Page 31 of Croc Food

“Nope. I quit. Sick of that place. It’s not for me.”

“You quit? What happened?” I asked. “I thought you’d just gotten that big promotion you’ve been working toward.”

He shrugged.

“That’s not the kind of man I want to be anymore. I should have realized that a long time ago. Before I fucked up the most important thing in my life.”

I squeezed his hand, and for the first time in a few weeks I knew we were going to make it through this.

“Did you really mean what you said? When you were defending me?”

“Of course I did! You’re the most important person in the world to me. I’m really sorry I made you think otherwise. I really fucked up by talking about you like that. I love everything about you and I was an idiot to ever say what I did. If the price of climbing the corporate ladder is being boring as hell and having to pretend like my wife is my servant, I don’t want it.”

CHAPTER 15

Bitsy

“Ibelieve you,” I said once we were home, and for the first time this week we were alone. “Let’s put it behind us, Chad.”

“The old Chad was a spineless idiot,” he said fiercely. “I’d rather lick toilets for a living than go back to being that guy again.”

“Aw, I kind of liked that guy. Don’t give up everything about being him.”

“Well, maybe not everything. But definitely the parts about being a coward and not appreciating my wife.”

His fingers tightened over mine, like he was afraid I was going to pull my hand away.

“I was so afraid you were going to choose Zach and when I saw you made him a lunch, it confirmed all my worst fears.”

“I charged him $200 for that,” I laughed. “I figure if there’s such a thriving market for corporate packed lunches, I might as well get in on it.”

“Have I ever told you that you’re incredibly clever?” he marveled. “Much better at business than I am. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s in the past. We don’t need to talk about it again. Let’s move on. In all ways.”

I touched his forearm, the first time I’d touched him in weeks, and he jerked up to attention.

Chad stared, his chest heaving up and down with emotion. “Do you really mean that?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling at him. “I do. Let’s see what you can come up with.”

There was a short pause while I saw his eyes welling with tears, and my husband cleared his throat several times, wiping his hands up and down on his golf pants.

“I’m a zombie,” Chad said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m a zombie and I want to eat your brains.”

I grinned and picked up the hem of my skirt. “Oh my god, no! I’m just a simple villager out here picking mushrooms. Tra-la-la-la, how could anything horrible happen on such a beautiful day?”

Chad put his arms out in front of him like a zombie.

“Brainsssssss,” he intoned.

I bent like I was picking mushrooms, pretending like I didn’t see him coming.

“Tra-la-la, I don’t even need my panties mushroom picking. They are getting in my way.”

I reached to the waistband and wriggled my thong down my thighs and let it fall on the ground as my husband grunted yearningly.

“I just feel so fresh and free this way.”