Brooklyn jabs her thumb toward the front door. “I’m, uh… Guess it’s a good time for me to take my break, huh?”
I fish my wallet out of my bag and grab some cash. “Here. We’ve been busting to try the new coffee shop on the corner of Cain and Pawn. Why don’t you grab us something?” As much as I hate to ask, I turn to Lisa. “Want something?”
She’s pregnant, and I’m not rude.
Taken aback, she shakes her head. “No, thank you, though.”
“Whatever.” Then to Brooklyn, “Only for us, then. Surprise me.”
Brooklyn takes the cash. “You got it, babe.” She eyeballs Lisa again before saying to me, “I’m a phone call away if you need me.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”
As she walks out, I glance at Lisa and shrug before slapping my hands against my thighs. “Okay, so, what? What do you want to talk about? Something specific or, like, a general conversation? Because I can play nice and do either.”
With a sigh, Lisa places her white designer purse on the counter. When she tightens her ponytail, I cringe in sympathy at the headache it must cause. I remember the days when I was with Jason, and the pressure to be perfect was slowly killing me. Immaculate appearance, irreproachable behavior. Never a hair out of place. Never raise my voice. Fake every orgasm lest I bruise my husband’s fragile ego.
No wonder I built an antihero.
I craved excitement. The thrill of being with someone who would breathe life back into me after a decade of trying—and failing—to live as a fucking Stepford Wife.
“Something specific.” Lisa smooths her hands down her dress, and I realize she has a baby bump. Her flared dresses hide it, but itisthere, and instead of resentment, I’m happy for her. Better her than me tied to that asshole for the rest of her life. “I told you I owe you an apology. I wanted to wait a bit until things…settled…before coming to see you. Now that they have, I need you to know that I’m truly sorry for the hurt I caused you. I accept your hatred and understand if you can never forgive me.”
I should hate her. She and I weren’t exactly friends, but we knew each other. Knew each other well enough that Girl Code applied. I would have never slept with her husband if the situation had been reversed. But I’m also the sort of woman who would never be a man’s mistress. I could never stab a fellow woman in the back. Women aren’t my enemies or my competition. And honestly, my marriage might as well have been a million years ago. I don’t love Jason, and after Rhys, I wonder if I ever did. I’m holding on to anger for the sake of being angry. For the sake of having a bruised ego, not because I actively give a shit.
And that’s why I mean it when I say, “I don’t hate you.”
Lisa is visibly relieved. Her entire body relaxes as she exhales a slow sigh. “Thank you.”
I snort out a laugh. “Don’t thank me. Jason’s your problem now. You get to deal with his bullshit until death do you part. Good fucking luck.”
Lisa chews her bottom lip a moment before confessing, “I thought that man was going to kill Jason.”
That man.
Rhys.
“Truth?”
She nods. “Truth.”
“For a minute there, I did as well.” I lift a single brow, mimicking Rhys perfectly. “Between us girls, I wonder how sad you’d be if he had.”
“Charly!” Lisa gasps, but her frown magically turns upside down. In fact, her blue eyes come alive with mischief. This is the most animated I’ve seen her since… Well, before she hooked up with my ex-husband. He changed her. “That’s awful.”
“Awful that I said it, or awful that, for a second, you hoped he’d have done it.”
She’s silent for too long. Long enough for me to think she won’t answer. But then she whispers, “Both.”
“Glad to see Jason hasn’t sucked all the life out of you. Yet. Don’t let him.” I tap my temple. “Don’t let the Wembleys mess with your mind. Twisting you into knots. Just… Those people are goddamn vultures, every one of them. First, they’ll kill your spirit, then they’ll peck at what’s left of you. Be careful, that’s all I’m saying.”
She’s already nodding. “I will.”
“Good.” And I hope she will, for no other reason than to protect that baby from that awful family. “It must have been difficult to come here. I’m glad you did.”
Again, she fidgets with her ponytail. “You’re very intimidating,” she admits.
“Me?” I exclaim.
