborate, as if I should recognize her name, but I don’t.

“Okay.”

She licks her lips and frowns. “You don’t recognize my name?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Riley—” Kat begins, but Stephanie speaks over her.

“I’m Trevor’s wife.”

And just like that, a cold sweat spreads over my whole body and my heart pounds against the wall of my chest.

“I can see that I’ve surprised you.”

“I’m not sure what you’re doing here,” I reply, proud of myself for sounding so calm.

“Well, I wanted to come meet you in person. You see, Trevor and I divorced a few years ago.”

“I’m aware.”

“So he did talk about me, then,” she says with a happy smile.

“He mentioned an ex-wife, but he didn’t ever say your name.”

Her smile falters now, and that gives me a sick sense of satisfaction.

“Yes, well, we parted on decent terms.”

“Despite you deciding to have an affair,” I add. Kat gasps, but neither of us looks over at her. “What do you want, Stephanie?”

“I don’t honestly know,” she says. “I thought I wanted to come here to tell you to stop seeing him.”

“I’m not seeing him,” I reply. “He’s in L.A. and I’m in Portland.”

“Oh, so you’re not together.”

“We’re together. What I’m saying is, it’s gone past just seeing each other. We’re in a relationship, and we’re in love with each other.”

“Oh, honey.”

“Don’t fucking ‘oh, honey’ me.” I stand and walk to the door, holding it open for her. “If you’re warning me off, you came all this way for nothing. I haven’t done anything wrong. You’re not married to him anymore.”

“You’re right,” she says. “I’m not. I’m actually married to another man, who’s also a very good person.”

“So, do you just get off on fucking around with people? Why do you care who Trevor is with? You moved on.”

“It was a mistake.” Her eyes fill with tears, and I give zero fucks. “I made a horrible mistake.”

“Yes, you did.” I stare down at her, not feeling even one ounce of sympathy. “Women like you just think that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. What you don’t realize is, if you just took care of your own fucking grass, it would be just as green.”

“I’m not much of a gardener,” she says with a frown, and I can’t help but bust out laughing.

“Like I said, you’ve wasted your time. Now get your ass out of my restaurant, and don’t contact me again.”

“I was hoping that I’d be able to talk to you, woman to woman, to make you understand how much I love him. I guess that isn’t going to work.”

“Um, no, it’s not. That’s what I meant when I told you to get the hell out of my place.”

“Fine.” She walks through the door and turns back to me, every ounce the drama queen. “He’s going to realize one day that it was a mistake for us to break up, and then he’s going to come back to me.”

“Whatever.” I roll my eyes and slam the door shut, effectively halting anything else she might have said.

“So, the ex-wife is a bit of a drama queen,” Kat says as I walk back to my desk and sink down in my chair. “Rough day.”

“And it’s only ten,” I say, and reach over to call the kitchen.

“This is Mia.”

“Hey, it’s Riley. Would you please have someone bring me a bag of ice? I have a killer headache.”

“Coming right up.” She hangs up and I cover my eyes with my hand.

“What are you going to do?” Kat asks.

“Well, I’ve already called him about one crazy girl pining away for him this morning, and he hasn’t returned that call, so it’s a waste of time to try to call again.”

Mia walks through the door and passes me a bag of ice.

“You didn’t have to bring it yourself.”

“I needed a break. My sous chef is gonna drive me to drink.”

“Please don’t fire another sous chef,” I say desperately. “I think this might be the last available one in the Portland metro area.”

“I won’t fire him,” she says, and tucks a stray hair behind her ear. “But I needed out of there for a second. You okay?”

“Aside from dealing with more than one jealous woman where Trevor is concerned, and not having actually talked to said man in the past four days?” I nod sarcastically. “Yeah, I’m peachy.”

“Men suck,” Mia mutters. “And I get to go back to the kitchen now and deal with one. Let me know if you need anything.”

She walks to the door and stops, looking back at me. “Riley?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t deserve that. Any of it. Don’t let him get away with it.”

“I won’t.”

She nods and leaves and I rest the ice on my head.

“Oh, that feels good.”

“She’s right,” Kat says.

“I know.” I’m glad the ice bag is covering my face because tears fill my eyes. “I love him, Kat. I really do. And despite these crazy bitches who can’t seem to get over him, I trust him. But this long-distance garbage is hard. I know I’m strong, but I don’t know if I’m this strong.”

“Talk to him tonight,” she says. “And I mean really talk. Voice your concerns and see what he says. He might just make you feel better.”

“Yeah.” I sigh and let the tears fall. “I’ll talk to him. If he’ll answer my damn calls. He better fucking get a new phone, Kat.”

“For sure,” she says. “He’s pissing me off over that one.”

It’s after eight in the evening when I walk through my door. Work has been brutal and I’m exhausted. I might need to talk to the other girls about hiring me an assistant. There’s so much on my plate now that I could use the extra help.

Rather than take the time to change my clothes and settle in, I call Trevor right away, immediately using FaceTime.

And he doesn’t answer.

“Fucking hell,” I mutter, and hit send again. This time he answers after about four rings.

“Hey, babe,” he says, and smiles at the phone, and just like that the lead weight in my stomach lifts.

“Hi. I really need to talk to you.”

“I know.” He looks away from me—toward the TV, I’m assuming, because I can see the lights bounce off his skin. “But tonight isn’t great. It’s Wednesday, so gaming night.”

“Trevor, I really need you tonight. I haven’t talked to you in days.”

“I’m sorry.” He pulls the earpiece out of his ear and looks at me. “I know things have been crazy, and that you’re taking the brunt of it. I really am sorry. Tonight is kind of a big deal with the guys, and they are counting on me to play with them, but I have nothing happening tomorrow evening. We can FaceTime all night if you want.”

I want to say no. I want to yell and cry and throw a fit. I hate feeling like his game is more important than me. That his job is more important. That his damn broken phone is more important.

And I have important things to discuss with him, but he’s not even paying attention to me anymore. He’s already hung that earbud in his ear and is back to playing with the boys.

“Trevor.”

“Yeah.”

He doesn’t look my way.

“Why don’t you give me a call after you’ve grown the fuck up.”

I hang up and turn off my phone, then toss it in my handbag and walk away.

Fuck this.

I don’t need it. I don’t deserve it.

And I won’t stand for it.

Turns out I’m not made for the long-distance thing after all.

And fuck me, it feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest.