Page 101 of Fractured Frets

He believed in me. Supported me. Loved me.

Was I crazy for contemplating ending our marriage?

No. There were many pros and cons. We had a lot of shit to sort out.

Sutton was right about another thing. I had been looking for a reason to end this. I was afraid. But I didn’t want to exist without Slip.

I had to stop fighting him at every turn.

Hell...we’d already been married longer than a lot of people who got hitched in Vegas.

I hated what Noah had done to me. I’d been humiliated, hurt, and hauled through the press. My heart had been marred and mangled. But Slip had helped to put it slowly back together. I wanted us to work. I had to trust him. Whatever the universe threw at us, I was sure we’d survive. I had to believe that.

I glared at the sky and sneered. “You got something else you want to throw at us, bitch? Bring it.”

It was time to love Slip with everything I had.

Give him my all.

But then my cell phone rang. Mom lit the screen.

What the hell did she want?

Chapter 28

SLIP

I took a long drag on my joint, held my breath, then blew smoke into the night air. Perched on top of an old wine barrel outside one of the villa’s work sheds, I closed my eyes, rested my head back against the stone wall, and let the calmness consume me.

I’d walked through the vineyard for more than an hour and sat by the creek for another one before making my way back up to the villa. But I wasn’t ready to go to bed. I had to get my head and heart in check first. After an amazing day with Maddy, how could she have let Harper get to her? I never gave Harper the time of day. Each second Maddy was here, I wanted to be with her, my wife. Being away on the tour wasn’t an ideal way to start our marriage. But no matter what I’d said and done, she still doubted me, didn’t trust me, didn’t think we’d work thanks to our hectic schedules. My heart lurched, then sank into the dirt. I was on this ride alone. How long could I hold on until I had to pull the plug and get off this wreck of a roller coaster?

Should I just let her go?

Would that make her happy?

Fuck, I didn’t want to lose her.

“Slip?” Flint’s voice broke the silence, sailing through the air from somewhere down in the vineyard. “Slip? Where the fuck are you?”

I didn’t move or respond. I took another drag and savored the last few seconds of peace.

As I blew another puff of smoke into the air, Flint strode around the corner of the building, waving a flashlight right into my eyes.

I winced, blocking the beam with my hand.

“Here you are.” He ambled toward me. “What the fuck? Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?” I took another drag. The buzz of marijuana spun through my head and relaxed every muscle in my body.

“No. Why are you sitting in the dark?”

“Thinking.” I stared across the vineyard, focusing on nothing in particular. “What are you doing out wandering around?”

“Looking for you.” He switched off the small torch and stuffed it in the back pocket of his shorts. It wasn’t needed with the full moon. “After Sutton told me Maddy was upset, I thought I’d come find you. I’ve been looking for ages. I walked down to the road, along the creek track, and up through the vineyard. I was about to get security. Have you been here the whole time?”

“No. I was down at the creek. I’ve been here for about five minutes.”

He pointed toward my joint, then gave me a give-me-some flick of his fingers. I hesitated. Flint hadn’t touched any form of drug—not since Phil had died. I wished I could say the same thing. But I wasn’t one to judge. I handed it to him.

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