Page 192 of Unhinged

I roll my eyes and grab my purse from the front and impart, “You love it, and I love you. See you later.”

He sighs with another irresistible grin. “That’s why I married you. That and for your ass. Mm-hmm.”

Going to my car, I hear him get out of his truck. As I unlock the door, he surprises me at my car. Greg puts his hand on my stomach and dips to my mouth for a kiss, leaving me a little dazed as I look up at him. He whispers, “I love you too, baby. Later.”

He stands me upright, and I smile, watching him go back to his truck. I married my prince. I found my true love. He was my teammate on the field, and now he’s my husband in life. Maybe if we can live together, it’ll make it feel more real.

I’m grateful to arrive at work before Elijah. It’s been awkward around him since he refuses to talk to me. I go into Dr. Abramson’s office and sit at my tiny desk in the corner. It’s where I do my school assignments or anything she needs me to do. Though, I prefer the storage room.

“Good morning, Simone,” she greets as she walks into the room.

I smile. “Good morning.”

As she sets down her coffee, she says, “I didn’t think you’d be here so early. I told your husband it’s okay if you came in later.”

“I know. He told me. Thank you. I appreciate it, but I’m here.”

“Where did you two stay last night?”

“At a Hilton. It was really nice. It had a pool, and Greg watched me swim some laps, and then we went to bed. We had a king-size, so that was super fun.” She looks at me like I took off my sweater and shook my tits at her. “I mean, the night was fun. I mean, I swam. We slept. It wasn’t all that fun, really.”

She laughs, surprising me. “You’re so sweet. It’s okay for you to be happy and in love with my son. I like seeing him this way. You’re married. I expect you to have an intimate life with Greg, Simone. You don’t have to pretend you don’t.”

I nod with a laugh. “Right. It was awesome. It always feels good to be with him.” I cringe. “Not because we did anything.” I shake my head as Dr. Abramson bites her lip and watches me like I’m a bad car accident. I stand and nearly fall over. Straightening, I smooth my skirt and mutter, “I think I’ll work on the filing project now.”

Still smiling, Dr. Abramson says, “Okay. But first, I wanted to ask if you have any plans for Greg’s birthday next week?”

“Oh. Shoot. Not yet. Do you have any suggestions?”

“If you don’t mind, the three of us and maybe Amos could have dinner at the county club since I have a membership. Then maybe afterward, you can again get a hotel room. He’d like another night there, I’m sure.” She laughs, and I regret waking up this morning.

So that she stops talking about Greg and a hotel room, I blurt, “Dinner sounds great at the club.”

“Perfect. I’ll set it up.”

“It’d also be nice to celebrate his decision to go to law school.”

She grins. “I’m so proud of him. It’s always what he wanted to do.”

“I’m finding out things about him I didn’t know. He played baseball in high school?”

Dr. Abramson nods. “He was impressive. Greg’s fastballs were legendary. He also would throw the ball up in the air and catch it without looking before every first pitch of the inning he was on the mound. Oh, and when he was at bat, before stepping up to the plate, he’d twirl it in one hand. I can’t explain it, but he was remarkable to watch. He knew how to keep it entertaining.”

“I’ve not seen him twirl it, but I believe he’d do something like that. I’m proud of him too. I won’t let him veer off track again. He deserves happiness.”

“He already is happy, and it’s because of you.”

I smile. “He makes me happy too.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I imagine so.” Good Lord.

“Uh, yeah. So…” I rush out of her office and go to the storage room. That woman knows how to embarrass the fuck out of me. I’m usually the one who enjoys embarrassing others. Karma…

As I get to work, my phone dings. Picking it up, I see a notification to refill my birth control pills.

Pausing, my heart stops. Oh, my God. It’s Friday. My period should have been here by Tuesday, at the very least. Holy fuck, I was expecting it to come, and then I just…forgot.

No, no, no.