My friends waited. I choked on the words.
“And what?” asked Megan.
“And...well...I cheated on Bradley,” I burst out.
“Oh. No. Honey,” Ashley waved her finger at me, “when your husband of eight years tells you he’s not in love with out anymore because he wants to boink Nikki in human resources or wherever she works, and he asks you for a divorce, it is not cheating if you have a late night rendezvous with a sexy stranger.”
“I know that. I mean, I know that- but what if we had a chance? What if I flew back home tonight and he came and picked me up and asked for another chance, and wanted to try counseling? I couldn’t go back to him knowing that I cheated on him.”
“Well, even if that did happen you wouldn’t have to tell him,” Megan pointed out. “What happens in Paris stays in Paris.”
“But I would know,” I said. “I wouldn’t be able to get past it, I don’t think. I couldn’t do it. I mean, I was with another man! I promised to love my husband and be faithful to him, and I’m not ready to just give it up. I want to fight for my marriage. I’m not going to throw fourteen years away because I had a moment of weakness.”
“Maybe you’re not ready to do that,” said Becca, “but it takes two people to make a marriage, doesn’t it? It’s no use if you’re the only one fighting for it. You’re fighting for nothing if he’s not there fighting with you. Well, not fighting with you, but alongside you. If he’s given up and doesn’t want the marriage anymore, what are you even fighting for? You know what I mean?”
I was quiet for a moment and thought about what Becca was saying. It hurt to admit, but she was right in a way. There had to be two people in a marriage. And Bradley had told me right to my face that he didn’t want to stay married to me anymore. That he was in love with Nikki from work. He’d sworn that it hadn’t gotten physical, but I wasn’t sure if I believed him or not, and even if it hadn’t the fact just made me feel even worse. Then I would be the only one who had gone back on my marriage vows to stay faithful. I buried my face in my hands.
“Oh, honey.” Megan reached over and gave me a hug. “Don’t beat yourself up. You didn’t do anything wrong. Your husband told you he wanted a divorce. I know how seriously you take your wedding vows, and you didn’t break them- he did. He did it when he asked for a divorce, when he said he’d met someone else. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I looked up and saw Becca and Ashley nodding in agreement. “Screw Bradley,” said Ashley. “Look, let’s just all get dressed, and we’ll go out and have a great day of sightseeing like we planned yesterday. Forget about the guy last night. Well, don’t forget, wink wink, but you know what I mean. Don’t think about it right now. Becca, pull out your guidebook and figure out what museums or whatever you want to go to.”
I let my friends’ chatter wash over me as Becca pulled out her guidebook and started talking about some museum she wanted to visit. I tried to follow Ashley’s advice and just get dressed and go out and have a good time, but it was always in the back of my mind. Paris was supposed to be the city of dreams for me, but right now I felt like I was caught in the middle of a nightmare.
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Authors Other Books
Please visit http://goo.gl/WV0j7g to discover other books by Leslie Cooper.
Readers who do not live in the United States please visit: http://hyperurl.co/th58iv
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Love Far Away (A Spicy Contemporary Romance) Page 9