by Laura Lee
“Care to explain what that means?” Devyn asks.
Shit, I didn’t realize she was reading over my shoulder.
I groan. “You don’t want to know.”
She chuckles. “You’re probably right.”
I type one last message to Brody.
Me: Okay, well, just so you know. Me—and my tits—appreciate you.
Brody: Likewise, princess.
I set my phone aside and Devyn pulls me into a side hug. “We’ll get through this, Rainey. I’m here with you every step of the way.”
I lean my head on her shoulder. “I love you, Devyn.”
“I love you too, babe.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
RAINEY
I knew it was only a matter of time before Adam reached out to me. I’m actually surprised it took him this long. I never skip work unless I’m actually ill, but I made the exception today. My head finally stopped hurting but my heart definitely needs at least a day to recover before I have to go back to the hospital and pretend like nothing’s wrong. Adam knows I should be on shift now—I’m guessing he just figured out that I called in.
Adam: Where are you? It’s not what it looks like. I need to explain.
Ha! Says every cheater on the planet. I think about ignoring him entirely but decide against it almost immediately. He deserves to have a piece of my mind after what he did.
Me: Really? Then why did it take you almost 24 hours before reaching out to me?
My phone rings immediately but I send his call to voicemail.
Adam: Baby, please answer the phone.
Me: DON’T ‘baby’ me. I’m not ready to hear your voice right now. If you have something to say to me, say it here.
I can practically see his eyebrows cinching together in frustration.
Adam: I love you. Please let me explain. We can make this work.
Is he serious right now?
Me: You’re MARRIED. And your WIFE IS PREGNANT! What more is there to say?
There is knocking at my door. Damn it, the last thing I need right now is a visitor.
Adam: There’s A LOT more. Answer the door.
Are you fucking kidding me? I launch myself off the couch and make my way to the front door. I don’t need to check the peephole, but I do anyway. Sure enough, Adam is standing in the hallway of my building. I’d hate to say it, but the fact that his nose is bandaged and he’s sporting a black eye gives me a small measure of satisfaction.
My head falls to the door. “I don’t want to see you right now, Adam.”
He jiggles the doorknob. “Rainey, I’m trying to respect your space, but I will use my keys if I have to. You need to hear what I have to say.”
My chest physically aches when I hear his voice. “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
“Rainey...I didn’t want to bring this up, but I haven’t pressed charges against that asshole friend of yours who hit me. I have plenty of witnesses to prove that his attack was unprovoked.”
Unprovoked, my ass! I know he’ll make good on his implied threat, so I try taking as much control as possible over this situation. I take a deep breath and crack the door open.
“He was defending my honor, Adam.”
“He could’ve defended your honor without slamming his fist into my face. Look...I’ll drop it entirely if you just hear me out.”
I roll my eyes. “Like your word means shit.”
“Just hear what I have to say, then you can make a decision. Please.”
I hold my hand out, palm up. “I want my keys back before you can come in.”
Adam frowns. “Rainey, don’t be ridiculous.”
“Adam, don’t be an asshole,” I snap. “Oh, wait, it’s too late for that!”
He sighs before digging in his pocket to retrieve his keys. I watch as he removes two from the ring. Before dropping them in my hand he says, “You promise to listen to me if I give these to you?”
“You have five minutes.”
He places the keys in my hand. I yank my arm back when he tries wrapping his hand around mine and then I fling the door open.
“Can we sit?” Adam closes the door behind him and gestures to the couch.
I cross my arms over my chest. “No. Say what you need to say and leave.”
I jump back when he reaches for me. “Baby, don’t be like this.”
Okay, that deserves a massive glare, so I give him one. “I already told you not to call me that. And you sure as hell better not touch me. The clock’s ticking. You’d better start talking. And don’t even think about lying to me again!”
“Rainey, I love you, not her. I knew marrying Norah was a mistake right away, but I was stupid and didn’t get a prenup. I just need time to figure out how to divorce her without losing half of everything.”
I laugh mockingly. “And how long ago, exactly, did you make this ‘mistake’? She said you were celebrating your anniversary. Which one, Adam?”
He sighs. “Our third.”
“Three years,” I repeat, surprisingly calm. “Just so I’m clear, that means you married her a few months after we started dating?”
“Yes.” He hangs his head.
I quickly replay the early days of our relationship in my head. I think I may actually vomit when I piece together when he would’ve had time to get married.
“Your week-long retreat in the Bahamas,” I say. “It wasn’t really for work, was it?”
Adam puts his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “No. We had a destination wedding.”
“How fucking nice for you,” I scoff.
“Rainey, please you have to believe me. I don’t want to be with her. I want to be with you!”
I’m quickly losing my composure. “Adam, you’ve been with another woman throughout our entire relationship! You married her while we were together! If you really wanted to be with me, it would’ve never gone that far. You would’ve broken up with her when we first started dating! Better yet, before you asked me out!”
“It’s not that easy,” he argues. “She was pregnant when I married her. It’s the only reason I married her.”
“You have even more kids that I don’t know about?” I shriek.
“We have a two-year-old daughter,” he confesses. “And another on the way.”
“Yeah, I got that much.” My fists are clenched so tightly my nails are about to break through my skin. “I don’t even feel like I know you! Was any part of our relationship real?”
“Every part of our relationship was real!” he insists.
“Adam, you’ve made me a fucking mistress!” I scream. “Every part of our relationship was a lie!” He tries grabbing my hands, but I push him off. “Does she know about me? Does your wife know you’ve been cheating on her with me for the past three years? How the fuck did you explain last night to her?”
“Does that even matter?” he asks. “This isn’t about her, Rainey. This is about us.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was literally steam coming out of my ears right now. I count to ten in my head before I ask the one thing that’s been nagging me the most. “How did you pull it off? There are traces of me all over your house, for God’s sake! How did you explain every night that we’ve spent together?”
His silence gives me the opportunity to puzzle it out on my own. He could easily explain a night away here and there, considering the hours he keeps at the hospital. But the apartment? I don’t understand. Unless... “That’s your fuck pad, isn’t it? It’s not your real house?”
“It is my condo, Rainey. It’s been mine for over ten years.”
“But not your primary residence,” I infer. “It’s your bachelor pad, right? You have another place where you live with your wife and child?”
Adam actually has the nerve to look contrite. “Yes. We have a house just outside the city.”
I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience as I digest everything he’s said. I’m almost positive he’s being tru
thful, considering it’s all been incriminating. I suppose he figured being honest was the only hope he had of continuing our farce of a relationship. In fact, I’d bet money on it. I close my eyes, steeling my nerves for what comes next.
“What were you hoping would happen from here, Adam?” My voice is barely above a whisper. It’s taking every ounce of strength that I have not to cry right now. He’s already taken so much from me. I refuse to give him my tears, too.
“Baby, this doesn’t have to be the end. I love you, and I know you love me. I’ll figure out a way to end things with Norah. I swear, my attorneys are trying to find a loophole so I can divorce her as soon as humanly possible.”
If it’s possible to physically feel your heart breaking, I’m pretty sure that’s what’s causing this pain in my chest. “And until then?”
His smile couldn’t be any wider, already giving me my answer. “Until then...we keep going as is. If you want, you can move your things into my apartment. It’s right next to the hospital and we could be together more often. We can get married as soon as my divorce is finalized.”
“And how long will that take? A few months? A few years?”
“I don’t know. My attorneys said it won’t be easy, so it may take a while.”
“And in the interim—for however long that may be—you would continue being her husband in every way? And I would continue being your mistress?”
Adam frowns. “Mistress is such an ugly word. Why do we have to give it a title?”
“What about the first part of my question, Adam?” I press. “You’d continue being her husband in all the ways that matter? While you and I are still together?”
The sad part is that he seems genuinely perplexed as to why I would have a problem with this. Why I wouldn’t be okay with being the other woman while his wife gets to make a home with him. Have his children. Make love to him.
“Baby, I’d have to keep up pretenses,” he says. “I can’t do anything to make her suspect I’m leaving her until my attorneys have everything together. But that part’s only temporary. You’re the one I want to be with. So much so, that I’d be willing to have another kid. With you.”
“Oh, how considerate of you,” I scoff.
“I’m being serious, Rainey. I know how badly you want children. I’m telling you that I’m okay with that now.”
I roll my eyes. “Adam, we’ve been talking about children for years. Every single time we’ve had the conversation, you were adamantly opposed to it. Little did I know that was because you already committed to giving them to another woman.”
“I never wanted children after Parker.” He shakes his head. “I love my daughter, and I’ll love the new one, too, but they weren’t planned. Norah trapped me by purposely getting pregnant.”
I laugh, probably a little too manically. “Here’s an idea, Adam: Don’t have sex with her! That’s a damn effective method of birth control.”
He looks truly confused. “She’s my wife. I can’t not have sex with her.”
Wow...just wow.
“Let me ask you this: If your daughter was older—if she was Parker’s age—would you be okay with her being in a situation like this?”
He grabs the back of his neck. “No. Of course not.”
“So, then how is it okay for me? For Norah?”
“Because I love you!” he insists. “Norah is a gold digger—always has been. I never loved her, and I never will.”
I open the front door. “Please leave now.”
“What? Baby, no.” His eyes narrow as he looks at my left hand. “Where’s your ring?”
“Somewhere on Vine Street.”
His eyes widen. “What?”
“I threw it away when I was walking home from Pistorio’s.”
“That ring cost me twenty-five thousand dollars!” he yells. “And you just threw it away on a sidewalk?!”
“Yep. It looks like you just put a roof over some lucky homeless person’s head.”
“I can’t believe y—”
I open the door further. “Your time’s up, Adam. I’m done listening to your bullshit. I’ve been listening to your bullshit for years! You’re clearly not getting it, and I’m done trying to make you see how fucked up this is.”
He stands to his full height. “I’m not leaving. We’re not done.”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Rainey, don’t be like this.”
“Fuck you, Adam!” I scream, unable to hold back my anger any longer. My neighbors are probably going to call the cops, but I couldn’t care less right now. “Get the hell out of my house and never contact me again! If you try going after Brody, I will make sure your wife knows every dirty detail of your affair so she can sue you for every penny you’re worth. If you see me at the hospital, you’d better turn the fuck around or I swear to God, I will cut your balls off and shove them down your throat!”
He blanches and steps over the threshold, but not quite enough for me to slam the door in his face. “Okay, I get it. You need time to cool down. Don’t worry about the ring—I’ll get you a new one. We can resume this conversation later.”
Does he honestly think I give a fuck about the ring?
“I meant what I said. You’re not the only one who knows how to use a scalpel. Try me, Adam. Just fucking try me.”
Adam instinctively takes a step back, enough for me to shut the door. I don’t bother waiting to see if he says anything else. I turn the deadbolt and head straight to bed. Hopefully when I wake up, I’ll forget the last three years of my life ever happened.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A Few Months Ago
BRODY
“Happy Birthday, dear Nathan. Happy Birthday to you.”
As our collective group finishes singing, little Nate attempts to blow out the candles on his cake. I make a mental note to refuse a piece when I see his spittle flying everywhere.
“Good job, sweetie!” Devyn praises.
You’re probably wondering how I got roped into attending a four-year-old’s birthday party. The answer to that is two-fold: one, Uncle Drew would kick my ass if I didn’t show. The second reason is standing right next to me, smelling like fucking peaches, which my dick really seems to like.
“Mommy, I did it! Im’a big boy!” Nathan says with a fist pump.
Okay, my presence may have a little to do with the fact that this kid is fucking adorable.
I lean into my neighbor’s ear so only she can hear me. “So, Rainey. Do you want to duck out of here and get naked?
She swats me away and whispers, “Shut up! Nobody is getting naked!”
“Tell me, how many times did you make yourself come last night while thinking about me?” I prod. “Feel free to give me the recap in explicit detail.”
Rainey digs her nails into my forearm and yanks me to the back of the small crowd. “First of all, you’re a pig. This is probably the least appropriate conversation to have at a toddler’s birthday party.”
I match her whisper when I ask, “And second of all?”
I don’t know why I always goad her. Other than the fact that angry Rainey is wicked hot, that is.
She rolls her eyes. “And second of all, what I do in the privacy of my bedroom is none of your business.”
“What about what happens between you and me in the bedroom?”
“Nothing will ever happen between you and me in the bedroom.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I counter. “You know chemistry has never been a problem for us and you’re bound to get sick of your battery-operated boyfriend one of these days. And when that happens, I’d be more than happy to take care of you.”
“You’re ridiculous,” she scoffs. “For your information, it keeps me plenty satisfied.”
I smirk. “So, you admit that no one is warming your bed these days?”
“I’m not admitting anything,” she says, a little defensively.
“Besides the fact that you want me, you
mean?”
“I do not want you, Brody. The sooner you get that through your thick skull, the better.”
I waggle my eyebrows. “You know what else is thick?”
She shoots me a side glare. “I’m done with this conversation.”
“You keep telling yourself that, honey.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
RAINEY
Ugh, this man is infuriating. I swear he’s made it his life’s mission to piss me off on the regular. I’m used to the fact that he can somehow make every word in the English language sound dirty. I can even excuse the fact that he will not stop coming on to me. It’s become our thing over the four years that I’ve known him—he makes a pass at me, I reject said pass. But at a child’s birthday party? Come on, now.
“Hey, Rainey, you want some?” Drew interrupts my internal rant as he holds a plate of cake in front of my face.
Before I can answer, Brody speaks up. “No, man, Rainey here is watching her figure. No cake for her.”
“Whatever, more for me,” Drew says and shrugs as he walks away.
“Why did you do that?” I smack his arm. “I’ve been dying for a piece since I picked it up from the bakery.”
“The kid spat all over it while he was blowing out the candles,” he answers. “I was saving you.”
“Oh, my God, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“It really was,” he argues. “Although, if you’re looking to consume some bodily fluids, I’d be happy to share some of mine.”
“You’re an idiot,” I mutter as I push him aside.
I make my way across the room to my favorite little boy in the whole world. When Nathan sees me, his big brown eyes light up.
“Aunt Wainey! It’s my birfday!”
I scoop him into a big hug. “It sure is, little man. How old are you now?”
After a bit of a struggle, he proudly holds up four fingers. “I’m f-wo!”
“Four?” I repeat. “Oh, my goodness. Before you know it, you’ll be going off to college.”
He has no idea what that means but he giggles anyway, showcasing his dimples.
“Did you bring me a pwesent?”