“They should.Meek ones who never question anything his wife says.”
“And is always available to service her.”
“Of course,” Ashlyn said, chuckling.“Thanks for making me laugh.I’m going to miss you when you go back to MacKellar Cove.”
She threw her arms around my neck, and I shut my mouth.I would tell her some other time.When she wasn’t crying and upset about Rob and I had a plan for what I was going to do besides sit on her couch all the time and spend money on cheese.
“Ooh, I bought cheese.Do you want to try it?”I said, pulling back from her to reach for my bag.
“I don’t know.I probably should go back to work.”
“You have to eat something.Unless you got a sandwich.”
She shook her head.“I saw them and left.”Her lip wobbled.
“Try some cheese.I found some great options.”
“Did you get anything besides cheese?”Her eyes went wide when I picked up my bag.
“I did actually.I bought a board, some meats and crackers.And olives.”
Ashlyn groaned.“Gimme!”
I laughed and handed over the jar.I carried the rest of my purchases to the kitchen.I washed the board quickly, then dried it and set it on the island.I unpacked the cheeses and set them on the board, not bothering to make it pretty as we ate and arranged cheese and meat and crackers and laughed.
I hated seeing my bestie upset.And I hated even more knowing I couldn’t do anything to help her.Heartbreak took time, and eventually, she would heal, but until then, I was going to be there for her.
Thirteen
Josh
I walkedoff the ferry whistling, happier than I’d been in too damn long.And it was all because of Reegan.Meeting her, being with her, reminded me that I enjoyed being in a relationship.Not for the sake of a relationship, but because I liked having someone I could talk to.Someone I could laugh with.
Hannah was that person when we met, but it didn’t last once she moved to Amethyst Bay.At first, I thought it was because everything was new for her, and she was lonely.She wanted to spend all her time with me instead of meeting friends and having her own life.Christy tried to get to know Hannah, but Hannah always resisted getting close to Christy.
Once we were married, it was even worse, and after Evie was born, nothing I did was right.Hannah made me doubt everything about myself every step of the way, right down to who I was.My job wasn’t good enough, our sex life wasn’t good enough, my parenting wasn’t good enough.The common denominator was me.
Since our divorce, she kept her thumb on me, reminding me whenever I started to think I could try again with someone new that I still wasn’t good enough.That I failed Hannah, and I would fail anyone else.
The women always listened to Hannah and chose to invest their time with someone other than me.
The first time it happened, I tried to convince the woman Hannah was jealous, but once Hannah got married, that reasoning didn’t hold up.She had someone else, someone who made her happy.I didn’t.
Again with the common denominator.
Things with Reegan weren’t going to last forever, but being with her gave me a tiny bit of hope.Maybe there was someone out there who wouldn’t be scared off by my ex-wife.
Reegan’s car was in Ashlyn’s driveway when I parked in mine.I debated going over there and kissing her, but I didn’t want to push my way between Reegan and Ashlyn.She promised to tell her friend, and I would respect that.Even if it meant waiting until the next morning to get my lips on hers.
I let myself in and went straight to the shower to wash off the grease and dirt from my day.Everything went wrong that could, but even that didn’t kill my good mood.Sex had a positive effect on me.
My phone buzzed on the counter while I was in the shower, but I ignored it.When it buzzed again, sounding like a phone call instead of a text, I was worried.I hurried through the rest of my shower and grabbed my phone before I grabbed a towel.
I missed a text from Christy asking if I was home, then a phone call with no message.I called her back as I ran my towel over my body.
“Are you home?”she asked, a worried tone in her voice.
“I am.Why?What’s wrong?”
