Milo cleared his throat, reminding Eliana of his presence. “Oh.” Eliana grimaced, “I meant that hypothetically.”
“Right,” Milo deadpanned, twisting his lips and moving on, as if having already accepted Clem’s illicit behavior as normal. “What I don’t understand about all this is whyJesseis going to all this trouble. He doesn’t seem that interested, and it’s always been clear that he idolized you. What’s his motivation? Does he have some unresolved trauma, too?”
“Nope,” Eliana stretched out the word, popping thep, then looked away. “He’s not clever enough to be malicious. I’ve come to the conclusion that I simply married a weak man who wasn’t strong enough to walk away from another woman when presented with an opportunity.”
Clem barked a laugh, drawing two sets of eyes her way. “I’m so sorry. Truly. I don’t think it’s funny. It’s just—she is driven by attention and money, and he is driven by lust.” She clucked her tongue. “How basic.”
“Well, I guess the positive side of things is that stereotypicalbehavior is pretty predictable,” Eliana noted, meeting Milo’s eyes. She waved her hands over the stacks of texts. “Will this help your case any?”
He frowned, then shook his head, “Unfortunately not. I need video proof . . . pictures, maybe.”
Eliana’s lips pursed to the side, she’d thought that would be the case. She picked her stack up and flipped to the back, where the most recent texts were listed. “Well then,” she said, “I suppose it’s time we gave them a new opportunity.”
17
THE FAVOR
Jesse
It was driving him mad, watching Milo and Eliana grow closer, day by day, right before his very eyes. And yet, anytime he tried to voice his concerns, it quickly devolved into a battle about trust and respect.
It was like Eliana was purposefully refusing to acknowledge his concerns. She would deflect, redirect, or distract. In many of their arguments, when she began speaking slowly and purposefully, he’d get the distinct impression that she was trying to make a point that he was missing entirely. But by the time he caught on to the fact that her words seemed to convey deeper meaning, she’d be moving on with an eye roll—telling him there was nothing to worry about. An obvious lie, meant to placate and brush him aside. It was infuriating. It wassuspicious. What could she be hiding?
The first time Jesse had caught her smiling at a text, he’d waited for her to fall asleep before getting up in the night to check her phone, feeling like a paranoid teenager. But thetexts she exchanged with Milo were innocent, all about work plans and clients. The line she must’ve been smiling at was simply a compliment on the notes she’d taken that day.
It was such a simple thing for her to have looked so damn happy. For such a basic compliment? Was that really all it took? Jesse racked his brain, trying to remember the last time he’d gotten a smile like that. He’d complimented her just the other morning, telling her that she looked hot when she’d stepped out of the shower. All he’d gotten for his efforts was an eye roll as she stalked into the closet and snapped the door shut.
Jesse didn’t know what to do. He knew Eliana was mad about his response to her new job, but every time he brought up Milo—she treated it like his concerns were just another excuse to prevent her from working.
She didn’t understand. She didn’t realize how often men thought about sex, how instinctual it was. And from that very first encounter at the festival, he’d been alarmed by the ease that existed between her and Milo, the familiarity in Milo’s words. He would have been a fool not to be.
He’d noticed their inside jokes and easy laughter when Milo would drop her off after work. He’d noticed her excitement in the morning, and the soft smiles that warmed her expression when Milo would knock on the door. But more than anything else, Jesse noticed the look in Milo’s eyes. He recognized it. For it was the same look he would find reflected in his own gaze if he were to check a mirror in Eliana’s presence. Desire.Interest.
Jesse just wanted things to return to the way they were. He hated the distance that had grown between them. Hated how long it had been since they’d slept together. He was lonely. He missed his wife. The guilt over what he’d done with Bea was eating him alive, and he craved the connectionthat he shared with Eliana.Neededit like his next breath. He was done with Bea. Eliana was everything to him, and he was dedicated to repairing the rift between them.
But even though he’d apologized for snapping at her after the festival, Eliana continued to treat him as nothing more than a roommate—his words holding no weight in her decisions. He was almost certain that she was having an affair. If not already, then soon. And now she wanted to go away, for the entire weekend, as if Jesse couldn’t see the trip for what it truly was—what Milo undoubtedly wanted it to be. Scenes of cozy dinners, sipping wine, petals on the bed, they rose swiftly to his mind’s eye, making his stomach turn.
It was a trip she’d sprung on him only two days ago, when he’d asked if she wanted to go on a date that Saturday—which had then prompted a fresh fight, all on its own.
“I didn’t think I had to schedule with you. I knew you’d be home. You never give me a heads up,”she’d said.
But he didn’t have to warn her.Hewas the main breadwinner. His job’s demands would always take priority over weekend plans. He could never say those things, however, because pointing out the importance of his job had never worked out in his favor in previous arguments.
“I don’t understand why I can’t come,” Jesse grunted instead, idly scratching his elbow and watching Eliana as she darted around the room, packing her suitcase.
“It’s not some big conference with things for you to do,” Eliana answered, as unbothered as if she were telling him the weekend’s weather forecast. “It’s a client workshop specifically for Milo’s business. And he only chose this weekend in the first place to work around my schedule. Making sure it was a weekend you would be available to watch the girls.”
“I could just bring the girls, and we could all share ahotel room.” The thought planted itself as he said it, quickly growing roots. He could take the girls out during the day while Eliana was busy for some daddy-daughter time. Abby and Zoey made everything fun, and it had been far too long since he’d shared an entire day with them—and just them. He missed it. And then he’d be right there when the sun set, to interrupt any potentialfunnybusiness from occurring. Maybe he could even use the opportunity to repair some of the damage that lingered between them.
But then, Eliana turned, her hands on her hips. “Why would you do that? I’ve never gone with you on a work trip.”
“That’s different.”
“It’s not different in the least. It’s just not fun being the parent stuck at home. Welcome to my life.”
Jesse’s jaw dropped, offended at the accusation that he was trying to get out of spending time with his two favorite people on the planet. “It’s not about me watching the girls!”
“Well, if it’s not about you staying here, then it’s about me going.” Eliana’s hands were animated as she spoke, her glare fierce. “So it’s just the fact that you don’t trust me? Why would you not? Have I ever done anything untrustworthy?”
