Page 131 of Fractured Frets

“Wow. A break?” Dizziness swam through my head. “They’re so hot right now and so good together. I thought they’d keep riding the wave.” But I couldn’t argue. Time off was what Slip needed.

“Yeah.” Sutton’s volume nosedived. “But life changes.”

Don’t I know that one! I wriggled my toes in the water, not sure I wanted to hear the answer to my next question. “So what’s Slip going to do? Did he tell you?”

“Yes, he wanted to live on an island somewhere. Away from LA. Hopefully with you.”

“Fuck, Sutt.” Every part of me ached. “How can I be with him? After hurting each other so much.”

She rested her elbows on her legs and cradled her glass between her hands. “By forgiving each other. You love him. Can you honestly walk away from that? You’re in that I’ll-never-know-if-we-could’ve-been-happy zone. You bought the bottle and only had a sip. You split a bit here and there, and made a mess of each other, but now the rest is ready for the taking. You’ve gotta finish the bottle, Mads. You’ve gotta give your marriage a chance. Only then will you be able to say yes, we worked, or no, we didn’t.”

“But we didn’t.” Can I feel any crappier? Yep. “We went off the tracks from day one.”

“Maybe. But if you want it bad enough, you can fix it.” She clutched my hand and ran her thumb over my diamond ring. “This is a symbol of your love and commitment to each other. Don’t let that go. Not yet. Be crazy and daring like you were in Vegas and have faith. Faith that he loves you and would do anything for you. Trust him. Trust yourself. Find a way to be together that will give you what you both want and need. Make it happen.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “I don’t know how to do that.”

“You’ll figure it out. Trust me.” She hooked her arm around me again and gave me a hug. “I love you. It’s time to listen to your heart, not your head.”

“That’s what got me into this mess.”

“Yes, but now you’re where you wanted to be six months ago. You have the chance to finally live together. Work things out. Make decisions about your future. If the two of you can’t agree on anything, sign the annulment like you originally intended to do and move on.” She straightened her shoulders and rubbed my arm. “But don’t you want to see if this was meant to be? It’s not going to be easy going forward. Whatever you decide to do, just make sure it’s a decision you won’t regret.”

“Are you trying to make this more difficult?”

“No. I just want you to be happy.”

“I’d like that too.”

“Good. You’ve got this.” She rested the side of her head against mine.

“Yeah. Maybe.” I stared into my glass. The sauvignon blanc caught the light, like embers flickering with their last glow...but they weren’t dead yet. Shit!

Was Sutton right?

Could Slip and I work things out?

Did I want to even try?

“Sutt?” Flint called from the grill. “Can you come here for a sec? Do you want all this meat cooked or not?”

“Coming, hun.” She jumped to her feet and dashed over to him on wet tiptoes.

I loved seeing them happy.

But as the others arrived, and we had dinner, I struggled to join in the laughter and jokes. Cole kept whispering in Ava’s ear, making her blush. Tia and Lewis constantly injected dirty banter into every conversation. Flint and Sutton kissed and hugged and helped each other host our impromptu gathering in perfect sync. I loved my friends, but being around them didn’t feel the same without Slip.

I wasn’t the same either.

I missed him . . . and I didn’t want to.

Since I had a busy day tomorrow, taking Mom to appointments, I headed home just after ten.

I walked into my living room, tossed my keys in the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter, and found Mom asleep on her recliner in front of the blaring TV.

I ambled over to the coffee table and grabbed the remote to switch it off. But as I pointed the controller toward the television, orcas swimming off the Canadian coastline filled the screen. The whales played in the dark waters as they made their way up the channel. Sprawling forests covered the islands in the background. Mountains and blue skies stretched all around them.

My chest ached. Slip had always said he wanted to buy a house off the coast so we could get away from the craze we faced most days. So we could have somewhere to escape the paparazzi, the fans, and the demands of work. A little haven away from the city lights, traffic, and the hospitals—just for the two of us.

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