But after thinking about it all day, I don’t feel too bad about the whole thing. I had been upset that Seth didn’t like my idea, but it turns out, his rejecting the idea had nothing to do with whether he liked it or not. And now Natalie and I share a secret.
Maybe we can be friends after all. After all, there’s nothing that binds two people like a shared secret.
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
Chapter Nineteen
PRESENT DAY
NATALIE
The headlights appear in my front window. I glance outside just in time to see the silver Audi pulling up right behind my own car. I pull my compact out of my purse and do one last check. Not that it matters so much, but it’s almost an instinct at this point.
And then the doorbell rings.
I dash over to the door in my stocking feet. I don’t check the peephole or ask who it is. I know who it is. I open my lock and my deadbolt and throw open the door.
Seth Hoffman, my boss, is standing on my doorstep. His shirt is even more wrinkled than it was this morning, and he’s got a five o’clock shadow on his chin. He’s always clean-shaven in the morning, but he grows hair fast.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey,” I say.
Now that we have dispensed with the small talk, Seth steps forward and grabs me, smashing his lips against mine. He kicks the door closed behind him, and a second later, we’re ripping each other’s clothes off.
God, I really, really missed this. I’m wild about Caleb, but I don’t think anyone has ever driven me wild the way my married boss does. Even though I knew it was the dumbest thing I could do, I found myself falling for him hard. But I was the one who ended it, because I was pretty sure Melinda was going to slit my throat if it kept up, and also, I was becoming increasingly convinced he would never, ever leave her.
I was wrong about that one.
As Seth and I collapse together onto the sofa, his lips still on mine, I feel almost dizzy with excitement. This must be the way a drug addict feels when they get a snort of cocaine after being off of it for four long months.
Seth pulls his lips away for a moment. “So what happened to Caleb, huh?”
“Still in the picture.”
“Is he?”
“Yes. This is a one-off. Okay?”
He doesn’t even have to think about it. “Okay.”
Then he goes back to kissing me. I missed this so damn much.
Over an hour later, we’re both on the sofa together, our bodies still intertwined, naked and sweaty and happy. I really needed that. I didn’t even realize how much. It wasn’t cheating, exactly. Caleb and I haven’t even slept together yet. You can’t cheat on somebody if you’re not sleeping with them. And anyway, this was a one-off with an old flame. It doesn’t even count.
“Jesus,” Seth murmurs into my hair. “You’re unbelievable, Natalie.”
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
He laughs. “It’s you. You bring it out in me.”
“Sure I do.”
“It’s true.” He lifts his head to look at me. “That’s why Melinda and I split up, you know. Because of you.”
“You didn’t tell her that, did you?”
“No,” he says in a way that makes me not quite believe him.
I don’t like the idea of Melinda thinking it’s my fault her marriage fell apart. When she found out about me and Seth, she didn’t take it well that her husband was sleeping with his employee, who also happened to be fifteen years younger than she was. There were threatening calls and notes—the calls would rouse me from sleep at two in the morning, a female voice hissing in my ear that I was a “husband stealing whore.” Even when I blocked her number, she’d find a way to call. Once I saw her tan Lexus parked across the street from my house late in the evening, and I almost had a heart attack.
That’s when I got the can of mace and started keeping it in my purse at all times. I considered a restraining order, but it turned out that breaking up with Seth ended the harassment almost instantly.
“I love you, Nat.” He squeezes my body close to his as he says the words. “I don’t think I even realized how much until you broke it off.”
“Hmm. Your timing is kind of bad on that.”
“I know.” He sighs. “I screwed up. I wanted to do the right thing, but I didn’t know what the right thing was. I haven’t loved Melinda in years. Even before you came around, we were like two strangers living in the same house. Maybe it would have been different if we had kids, but she couldn’t and… I don’t know.”
Seth told me about Melinda’s heartbreaking infertility issues. And about how she never forgave him for refusing to adopt.
“Anyway,” he says. “By the end, I could barely stand being around her. And that wasn’t fair to either of us.”
I pull away from him and prop myself up on my elbow. “You know I’m dating someone else now.”
“I know.”
“And you’ve been separated from Melinda for…?”
“Two weeks.”
“Oh God,” I groan. “Seriously, Seth. I think it’s better if we stay friends.”
His eyes shoot down to my naked breasts and he wags his eyebrows. “Friends?”
“I told you, this was a one-off!”
He slides his hand down my thigh as he grins at me. “How about a two-off?”
I want to tell him no. I should definitely tell him no. I’ve got a boyfriend who I like a lot. And he is two weeks separated from his wife of twelve years. He is still married. There are so many reasons not to do this.
But then again, he’s already here. So why not?
Chapter Twenty
FOUR MONTHS EARLIER
To: Natalie Farrell
From: Kimberly Healey
Subject: DS
Do you think she’s a virgin?
To: Kimberly Healey
From: Natalie Farrell
Subject: Re: DS
Omg obviously! Can you imagine that woman ever having sex?
To: Natalie Farrell
From: Kimberly Healey
Subject: Re: DS
You never know…
To: Kimberly Healey
From: Natalie Farrell
Subject: Re: DS
Literally the only way Dawn has ever had sex is if she did it with a turtle.
To: Natalie Farrell
From: Kimberly Healey
Subject: Re: DS
Omg, you are HILARIOUS. Can you just imagine?????
To: Kimberly Healey
From: Natalie Farrell
Subject: Re: DS
Totally. Can’t you just picture her stroking that hard shell? Talking about how big and green it is, and how sexy the turtle is because it’s, like, a sea turtle instead of a land turtle.