Checking the time, I decided to call Evelyn, hoping she’d be at her shop and able to talk without the ankle biters disrupting her. Don’t get me wrong; I loved those kids. Their biggest flaw? They weren’t mine. One day soon, I’d make her pay for that—most likely naked and tied to my bed.
“No time for you,” she answered.
I’d make her pay for that too. I’d make it my life’s purpose to assure I was the only person she had time for in her life.
“You failed to mention Katie’s good news. And you’re welcome, by the way. I’m sure you’ll adore your new little niece or nephew.”
“What do you need? I’m running late because Mrs. Humphrey shit all over the carpet. I need to get a shower while Anya’s asleep and get Franz picked up from school.”
I could hear her turn on her shower.
“Mrs. Humphrey?” I laughed, making my way to my office door and locking it. I wasn’t to be disturbed when the door was shut, but occasionally an intern with mush for brains would sneak past my secretary.
“Our dog.” Her voice muffled.
I sensed she had me on speakerphone, just as I sensed she was undressing. Taking a seat on my sofa, I unfastened my pants and scooted back, already stone hard from just the sound of her voice. Catching her getting ready to take a shower may have been the highlight of my whole damn week.
“When did you get a dog?”
“Did you call about my dog?”
Imagining Evelyn naked made it difficult (hard) to remember my reason for calling. “Did you confront Ronin about the photos?”
“Yes.” Her voice muffled more.
“And?”
“He helped her put something together. She kind of manipulated him, and he felt like he had no choice.”
“Sounds like a lame excuse. Are you comfortable with the ease at which your husband can be manipulated by another woman?”
“I don’t know, Graham. Should Ronin be comfortable with the ease at which you manipulate me?”
Really, the shower and imagining her naked in real time was just a bonus. Evelyn admitting that I had a certain amount of control over her could have gotten me off all on its own merit.
“Friends don’t manipulate. They … encourage and plead their case. Maybe on occasion there’s a little begging involved. Call it influence. It’s a much better word than manipulate. Believe me, you manipulate or have more influence over me than any woman has ever had over a man.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true.”
“Okay. Great! Then I need you to come train Mrs. Humphrey. Let Lila go back to the job she loves. And stop saying and doing inappropriate things around me. Do I have that sort of influence over you, Graham?”
It took me a few seconds—a few strokes—to answer because I liked Evelyn and her signature benevolent smile. Everyone adored the nerdy soap lady. But I loved the bold and lively side to Evelyn. A lightweight with a real punch.
“Anything for you—”
“That’s the crap I’m talking about.” The water stopped. Which meant … naked Evelyn drying her wet, naked body. “I don’t want you to do anything for me.”
Women … really … why did I like them so damn much? As a whole, they were a gigantic thorn in my cock. “I meant … anything for Mrs. Humphrey. Does she like bones or tennis balls?”
“I have to get dressed. I’m going to be late.”
I reached for a wad of tissues on the table because confirmation of her nakedness took me straight to the finish line.
“Graham? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah …” I panted.
“Why are you out of breath?”
“Treadmill.”
“I’m driving to Denver to visit Lila tomorrow. She’d better be the happiest wife in the world.” Evelyn ended the call.
I chuckled, wiping off my dick and hands before tucking everything back into my pants. I had a meeting on sexual harassment in an hour—funny timing. “Good talk, Evelyn,” I said to the air.
To my surprise, my wife greeted me in a long-sleeved dress that hugged what few curves remained on her underweight body, a wig that looked one hundred percent believable, and makeup covering all residual bruises on her face. The cast and sling were unfortunate, but perfection at that point felt unachievable. After all, she wasn’t Evelyn.
“You said to meet you out front.” Lila glared up from the ottoman where she used her good hand to put on her high heels, but she struggled to keep her dress from catching her other foot.
I sauntered toward her, kneeling at her feet. “I saw someone today,” I said in my most somber tone as I slid her shoes onto her feet, feathering my fingers along her calves as I gave her my most sincere expression of regret.
She stiffened under my touch, and her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t like what has happened between us.” I dropped my chin to my chest, closed my eyes, and slowly shook my head. “I need to fix us. I hate what’s happened. You deserve better. And I know I can’t erase the past, but I can make sure we don’t repeat it. So I’m going to do the work to be a better husband and get help. I just …” I sighed, glancing up at her. “I just need you to give me a chance to be a better husband. I miss spending time with friends and traveling together. I don’t know how things got so out of control, how I let this job consume me … change me. But it stops now.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You can’t make things right. It’s too late.”
“No!” I grabbed her arms then immediately loosened my grip. “It’s not too late. You have to let me prove it to you. I’ll do anything … anything.”
“Tell Evelyn what you did to me.”
Fuck …
“Baby … if I tell her, she’ll never forgive me. So even if I fix us, there will always be a wedge between the four of us. Is that what you want? A strained relationship between your husband and your best friend?”
I wiped her tears as soon as they broke free.
“You ruined us,” she whispered.
“No, baby … we’re stronger than that. You are stronger than that. If I keep getting help, if … if I let you go back to your old job, we can fix this. I believe it with my whole heart. Just give me time. If I don’t change, you can pack your bags and leave. But you have to promise to not tell anyone. I want us back. Not rumors and scandal. Not broken friendships. We can have everything again if you just trust me.”
“You lost my trust.”
“I’ll earn it back.” My urge to force an answer warred with my need to channel my anger. “Baby steps. Let’s start with dinner. Okay?” I stood and held out my hand.
Lila stared at it, void of any sort of emotion. She needed to happy that shit up before visiting with Evelyn.
“Evelyn and Ronin got a dog. Did you know that?”
Her brows lifted a fraction, not quite hitting the happy mark, but curiosity opened the door to the possibility of a real smile. Baby steps.
She rested her good hand in mine, and I helped her to her feet. Lifting her hand to my mouth, I gave it a soft kiss. “I love you. And I’m going to make you love me again too.”