Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“I don’t know. I’m still married to him and I sort of doubt he’s going to let me get an easy divorce.”
“Is that what you want? To divorce him?”
I give her a look. “What else would I want?”
She holds up her hands. “I’m just saying, maybe think about it. I mean, you seemed pretty…”
“Stressed? Terrified?”
“Happy, actually.” She laughs a little. “Seriously, not to be a dick or whatever—”
“Too late for that,” I mutter.
“But you haven’t exactly been a little ball of sunshine these past few years what with your dad out of work and your mom taking on constant double shifts.”
She’s right about that. My home life has been pretty miserable for a while now. Add Shane’s addiction issues into the equation and I’ve been barely holding on.
“But I have other problems with Adler. Like, for example, his lying.”
Roxie raises her drink. “Nothing’s perfect.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the guy’s wife.” I stop and glare at her. “Are you trying to convince me to give him another chance?”
“I’m trying to convince you to step back and think objectively about the situation, which I’ll admit isn’t really a reasonable thing to request, but still. I want what’s best for you—”
“You think Adler’s best?”
“—and I don’t know what that is yet,” she says quickly. “And I don’t think you do either.”
I groan, slumping back against the wall. “Why did this have to get so complicated?”
“Sweetie, it was already complicated as fuck. I mean, you were going to let him impregnate you.” She hesitates, frowning. “You didn’t, did you? Let him knock you up?”
“No,” I say quickly, but pause. “I mean, we had sex—”
“You did what?” She leaps to her feet. “You had sex? With Adler? For your first time and you didn’t immediately tell me?”
“Uh,” I say, not sure how to respond to that. “Well, I mean—”
“What was it like?” she presses. “What was he like? Gentle, rough? Does he bite? I bet he bites.”
“He spanks,” I say, turning red. “Which is like biting with your hand.”
“Oh my god.” She collapses back onto the couch. “He spanked you.”
“Can we focus here?”
“You lost your virginity to your hunky stalker husband, the man that saved your life.”
“He also nearly ended it! He was in the car that night!”
“So what?” She sighs, pretending to swoon. “I bet he’s gorgeous without his clothes. You already told me he’s huge.”
“Stop,” I say, getting annoyed. “For once, would you be normal?”
“All right, fine.” She sits up straight, deadpanning. “You want my real opinion? I think you should talk to him. Yes, he should’ve told you the truth about your relationship and about his involvement in your accident. He’s a real piece of shit for keeping that to himself. But I’ve also never seen you so happy before, and the guy clearly worships you even if he did it the creepiest way imaginable. He’s gorgeous, fucks like a stud, and wants to get you pregnant. Seems like a win to me. At least hear him out.”
I rub my face. Silence falls over the apartment. I can’t seem to keep my thoughts straight. Roxie’s messing me up with her cavalier attitude, but that’s just Rox—she can’t take anything too seriously, because the second she does that is the second she lets the world in through her walls. I’ve never met anyone with defenses like her before, and humor’s her main weapon.
But she has a point. Adler cares about me. I did like being his wife. And the sex was—
Well, the sex was fantastic. Way better than I ever imagined.
So why not hear him out?
That’s the question I ask myself all that night while lying on Roxie’s couch. I want to sleep, but it seems impossible as my brain works overtime, spinning like a windmill in a hurricane. Every time I come up with ten reasons why I should never, ever see Adler again, I realize there are ten more reasons why I should crawl back into his bed and beg him to let me stay his wife.
It’s maddening. The next morning, Roxie makes coffee and bagels, and we’re talking when there’s a knock at her door.
“Expecting someone?” she asks, eyebrows raised. She cinches her robe tighter, though I don’t know why she bothers. Roxie’s got a great body—there’s a reason she’s a popular waitress.
“No,” I say honestly. “I didn’t think anyone knew I was here, except for maybe Adler, since he stalks me apparently.”
Roxie heads to the door, peers through the hole, and stops. She looks pale as she turns back to look at me. “It’s for you,” she says.
“Who is it?” I ask, not sure what the hell is happening.
She only shakes her head and steps aside.
I walk to the door, feeling like I’m floating. The bolt slams open and the knob turns, and standing on the threshold is Dustin Guinan.