Page 59 of Tempted By the Bosshole

My heart lurches as I leap to my feet. Isabella charges in bare-faced, dressed in leggings and a ponytail. She’s still wearing her mother’s pendant. Her ring finger is bare.

That observation guts me.

Her eyes meet mine. They’re red rimmed. I stop breathing. She looks as exhausted as I feel. But she’s more beautiful than ever, and I’m worried this is the last time I’ll ever be alone with her.

“Morning.” It’s not the wittiest greeting, but it’s neutral. I need to gage her mood before I say more.

Has she decided to divorce me?

“Morning.” She stops in the foyer, shuts the door behind her, and stands rooted, staring back.

Slowly, I approach her. I give her plenty of time to back away. I don’t want to spook her. “I’m glad to see you. Can we talk?”

Isabella hesitates, swallows, then nods. “That’s why I came.”

I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. If I didn’t already know the truth, that alone would tell me how critical my new wife has become to my heart and my happiness. But I’m painfully aware. All night, I thought of nothing but her, wondering miserably what I’d do if she couldn’t forgive me and walked out of my life for good.

“I was hoping you’d be here. I brought coffee and donuts,” I offer.

“I could use some caffeine. Jen doesn’t have any at her place, and I didn’t sleep.”

“I can tell.” I lead her to the kitchen and pour her a hot cup, trying to calm my shaking hand. “I didn’t, either.”

A soft smile lifts the corners of her lips I’m dying to kiss as she takes the cup. “I can tell.”

“Did you and Doug talk?”

She nods, then sips her java. “It was…eye-opening. He apologized, said all the things I’ve waited a decade to hear.” She shrugs. “We’ll see. One thing he told me? Julia finally decided she wanted kids, and now she can’t have them. Dad says she’s devastated. They both are.”

Once upon a time, I would have fist-bumped karma for repaying my ex-wife and my former friend with such a permanent kick in the teeth. Now I just feel sorry for them. “I figured she’d change her mind someday. She’s going to carry that regret forever. And I wish…”

“She’d realized it sooner?”

“That I could spare her the pain. I lived it for the last half of my thirties, the deep ache for a family of my own. I still have a shot. Maybe someday it will happen for me… But Julia?—”

“Will be having a hysterectomy in January.”

I don’t know why, but I hurt for my ex-wife. Hell, maybe my emotions are just raw after worrying all night. My anxiety is magnified by the fact I’m standing two feet from Isabella, but she’s keeping me at a metaphorical arm’s length, so I might as well be two oceans away. “I hate that for her.”

“You mean that.” My wife sounds surprised.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “Did Julia wrong me? She did. Do I want to see her—or your dad—pay any more for what they’ve done? I don’t give a shit about that now. I just want you.”

Isabella’s eyes well, and her jaw trembles. “Nathan…”

“Just listen. For two minutes. Please…”

She doesn’t answer for an interminable moment. Then she lets out a shuddering breath. I swear she’s going to refuse me, and my heart starts cracking apart and aching like a motherfucker.

“I had a whole speech prepared,” she chokes out.

“Of course you did. You’re smart, and you plan ahead. But I want to say a few things before you do anything final. Maybe what I tell you will impact how you feel.”

“There’s almost nothing you can say to change my mind, but I’ll hear you.”

With those words, the bottom falls out of my gut. Inside, I shake like a fucking leaf in a hurricane. Somehow, I hold myself together. “I’m sorry. If you don’t believe anything else I say, please know I truly mean that.”

“Duly noted.”

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