Chapter 30
Hess
“So how are things going?” Abby looks at me expectantly.
It’s weird to be at marriage counseling without Camila.
“I would say we’re making progress.”
“Camila too?”
“Yeah, she completed her homework and told her friends and family about the marriage. I met her mom, which I’m sure was hard for her.” Abby smiles, liking that detail. “I’ve been trying to get her to open up a little more each day, and I think it’s working.”
“Those are big steps for her.”
“Yep.” I slap my thighs.
“Last time you both were here, there was some discussion about the physical side of your relationship. There was some talk of boundaries being put into place. How has that been going?”
“Well, we kissed,” I blurt.
She tries to hide her smile. “You did?”
“Yeah.”
“How did that come about?”
“It wasn’t some cheap physical thing. I took her on a date and kissed her respectfully.” There might have been some passionate moments that weren’t entirely respectful for a first kiss, but she’s my wife, so there has to be some leniency there.
“When did that happen?”
“A couple of weeks ago.”
“Have you two kissed since?”
“No, I’m trying to take things slow, let Camila get comfortable with the idea of us.”
“Us?”
I lean forward, ready to tell all. “Here’s the thing, Doc, I really like Camila. There’s no point in hiding it. I like her, and I want to see where things go.”
“There’s nothing wrong with falling in love with your wife.” She smiles, knowingly.
I smile too, incriminating myself. “No, I suppose not.”
“So where do you go from here?”
“I don’t know. I was going to ask you that. How do I make my wife realize that this marriage might be the best thing that has ever happened to us?”
“You can start by being honest with her about your feelings.”
“I’ve done that. I mean, I told her that I liked her and that I wanted to pursue her in a real way.”
“You could also open Camila up to your life. Your family. Your friends.”
“I was going to ask you about that. I have a family reunion thing coming up for the Fourth of July, and I wanted to ask Camila to come with me. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Abby’s eyes soften. “Hess, you don’t need my advice on how to date your wife. Do what feels right.”
My shoulders lift. “It feels right to be with her all the time.”
“Then there’s your answer.”
Camila
Hess sits in our usual spot at the Waffle House with a plate of food in front of him.
I fall into the booth with a sigh. “That was the most awful experience of my life.”
“I’m all ears,” he says with a kind smile.
“The dad is a cheating narcissist who wrecked their family, blindsided the wife and children, and now he wants his teenage daughter to just forget it happened and agree to live with him and his twenty-two-year-old mistress fifty percent of the time. I don’t blame the poor girl. Who would want to do that?”
“No one. Not after he ruined her family life. She needs time to process and work through what she’s feeling.”
“Right?” I throw my hands up. “But no, they sent me in to preach forgiveness and reconciliation and to spout off all these lies that her father didn’t mean to hurt her and that this is just between him and her mom.
” I drag my hands down my face. “I hate myself right now. I hate what I said to that poor girl. I hate the way I manipulated her so my firm could close the divorce settlement.”
Hess grabs my hand across the table, and immediately, I feel comfort. “Don’t beat yourself up. In the end, the divorce needed to happen. What you said just sped up the process a little bit.”
“I don’t know how I got here. This wasn’t supposed to be the job. I was supposed to be helping people get out of awful marriages and move on to something better in life, but today, I just felt like I made things worse for this girl.”
“Her dad cheating is the problem. Not you.”
I force a smile, wanting to believe Hess, but deep down, I’m not sure I’m as innocent as he’s making me out to be. I know what I said to her. I know how I manipulated her. That’s not who I want to be.
“Let’s just move on. I don’t want to think about it anymore.” I shake my head. “What did I miss at counseling?”
“Nothing, really. I told her where you were, and she didn’t seem to care that you had to miss for work.” As Hess talks, I pick up his fork and start eating his waffle. He pushes the plate closer, making it easier for me to reach.
“Did you tell her we kissed?”
“I did.”
“And?”
He smiles. “She seemed pleased.”
“Oh, great.” I laugh. “She’s a romantic.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since her entire line of work is offering support to married couples so they can work out their problems.” I push the plate back to him.
“Sorry, I’m eating all your food.” I glance over my shoulder, looking for the waitress. “I’ll order my own plate.”
“I already ordered you something. Should be out in a second.” My eyes flip to him as he pushes the plate back my direction. “We’ll share both plates.”
The handsome smile on his face melts me inside out. Where did this guy come from? And how does he manage to make me feel special every day?
He cuts a corner of the waffle and holds the bite in front of my mouth, feeding it to me. “So I have a question. What are you doing on the Fourth of July?”
“Umm.” I chew enough to answer. “Not working, I’ll tell you that much.”
“Good.” His smile is big and animated. “Because I wanted to invite you to Prescott with my family. My parents have a cabin, and we always spend the Fourth of July there to escape the heat. And I want you to come with me.”
My laugh is sharp, startled. “With your family?”
“Yeah.” He watches me closely. “All of them.”
I shake my head immediately. “Hess, no. That’s a terrible idea. I don’t want to drag your family into this mess—your mom, especially. She’d get way too attached to the idea of us, which isn’t good since our marriage isn’t even real.”
His lips spread into the most charming smile I’ve seen from him. “I want you to come with me.”
I shake my head again.
“Camila, please come with me.”
My heart bangs but not with fear. Each beat begs me to say yes.
“Okay,” I relent, “but your family needs to know that this isn’t a real marriage.”
“They already do.”
The waitress cuts between us with a hot plate of food. “I’ve got one all-star special for my favorite customer.” She sets the plate down and winks at Hess before leaving.
I watch the whole spectacle with a gaping mouth. “It never ceases to amaze me how blatantly she flirts with you right in front of me.”
“I think she’s just being nice.”
“You always think that, but I know women, and I know she’s flirting with you.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “Are you jealous?”
Crazy jealous!
“No.” I play it cool. “I just think it’s weird she doesn’t even try to tone it down when I’m with you. I’d hate to see how it is when I’m not here.” I lean forward, letting the smell of the food fill me up. “I’m starving.”
“I figured you would be.”
“Yeah, it was such a crazy day. I had planned to leave the office and run some errands during my lunch break, but I didn’t have time.
In fact, after this, I have to stop by my condo and grab my long-acting back-up insulin because I’m out, and I didn’t get a chance to stop by the pharmacy before it closed. ”
“No need. I picked up your prescription.” He lifts a white paper bag from the booth seat and sets it on the table. “I saw the sticky note reminder you put on the fridge to pick up your insulin, and I had some extra time, so I grabbed it for you.”
My eyes narrow in on him. “You’re too good to be true.” I glance around. “Like, are there hidden cameras somewhere? Is this a social experiment happening to me right now?”
“What?” Hess laughs with brows raised. “Because I picked up your prescription?”
“No, because you keep showing up for me without me even having to ask. It just seems too good to be true.” Like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop or for his mistress to appear.
“Could it be that this is just what people do? They take care of each other. They’re a team. When one needs help, the other picks up the slack.” He shrugs. “I’m just picking up the slack for you. I know you’d do the same for me.”
Would I? I feel like I’m not the type of person to notice his needs and just do them without him asking. But with him, his thoughtfulness continues to knock me off my feet.
I’ve never been this taken care of in my entire life.
And I’m afraid I’m starting to like it.