We’re almost one month down anyway.
Only five more to go, and then I can move on with my life.
I lift my chin, placing a smile on my lips. “I have been working a lot, but my boss promised that if I keep working hard, I’ll be made a partner soon. So the end is in sight.”
“That’s so great!” Carly’s smile is genuine. “Nobody deserves it more than you.”
“Once you make partner, we’ll have to have a big celebration party,” Emma says.
“Yes, just make sure you plan it when I’m in town,” Blair adds. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
“You guys are the best.”
I glance around the table at my friends, and for the first time since getting married five and a half years ago, I actually want to tell them about my marriage. But as soon as that thought enters my mind, I push it away.
When it comes to my marriage, it’s best if I leave my heart out of it.
Hess
It’s almost one-thirty in the morning, and Camila still isn’t home.
She’s never been this late before.
I tried calling and texting, but she isn’t answering.
I’m not worried.
Okay, maybe I’m a little worried.
I sit on the couch with Harvey, watching reruns ofThe Office, periodically looking over my shoulder out the front windows. I’ll give it thirty more minutes before I call the police and send a search party after her.
The protectiveness I feel for my wife is overwhelming, especially since we’ve barely spoken over the past three weeks, and when we do speak, it’s usually about logistics—who’s going to the grocery store, who’s making the marriage counseling appointment, who’s emptying the dishwasher.
I’d like to talk more than that, but Camila is a hard case to crack.
Lights beam through the window, and I clutch my chest, thankful she’s home safe. Strategically, I lie back into the couch so she doesn’t know how worried I was. I hear her keys and the twist of the lock. She steps inside and pauses when she sees me on the couch, watching TV.
“Oh, you’re still up.”
“Yeah.” I infuse as much casualness into my voice, but I don’t think it’s working. “You’re getting in late. Where have you been?”
That sounded way more accusatory than I wanted it to.
“I was out.”
And for the first time, it dawns on me that maybe Camila was on a date with another man. The jealousy that takes over my chest is paralyzing.
“Oh.” Despite myself, my shoulders fall.
A slow smile crawls onto her lips. “With mygirlfriends.”
Busted.
She knows I thought she was on a date.
And she knows I was jealous.
“That’s cool.” I stand, using the remote to turn off the TV. “I just wish I had known you were going to get in this late.”
