“I thought we could let Ziggy play in the dog park a bit,” he says. “I’ll let Camila go home early and we could spend some time here.”
I look over at Camila, who is watching us from the car. I wonder how many times in the last year Graham has driven home early to make sure I was okay. I wonder how many times I’ve freaked out at the supermarket.
I wonder how many text messages I’ve imagined from Harry.
“Tess?” Graham furrows his brow. “What do you say?”
I run my hand over Ziggy’s head. “Yes. That sounds nice.”
Chapter 13
Graham and I end up having a great afternoon at the dog park.
He brought a rubber ball for Ziggy. The two of us take turns throwing it, and Ziggy brings it back for us. Although it’s hard not to notice that my dog is not a fan of Graham. No matter which one of us throws the ball, he always brings it back to me.
“He doesn’t like men,” Graham explains.
I laugh. “Really? Why not?”
“Well,” he says thoughtfully, “I think he wants to be the only man in your life. I can’t blame him.”
Ziggy trots back to me with the now sopping wet ball. I toss it underhanded across the enclosed area. “Tell me something interesting about yourself,” I say to Graham.
“Hmm. Let’s see.” He taps his chin, and I’m pleased he has to think about it. Maybe this isn’t something I ask him every single day. “I’m ambidextrous. Is that interesting?”
“A little. What else?”
“Um… I can do a superb French accent.”
I raise my eyebrows at him. “Really?”
“Oui, mademoiselle. This iz the true.”
I allow myself to laugh at Graham’s truly terrible French accent. “Do you speak French?”
“No. Just English. I’m not cultured.”
“Me too. Just English.”
“I know.”
My smile slips. “Oh. Yeah, I guess you know most things about me.” Ziggy runs up to me and deposits the moist ball in my hand. I give it to Graham so he can have a turn throwing it. My fingers briefly brush against his, and I can’t tell if he notices. “What was our wedding like?”
His blue eyes grow distant. “It was nice. Not too big. We did it in a church, and your dad gave you away. Lucy was your maid of honor. The guests got a choice of lobster or steak at the reception.”
“Did we write our own vows or something cheesy like that?”
“No.” He laughs. He has a nice laugh that makes little lines crinkle around his eyes. I can see why I might have fallen in love with this man. “You were emphatic about that. No writing our own vows, no reading of poetry, nothing cheesy like that.”
“Did anybody object during the ceremony?”
He snorts. “You mean like Harry?”
I flinch. “Sorry. I just…”
He pushes his glasses at the bridge of his nose. “It’s okay, Tess. I get it. The last thing you remember is being engaged to Harry Finch. But you need to know… He wasn’t good to you. You had a good reason for breaking up with him.”
So I ended it. I’m the one who broke up with Harry. I want to ask Graham what happened, but it’s too weird. He’s my husband—we’ve been married for four whole years. I can’t ask him about my ex-boyfriend.
Even though I can’t stop thinking about him.
Ziggy returns the ball to me again, panting excitedly. I nearly throw it, but instead, I hold it out to Graham to take from me. He reaches for it, and once again, his fingers brush against mine. This time he definitely notices. His eyes lock with mine for a moment, then he looks away.
“Graham?” I say.
“Yes?”
“Do we ever have sex?”
He coughs into his hand. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that. But I’m curious. We’ve been living like this for a year. I wake up most mornings not even knowing who he is, thinking I’m engaged to another man. It’s hard to imagine we’re making passionate love every night.
“Tess.” His cheeks turn pink. It’s very cute. “That’s… a complicated question.”
“I kind of think it’s a yes/no question.”
Graham tugs on his tie, loosening it a few notches. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I would never ask that of you.”
“But do we? I mean, sometimes?”
“Sometimes,” he says quietly. “On your better days. When you remember me.”