He stepped past me and shut the door, leaving his team outside.
“Evelyn.” He glanced around. “Looks good. Smells clean. I’ve always loved your domesticated side.” His creepy gaze gave my body, clad in ripped jeans and a tight tee, a slow inspection. “But if I’m being honest, I’ve loved all your sides.”
“Whatever you came to say or show me, just do it. Franz will be out of school in three hours. If you fuck up my day, I’ll kill you.”
He opened a large envelope. “I have a meeting at three, so I can’t fuck you or your day, given my time restraints. Maybe I can pencil you in next week.”
Smack!
I hugged my hand to my chest. It stung after connecting so hard to Graham’s face. He rubbed his cheek and had the audacity to grin.
“I am married and so are you. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me.” Graham pulled a handful of photos from the envelope. “But something definitely doesn’t feel right about this.” He shoved the photos into my chest.
I squinted as some of them were fuzzy, but others were quite clear. Adrianne getting into Ronin’s car. Ronin going into her apartment. Them coming out of her apartment. The photos were timestamped. He spent an hour in her apartment.
“He’s not a cheater.” I let the photos fall from my shaky hands to the floor.
Graham bent down and picked them up, maneuvering them back into the envelope. “I think he loves you. But just because a man loves his wife doesn’t mean he’s immune to temptation.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to ignore the twisting of my stomach, sending waves of nausea along my skin and burning the back of my throat. “Have you cheated on Lila?”
He smirked. “You know the answer to that.”
“How would I know the answer to that?”
“Because you’d be the first to know.”
“You should go.”
“You’re right.” He tossed the envelope on the counter. “Maybe find a place for those where the kids won’t find them.”
“They’re in the same support group. That’s how they met. I’ve met her. She was actually at the house not that long ago. She’s changed. And Ronin is a nice guy who does nice things for other people. She probably needed a picture hung or something like that.”
Graham blinked several times, returning a blank expression. “I like Ronin. You know this. But if he hurts you, I’ll end him.”
I nearly choked on the irony of the most hurtful person I knew pointing fingers and making threats against the most loving person I knew. But I couldn’t find the right words to say because I didn’t understand why Ronin was at Adrianne’s place, and I didn’t recognize the protective side of Graham. My world flipped and everything felt upside down.
Graham rested his hand on the back of my neck and kissed the top of my head. I felt too numb to react to his touch.
He brushed his lips down my cheek, and I barely felt that either. “I love you,” he whispered in my ear. “I would never cheat on you.”
But Lila … he would cheat on Lila with me.
Fuck my life.
Ronin
Lila answered her phone by the third ring. What I wouldn’t have done for a few pills to numb the pain.
“Hi.”
“What happened, Lila?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“My shoulder aches. My head hurts. I feel like I broke my wrist. I’m depressed as fuck. And Evelyn is taking the brunt of my misery. What. Happened?”
“I’m sorry. I felt weak and nauseous after my treatment. On the way to the bathroom, I fell and dislocated my shoulder and broke my wrist. I’m … really sorry.”
I stared out my window, debating whether or not I should go to the meeting or go home. “I’m sorry.” I sighed. “I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. My wrist is wrapped and my shoulder is in a sling. I have a few stitches in my head from it catching the corner of the bathroom cabinet, but … I’ll be fine. Do you need anything?”
Yes. I needed to see her. I needed to touch her. I needed the pain to subside.
“Lila …” I grunted a partial laugh. “I’m not going to let you do anything for me while you’re healing.”
“It’s not just for you.”
I touched Lila. Lila felt good. When Lila felt good. I felt good.
“Lights on. Daytime. Sofa instead of a bed. Maybe you read me a book. Or we work on a crossword together. Do you like crossword puzzles?”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“If it doesn’t rain Saturday, Graham’s planning on golfing with his dad since snow is predicted next week. Can you come to Denver?”
Another Saturday away from Evie and the kids. She wouldn’t like it. But she didn’t like me at the moment, and a few hours with Lila would change that. I’d be my old self again, even if it didn’t last.
“Maybe. I’ll call you.”
I sent off a message to Evie to let her know I was going to a meeting. She replied with a simple OK.
“Hey.” Adrianne caught sight of me the second I walked through the door. “You look unusually distraught.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t a usual day.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
I shook my head again. “The meeting will suffice.”
“Thanks again for helping me put together my new bed.”
I shouldn’t have helped her do that, but she asked me in front of three other people from the group. And she asked me after I’d already confessed to having no plans that night beyond playing with the kids. While I fumbled for excuses, she jumped to the assumption that the answer was yes and gave me an unwelcome hug. To make matters worse, her car had slashed tires that night, so I gave her a ride to her apartment, but not before calling the police to let them know they should patrol that area a little more.
After the meeting, I tried to be the first one out of the building, but Mark stopped me to chat. Adrianne exited without as much as a look or wave. I breathed a sigh of relief, very willing to chat with Mark at that point if it meant Adrianne would be gone by the time I walked out to my car.
Ten minutes later, I wormed my way out of the conversation and the building.
“Fuck,” I whispered to myself.
“Mark sure knows how to talk your ear off, huh?” Adrianne smirked, sitting on the hood of my car.
“He’s fine. If I were you, I’d hop off before I drive off.” I unlocked my door.
“I have a surprise for you.” Adrianne slid off the hood and crooked a finger at me.
I tried to hide my annoyance and pain, but I couldn’t. Not with her, not with my coworkers, not with my wife.
“Don’t look like such a grump. You’re going to thank me.” Adrianne unlocked her car and opened the back door. “Meet your new family member.” She pulled a puppy out of a crate and hugged it as it licked her face. “You’ve been incredibly kind and helpful to me when so many people see me like the plague. I know it’s just a dog, but I hope your wife and kids love her and that she’ll bring as much joy to all of you as what you’ve brought to me.”