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“I wasn’t staying out fucking around with a guy every night.”
I shrug, because to this day, I’m not sure I believe that she’s never been unfaithful. I don’t have proof; it’s just a feeling. “I don’t know that.”
“I’ve never cheated on you.”
I shoot her an incredulous look. “Do you want a medal for that? That doesn’t just absolve you from all the other shit you’ve done.”
“Can’t you just…stay?” Deflecting, of course.
“For what, Holly?”
“Because I’m your wife and I’m asking?”
I look back at the garage and then at her when a thought smacks me in the face. It’s so obvious that I’m shocked I didn’t think of it sooner. In what world does Holly give a shit about cars in general? Even if she’s just trying to one-up her frenemy. If she cared about my hobbies, she’d know exactly which cars were in there, and where in our house to find which ones they are without even having to go into the garage. God, I’m stupid. How did I not realize this? “Did you…trigger the alarm on purpose?”
“No,” she says and I know she’s lying based on her body language.
I shake my head at her.“You’re joking, right?”
“You’re way off base, Chris.” She gives me her back as she walks toward the house. “Forget it. See you whenever.” She waves a hand over her head.
I want to go after her and get the truth out of her but I know she and I are in for a long road of uncovering truths. Now, I just want to be with Marissa. I told her an hour and I’m already dancing pretty close to that if I happen to hit any traffic on my way back into the city.
I’m back at my penthouse in a little over an hour, and when I enter, Marissa is sitting on the couch in the living room watching a movie. I sit on the coffee table in front of her, grabbing the remote to mute the television, and give her a smile. “Are you mad?”
“I don’t know,” she whispers, her eyes not meeting mine like she’s avoiding my gaze.
“Sorry I was longer than an hour.”
“Is everything okay?” Her voice is soft and filled with something I can’t quite detect.
“I think she did it on purpose.” I sigh. I rarely talk to Marissa about Holly, but it might be time that I start.
She frowns. “Why?”
“Couldn’t tell you. She never cared about me being home before. Hell, she’s rarely home.”
“You’re saying it’s because she wanted to see you?”
“I don’t know. She tried to get me to stay once I got there.” I can see the discomfort all over her face and I move to sit next to her and pull her closer. I expect her to fight me but she lets me wrap an arm around her. “Ask me what you want to know.”
“What happens after you give her the divorce papers?”
“I have to wait and see what she says.”
She runs a hand through her hair and I can feel the tension radiating off of her. “What if she doesn’t agree?”
I let my head fall to the back of the couch with a groan. I don’t even want to put that in the universe. “I don’t know. There’s a waiting period.” I run my fingers down her shoulder. “Will you wait?” I ask her the question I’ve wanted the answer to since she walked back into my life. I’ve been thinking about it since I first slept with her, if I’m being honest.
She turns to face me. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I nod. “Yeah. I know you think I’m just doing this for you but it really is for me too. I want to be happy with someone.” She nods and I grab her chin and tilt it towards me. “With you if you’ll let me.” She’s staring at the muted television with her lip trapped between her teeth. “What?” I drop my hand to her leg and rub it gently, trying to alleviate the tension I can feel coursing through her.
“It’s just hard not to feel like a homewrecker.”
It would be easy to tell her that she’s not. That she had little to do with the demise of my marriage. That although she may have been the final push, she certainly wasn’t the catalyst. I turn her face gently to mine and brush my lips against hers. “I don’t know what to do to change that.”
She looks up at me and though I can see the apprehension all over her face, she leans into me and rests her head against my chest. “A part of me wishes I wasn’t already in so deep.”
