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Lover 51
I lean into the side of the dresser and wait for her to say something. She needs to get the words out. Keeping them locked in, replaying everything she saw, isn’t going to make her feel any better.“How about a bath?” I ask her. “I’ll make the water really hot and—”“I’m good just like this.”But she isn’t good. She’s far from it.I move over to the bed and sit next to her, rubbing her arm through the comforter. “Tell me what to do.”She slips the bottle under the blanket, and it looks like she’s guzzling some of the wine down. “Nothing. Just go. I’ll be fine.”“I can’t leave you like this, Piper.”“Yes, you can,” she mumbles from behind the blanket. “I need some time to think, and I can’t do that when you’re here.”Thinking won’t make her feel any better. Nothing will. Not after seeing her husband getting it up the ass, especially not after he told her that it wasn’t his first time and that he had been doing it behind her back.It’s one thing to be unfaithful. She has done the same t
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“You don’t know what happens at their house, what conversations they’ve had. Maybe she’s a judgmental bitch who can’t handle the truth, and he didn’t want to listen to her degrade him.”She doesn’t know Piper at all.She works with fucking kids who are autistic. She’s a healer, a nurturer. And, when she found out who I was, she didn’t even confront me about it. She doesn’t have a judgmental bone in her body.“You know what shocks me?” she continues, not giving me a chance to respond. “That not once did you ask me if I was all right. Not once did you look back on the beach and ask me if I was okay with you taking her home. You still haven’t asked how I’m doing. From the second you got here, it’s been all about her.”That’s the reason for the anger in her eyes. It has nothing to do with what happened tonight. It has everything to do with the way I handled it.“It has been all about her,” I agree. “You’re right.” I push the chair back and get up from the table. “But there’s no reason to
Lover 53
“At least you could have admitted it,” I tell him.“I’m not denying who I am. Not anymore. But I don’t want to talk about this over the phone. I need to be with you, and you’ll see the truth, Piper. You’ll feel it.”“I feel my heart breaking. And I see you for the liar you are. What else is there?”It’s not a question I want an answer to, so I disconnect the call and end up in the kitchen where I throw my phone on the counter. After I grab a chair from the table, I slide it over and stand on it, so I can reach the top of the liquor cabinet. I usually don’t venture past wine, but tonight, I need something stronger. Something that will knock the pain from my heart and keep my mind from replaying what I saw over and over.Cannon tries to call back one more time, and then he walks away from the house without another word. I don’t know when I’ll see him again or if he’ll be back sooner rather than later. For all I know, I’ve driven him to the one place I don’t want him to go—another guy’s
Lover 54
“We can’t swing anymore,” he says. “Tonight changed everything. You know that, right?”Looking away from him, I let the truth absorb into the few brain cells that aren’t sloshed. I knew we couldn’t keep the same arrangement. That, once I saw Tilly fucking my husband like that, it was over. I just didn’t want to accept that I’d never get to spend another night alone with West. Because, if I’m being honest, that hurts more than the thought of never sleeping with my own husband again.“Hey,” he says as he sits down next to me. “That doesn’t mean we’re done. I can’t quit you, Piper. I’m not ready.”“But you will. Someday.” And that day will hurt. It’ll destroy me. “I need another drink.”He takes the vodka bottle away from me and shakes his head. “You’ve had enough. And you’re not hearing me. Or maybe I’m not being clear.”“Then, tell me again,” I whisper. “Make me understand, West.”West strips out of his clothes and climbs under the covers with me. And then he pulls me against his chest
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It’s there now. A mask of anger. Thinned out lips, crossed arms over her chest, eyelids narrowed as she glares at me.There are times I just want to unwrap those arms and shake her, beg her to show me who she really is, what she’s feeling underneath it all. Maybe my honesty will make her do that.At this point, it’s all I have left.“I didn’t fuck her,” I say. “But I have in the past, times when we weren’t swinging.”“I know.”I shake my head. “How?”“You don’t chase me like you used to, so I know someone else has been getting your attention. Then, I smelled her on your face when you came home from your morning run. I didn’t know it was her. I just assumed.” She isn’t even yelling, but her voice is sharp.“Why didn’t you say anything?”She breaks our eye contact and looks out the kitchen window.I already know the answer to my question. Shit between us just works. It’s easier to stay together than to separate. It isn’t like she isn’t getting laid. She pretty much does what she wants w
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PiperMy head’s throbbing, and my mouth’s so dry. I feel like I ate a bag of flour and washed it down with sawdust.“I’m never drinking again,” I grumble as I step out of the shower and pad across the tiles to the bedroom.Cannon’s sitting on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. He looks like he hasn’t slept at all. For some reason, that makes me happy. I’d have been pissed if he had come in here with his perfectly styled hair and ironed suit like nothing had happened last night.Everything happened.Our entire world changed.Because of him. And because I care so much about West.“How long have you been here?” I ask. When I got in the shower, the house was quiet. “And how did you get inside?”“I got the spare from my parents’ house,” he says. “Don’t worry, they didn’t ask any questions.”“Are you staying?” I ask him as I adjust my towel. I’m too naked to be having this conversation.“I called off work.”“Why? Won’t you miss seeing your boyfriend?”I’m halfway to the closet w
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My husband’s standing in the same room with the two people who mean the most to him, and I’m running out of air to breathe.I feel it.I notice.They have something. Something more than just sex.And that breaks every remaining piece of my heart.“Get the fuck out of this house,” I tell him. And then I turn to Cannon. “Why did you bring him here?”“He’s a lawyer, Piper.”“So what? So are you.”The man on the couch hands me an envelope. I stare at it for a minute before I take it from his hand. “What’s this?”“Divorce papers,” he says. “And, if you ever try to keep Cannon out of this house again, I’ll have more papers for you.”Tears well in my eyes until I can barely see the outline of Cannon. Here I was, thanking my lucky stars he was being civil and I was holding it together, and then he goes and does this. I should have known he didn’t show up to just keep the peace. He finally has freedom, and no more secrets.Cannon’s ready to live his truth for the first time in his life.I tuck
Lover 58
I laugh. “It’s been a nice vacation, but it might be time for me to go home.”I’m surprised by how much I tell Eddy during our phone calls since I’m not normally one to open up. But what we’ve established over the phone is an understanding of each other’s lives, a friendship where nothing is off-limits. There is no judgment. Just someone to listen, to help me work things out when my thoughts are too clouded. Of course, I usually do most of the talking, but Eddy knows I’ll listen whenever he needs it.“Really?” he says. “I thought it would have taken a little longer for the city to start calling you back.”“I miss it, man. Not just the ice. I mean, all of it.”“Have you watched a game yet?”The guys are scheduled to play Tampa in a few weeks, and I’m planning on going to the game. Eddy knows that. He also knows I’ve started watching the highlights on ESPN, just enough that I can hear the standings and injury reports and see highlights of each game.“Not a full one. I’m getting there.”
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