Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
I know she won’t sell me out, but she does make a big dramatic roll of her eyes about the fry I stuffed in her mouth. She pulls it out with a choke. “Really, Nat? You know I’m trying to cut back on carbs, and what do you do? Force feed me. I mean, come on.”
She takes a big bite of the French fry, and Olivia jumps in. “Right, if you’re going to stuff your mouth, you should stuff it with c-o-c-k.”
She spells it out, but she does it loudly, and the people at the tables around are looking our way. I can feel my face heat, and I shush my friends. “Guys, seriously, can we please have a meeting that is not going to be the talk of the town by morning? From now on, we have to meet somewhere private.”
Abby laughs too and looks around the table. “Okay, okay, let’s talk about the book. What did you guys think?”
Jilly scrunches her nose up. “Too much sex.”
Olivia looks offended and sputters, “Not enough sex.”
Abby shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. I thought that part of it was fine, but I just don’t think there was any connection at all. I mean, I have trouble believing they’re in love. I just wasn’t buying it.”
Olivia and Jilly nod their heads in agreement, and before I know it, I have three pairs of eyes on me. Olivia is the first to ask me, “What about you, Nat? What’d you think?”
Abby is next, and she narrows her eyes at me. “You didn’t read it, did you?”
I suck in a breath and nod my head. “I read it.”
Jilly is looking at me with pity, and she opens her mouth. I know she’s about to save me. She’ll do something to take the attention off me because that’s the kind of friend she is, but before she gets the words out, I say it. I say what I’ve been thinking since I first sat down. Hell, what I’ve been thinking about nonstop. “I asked Beau for a divorce.”
Jilly reaches for me, covering my hand with hers, and both Olivia and Abby gasp. They knew that my marriage wasn’t the best, but I’m not sure they knew it was this bad.
And just like that, all talk of the book is over. Abby leans in. “What happened, Nat? I don’t understand.”
I roll my eyes. “Come on, you guys noticed. You had to. I mean, have you ever seen us at a fundraiser, dinner, heck at a store together? You never saw him at my gym… We have completely separate lives, and I guess I’m over it.”
Abby slams her hand on the table. Of all of us, Abby is the quiet one, and she always remains calm, so when she makes a loud noise, we all take notice. “It’s his loss, Nat. You’re amazing, and if he doesn’t see that, then it’s his problem.”
Olivia is nodding her head and joins in. “Yes, exactly. You deserve to be happy, and I’ll be honest, Nat, you don’t seem happy and haven’t for some time.”
I’m nodding along because what she’s saying is the truth. I haven’t been happy for a while. Not really.
I look at Jilly. Of all my friends, she’s heard it all, and she knows all my insecurities. I smile nervously at her. “What about you? You got anything to say?”
A cheer breaks out across the bar followed by a round of laughter, but my three friends keep their eyes glued on me. I grip my hands together, waiting for Jilly to respond.
She’s hesitant. “You know that no matter what I’m on your side, Natalie. There’s no doubt about that.”
She stops speaking, but it’s obvious she has something else she wants to say.
“But…” I prompt.
She shakes her head. “No, there are no buts. I stand behind you on whatever you want to do.”
I lean over the table. “But you think I’m doing the wrong thing?”
She scrunches her nose up and shakes her head. “I didn’t say that.”
The silence between us is palpable as we stare at each other. Olivia and Abby are turning their heads, looking between the two of us, but they both remain silent. I lean toward her. “You’re not saying a lot.”
She blows out a breath and tilts her head to the side. “Do you love him?”
“Jilly, what kind of question—”
She interrupts me by holding her hand up in front of my face. “Stop. Answer me, do you love him?”
I glare at her. “You know I do.”
She nods, uncrosses her legs, and scoots to the end of her stool. “Okay, so you love him. Why do you want a divorce?”
I huff out a breath. She knows the answer to this, but I repeat my reasoning to her. “You know why. We have separate lives, and he likes it that way. He’s emotionally cut off, the only time he touches me—hell, acts as if we’re even married—is when we’re home behind closed doors.”