Page 36 of Marrying Off My Husband

My cheeks burned at the statement, and I stared down at the white linen tablecloth as my fingers pressed into it, trying to ground myself after receiving the unexpected compliment.

“Thanks,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper before I forced strength into it. “I still feel bad, though, I…I’m going to eat up your evenings for what could be a few months and…I mean, you could be out with friends or…a…guy.”

For some reason, saying boyfriend to her seemed awkward. Why did I feel oddly jealous if she was out with another man? I was married to a woman who openly wanted to date, and I’d encouraged it, yet with Eve, the idea of her sharing a chocolate fondue with someone else made me frown.

My gaze snapped to hers as a giggle bubbled from her. “Oh, no, that’s not going to happen.”

My brow furrowed as I tried to understand why? She seemed perfectly pleasant, a great conversationalist, pretty, intelligent.

“Louise must not have told you, I’m not very lucky in love. And I’m not very outgoing either.” She blushed. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m kind of awkward myself. So don’t worry, you’ll only be interrupting an evening spent binge watching a few shows.”

I hadn’t noticed her awkwardness at all. She seemed…great. Her statement, though, made me feel somewhat better. I tried to tell myself it was because I wasn’t stopping her from living her life, but a part of me wondered if it was really because she wasn’t going to live life with anyone else. I dispelled the thought almost immediately, moving on with my plan.

“Well…if you’re sure you’re okay with it, then, it sounds like we have a plan.”

She smiled and nodded, finally eating that piece of cake that must have been a soggy mess by now.

We finished off the dessert, then I paid the check, my palms turning sweaty as I shoved my card back into my wallet. I hated this part of the date. And Louise hadn’t given me a rule book for it. Was I supposed to just drive her straight home? Would I look like a predator if I asked her to walk on the beach?

Would she linger outside her door expecting me to kiss her, or would she knee me in the groin if I even tried?

As we rose, I swallowed, deciding a beach walk may be better for another date. I should probably pace myself. I wouldn’t want to expose her to all my awkwardness on the first time out.

Within minutes, we were back in my car with my knuckles white around the wheel as I drove her back, my stomach twisting in knots.

I walked her to her door, and she readied her keys. “Well, thank you so much for a lovely dinner. Uh, you can…text me about the next steps with Louise.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, nodding a little too fervently. “Yes, I will text you. We’ll talk about her date and our next one.”

“Okay, great,” she said with a smile and a nod as she shoved her key into her lock.

I wiped my sweaty palms against my pant legs, wondering if she’d invite me in.

“Thanks again. Have a good night.”

“You too.” I gave her an awkward wave as she stepped into her apartment and closed the door. Blowing out a relieved sigh, I turned back toward my car.

Eve had managed to make the last part not awkward at all, but she’d done that for the entire evening. As I climbed behind the wheel, I found myself smiling.

I hadn’t had a disastrous date for the first time in my life. I wanted to believe there was hope for me yet, though a nagging part of my mind hinted that it was only because this was all fake.

Apparently, I could only succeed at fake relationships. Would I ever survive a real one?

CHAPTER 10

LOUISE

Ishoved at the hands covering my eyes, a rush of memories from past playfulness surfacing momentarily. As I turned to face him, my heart swelled with joy. “Theo!”

He lifted his chin, a coy grin on his boyishly handsome features.

“Now, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the Hamptons?”

“I was…I figured I’d take a little drive up the coast to see you.” He stepped around me, settling onto the thick cushion next to me.

“You,” I said with a grin before I cupped his face in my hands and planted a kiss on those perfectly formed lips of his.

“Whoa,” he answered, his eyebrows shooting up as I pulled away.

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