Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Dylan grinned. “Angry sex. My favorite. Except, ya know, when it’s your ex-husband.”
“I know. I know. But one minute I was demanding an answer, and the next I was naked on my desk, his mouth all over me.”
The memory of his growl when I’d tugged at his shirt echoed in my thoughts. God, how was he able to set me ablaze with nothing more than the touch of his fingers?
“You had sex at the restaurant?” Angela’s mouth fell open.
Lucille laughed. “Remind me to bring bleach wipes with me next time.”
How were these my friends?
Dylan canted her head. “So was this like a one-night stand, or are you considering actually going back to this guy?”
“He asked me to give him a chance and then he told me he loved me.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “And that he always has and still does.”
They all fell silent, a weight tamping out their humor.
“Oh, honey,” Angela whispered.
“He said that, after Nathanial died, he didn’t hurt as much when he was with me, and that wasn’t something he deserved. So he pushed me away.”
“Damn,” Lucille breathed. “That’s heavy.”
Dylan was slightly more cynical. “But that doesn’t explain why he was willing to abandon his family. He filed for divorce before the mall, Gwen.”
“Trust me, I haven’t forgotten. I spent all morning wondering if I’d been abducted by aliens and they’d reprogrammed me as a dumber version of myself. But I don’t know how to explain it. There’s still this spark between us and it scares the hell out of me, because I’ve never felt it with anyone but him.”
“So what’s the problem, then?” Lucille asked. “It sounds like he’s stirred up some positive feelings that you may have forgotten over the years. Why are you questioning it?”
“Because it’s Truett,” I explained without really explaining at all.
“Let’s just say their history is…um, well, dark,” Angela said gently. “We didn’t know Gwen then, but I wish we had so we could have helped her through it.”
I wished like hell for that too. I might have been able to recover faster if I’d had the two of them to lean on. Maybe they could have even talked me out of marrying Jeff. No, strike that. Life with him hadn’t been good, but I’d had Nate because of that marriage. And that alone made those years worth their weight in gold.
“Yeah, I heard about their history, but people can change.” Lucille reasoned.
“Has he changed though?” Dylan asked. “I mean, he doesn’t even leave his house.”
“I don’t know,” Angela said thoughtfully. “It sounds like he’s left it more this week than he has in years. For Gwen.”
“That’s true,” Lucille agreed. “I’ve been working there forever. Man’s always shown up one day a week for one single hour. He’s been there a hell of a lot more since Gwen took over. Something tells me it’s not just for the sandwich he never eats.”
The room was quiet for a minute as I considered the possibility. Had Truett changed? The fact that he was willing to open his damn mouth and have a discussion was definitely a step in the right direction. But the problem was I’d never been the best judge of character. After all, I had married Jeff.
Though I supposed Truett had a lot to do with that too.
When I’d met Jeff, he was the exact opposite of Truett. He was edgy and carefree, never taking no for an answer. It made sense that he was an attorney. He talked incessantly, which had been charming at first and opened up a healthy line of communication I’d always wished I’d had with Truett. Eventually, edgy and carefree turned into controlling and cruel. And the things I said during those supposedly healthy conversations became tools he used to put me down and manipulate me.
But the one thing I knew more than anything else, which was probably a good part of the reason I’d stayed with him as long as I had, was that Jeff would never leave me. His ego was too big to ever admit that kind of failure. So, in some twisted way, I’d convinced myself that knowing what to expect from my future was worth living unhappily in the present.
Truett wasn’t Jeff—not even close.
Though he wasn’t an emotionally abusive asshole, that didn’t mean he couldn’t shatter my heart into a million pieces again. Sure, he left his house more now, and he had found his voice again, but at the first sign of trouble, would he shut down again? Cast me aside? Abandon me when I needed him most?
“Yes, he’s changed,” I admitted. “But maybe it’s too late. I’ve been wearing his scars for so long they’ve become the foundation for who I am and how I love.”
And then leave it to Lucille, the craziest woman I had ever known, to ask the simplest question to ever rock my world. “Do you still love him?”