Page 57 of Secret Marriage To My Bosshole

“You both should’ve been mad at her for playing you like that,” Cora says.

I nod. “I know, but we were stupid teenagers. Anyway, I was so scared of losing my best friend and the only family that cared about me that I sucked it up and apologized.”

Cora sighs and runs her hand through her hair. “I’m sorry that you always have to be the one to give in to him. My parents wouldn’t have turned you away even if you weren’t friends. They would’ve made sure that you always had a safe place to call home.”

“And I know that as an adult now, but back then, I didn’t. But… This is different than any other fight. I don’t know what my life will look like without him, Cora. He was there every time I took off in the middle of the night while my parents were cheating on each other. He always had my back when some kids at school tried to beat me up.”

“You’ve been through a lot together. He’s not the kind of man to turn his back on you now.”

“Jake has legitimate concerns about who I am as a person.”

Cora steps forward and reaches up to cup my face with her hands.

“If he has concerns, he hasn’t seen the man you are now,” she says reassuringly.

I turn my head to kiss her hand before pulling away. “I appreciate you saying that, but he’s not wrong. The first real relationship started with a drunken marriage. How the hell is that getting off on the right foot?”

Cora shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes. “If you can dismiss what’s between us down to just that, then maybe I should go stay with Sophie for a couple of days while you work through everything.”

I grab her hand and pull her back to me. “That was a criticism toward me, not you. If I’d done it right, I would’ve told you how I felt about you instead of picking a fight to see where the night went.”

“It worked out in the end, didn’t it?” Cora traces her finger along my collarbone before poking me in the chest. “Sure, it might have started off in an unconventional way, but… I think that’s how it was meant to be.”

“I’m going to screw this up. I’m too much like my father, and I’m going to screw it up.” I let out a nervous chuckle.

Cora shrugs one shoulder, forcing out a small smile. “We’re both going to screw this up. It’s unavoidable. It’s what we do after the screw-ups that will matter.”

“I wish that applied to your brother as well.” I tilt my head back again, blinking away the tears. “Cora, I’m sorry you’re in the middle of this.”

“I’m not,” she traces a finger along my jaw and down my neck, “Jake's going to forgive you, and everything will be fine.”

She pulls away abruptly, snatching ice from the freezer and wrapping it in a towel.

With deliberate care, she presses it against my throbbing cheek and jaw, the areas where Jake’s fist had landed.

“Does it hurt?” she asks.

“No,” I lie, the pain in my jaw eclipsed by the ache of losing my best friend.

Chapter nineteen

Cora

I check my phone for the millionth time in a week, hoping for a message from Jake.

Yet, once again, nothing is waiting for me.

I sigh, setting my phone face down on the desk and releasing my hair from its clip. A headache tightens its grip on my temples as I lower my head into my hands.

It’s been a whole week since Jake walked in on Griffin and me in the kitchen, and he still hasn’t said a word to either of us.

Griffin seems to withdraw further into himself with each passing day.

Tonight will be another night spent alone after work. Griffin will likely conjure up yet another excuse to work late just to avoid any discussion about what’s bothering him.

I lift my head as Kaleigh walks toward my desk with a slice of cake on a plate. I grin as she sets the plate on the corner of my desk and pulls out two forks.

“You look like you’re having a hell of a week, so I thought we could use this.” Kaleigh hands me a fork and drags over a chair from one of the other desks nearby.

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