揑抣l be back by six.?
She spins, paying attention to me for the first time since we arrived. 揥here are you going??
A question I didn抰 ask her once in the past four days, most of which I spent in a hotel room in Paris, working remotely so as not to interrupt her business. 揙ut.?
揑 came all this way and now you抮e just leaving??
揝ound familiar??
Her eyes flash and her mouth drops. I walk out before she responds. A low blow. An admittance梩hat her absence and detachment the past few days bothered me. Annoyance梑ecause I want to spend time with her, and rather than man up and admit that to her, I lied. And now I抦 having to act like it wasn抰 one.
I instruct the driver to leave me at a tiny caf?in town. Happy chatter fills the street in a smorgasbord of languages. I order a cappuccino from the waitress and take a seat at one of the tiny tables桬urope is the opposite of Texas, it seems梐nd look out at the stucco buildings and the expensive cars and the ocean sparkling in the sunshine.
My phone starts to ring. I debate answering, but it抯 Asher. I haven抰 talked to him since I left for Paris.
揌ey.?
揥hy aren抰 you answering my texts??
揥hy are you acting like a clingy ex??
He chuckles. 揊uck, dude. I miss you. You coming over tonight??
I blink, then realize. I was supposed to be back in New York hours ago. 揘o. I抦 at the villa.?
揟he villa? Does your dad know??
Most of the time, I like the fact that my best friend抯 office is right down the hall from mine. This is not one of those times. 揌e抯 not my warden. If I want to go to Italy, I抣l fucking go to Italy.?
揑 was just asking, man. He was pissed you left for Paris without warning, and the Lancaster acquisition is supposed to close Friday. We抮e supposed to run through the final reports tomorrow. The whole team.?
揑抣l review the reports and send my feedback.?
There抯 a beat of silence. 揑t was that bad, huh??
揥hat??
揟raveling with Scarlett. I knew it would be a disaster. You couldn抰 even come back together.?
The insinuation chafes. For who knows what reason, I feel the need to defend her. 揑t wasn抰 a disaster. She抯 here with me.?
揝he is??Asher sounds shocked.
揥e never went on a honeymoon. It抯 just for a couple more days.?
揝o you抮e finally getting some? Must be good if you抮e risking Arthur抯 wrath.?
My molars grind. I抦 not sure when, but my marriage to Scarlett became something I don抰 want to discuss with anyone. More than just her, I抦 protective of us. I抳e avoided committed relationships like the plague. Even if I抎 developed feelings for Hannah Garner or any of the other women I抳e been with, I still would have married Scarlett. At the time, I couldn抰 envision putting someone else through watching me marry someone else. Now, I can抰 picture putting Scarlett through seeing a woman leave my bedroom. Cheating, because that抯 what it would feel like.
The moments between us that felt like they mattered have been fleeting. The kiss before our wedding. Carrying her upstairs when I found her on the couch. Dancing at the Rutherford gala. The Fourth of July. Climbing the Eiffel Tower and exploring Versailles.
They抮e like us. Messy and scorching and confusing and thrilling and consuming.
We抳e only been married for a little over a month. And yet, I can抰 imagine my life without her in it. It would be like living with bad vision for years, getting glasses, and then losing them for good. Living with sharp clarity and then returning to dull blurs, knowing what you were missing out on. Scarlett makes me see things differently. Clearly. I can抰 explain it to anyone, and I don抰 want to. I抦 different around her, and I抎 like to think she抯 different around me too.
Asher clearly doesn抰 know what to make of my elongated silence. I抦 not the passive aggressive type. I say what I mean. I told him my marriage to Scarlett wouldn抰 change a thing, and I believed it. He believed it.
I was wrong.
揇id you call to discuss anything besides my sex life??I ask.
揑 heard you punched Camden Crane on the Fourth. Sebastian showed up at the office this week. Feel like discussing that??
揘o.?
Asher sighs. 揧ou went to the Hamptons, man.?
揟hey抮e my in-laws. It would have been rude to skip it.?
揝he抯 not worth it, Crew.?
I clench my cup.
揑 know you抮e a decent guy, and so does she. She抯 using it. Playing you. Everyone says she抯 an ice queen. Even if the sex is good, cut your losses. Just棓
揝top. Talking.?
揅rew厰
揝he抯 not an ice queen. You should trust me on that, not the guys bitter she never gave them the time of day.?
揑f you say so.?Asher抯 voice is skeptical.