Page 4 of Secrets on Ice

She takes the window, and I take the aisle. A flight attendant comes around offering champagne before take-off. Cassidy and I look at each other, and for the first time all day, we smile. Keep them coming, lady, we’re going to need them. We each take a glass and clink them together. The absurdity of it hits us both at once. Cassidy starts laughing, and I join her. The laughter builds until we’re both losing our minds. Cassidy snorts, which makes me laugh even harder. We haven’t even had a sip yet. The flight attendant takes one look at us and returns with a second glass each without asking. God bless that woman. The champagne dulls the scene looping through my head.

“Champagne feels wrong,” Cassidy says, staring at her glass. “Like we’re celebrating something.”

“We are,” I tell her.

“What?”

“The worst day of our lives.”

“Facts.” She clinks her glass against mine again.

Somewhere over Pennsylvania, the buzz fades, and the quiet creeps back in. Cassidy leans against the window with her eyes closed, but she isn’t sleeping. Her jaw is still locked, and one hand is curled into a fist on the armrest.

Was our marriage real?

Ten years.

Was Kevin thinking about Trevor when he was in bed with me?

Did he ever love me?

Was I his beard?

“Stop thinking,” Cassidy says without opening her eyes.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I know, but I can hear the wheels turning in your head.”

She’s right. “What are we going to tell people?”

Her eyes open and she turns to look at me.

“The truth.”

“Cass …”

She shakes her head. “We have nothing to hide. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

She’s right. “Emmett is going to kill Kevin.”

“Sully is going to murder Trevor.” Cassidy finishes her champagne in one go. “They deserve whatever’s coming.”

I don’t argue.

JFK is chaos, but thankfully we only have hand luggage, so we move through quickly. Cassidy grabs a cab and gives the driver Emmett’s address. We ride in silence. This is about to become real the moment we tell our brothers. The city blurs past the window, too bright, too loud, and too normal for what today is. Hours ago, Cassidy and I were arguing about the gym. I was married, and I thought I knew exactly what my life looked like. Now I have no idea.

The cab pulls up outside my brother’s building. The doorman welcomes us and helps us with our gym bags. Cassidy and I are both on my brother’s approved visitor list, so we’re waved through without any questions. Thank goodness, I don’t think I could explain why two women have flown across the country carrying nothing but gym bags and trauma.

The elevator carries us up. When the doors open onto my brother’s floor, Cassidy and I step out together. Neither of us speaks as we walk toward his apartment. My heart pounds harder with every step.

The shock.

The anger.

The humiliation.

The second I tell Emmett, it becomes real. I knock, and Cassidy stands beside me, silent. I hope he’s home because otherwise this is going to be incredibly awkward. The door opens, and Emmett appears. His eyes widen as he looks between us, taking in the gym clothes and whatever expression is currently on my face.