Page 4 of My Wife

Damn it.

I shift on my heel, tilting my head back so that I can meet Tommy’s gaze. It’s guarded, and I know how much it cost him to admit that—in his way—he still cares enough about me to make that offer.

Just like Clay thought he might.

“Clay always said…” Another lump lodges in my throat. It’s so hard to get the words out. “He said…” I shudder a breath out through my nose, struggling to hold onto the last shred of composure I have. Every time I think I’m all cried out, the tears sting my eyes once more and I’m proven wrong again and a-fucking-gain.

Tommy takes my hand, squeezing it. “I know, Cyn.”

I told him that night I called Tommy and told him Clay was missing. When the panic gave way to icy numbness if only for a few moments, I managed to utter the words in a flat voice.If anything ever happened to him, get Tommy. Call Tommy. Go to Tommy. He’ll be there for you.Clay told me that, and I told Tommy, and when he swore he’d be on the next flight out to Newark, I hung up the phone after I refused his offer.

But he didn’t listen, did he? Oh, he gave me my space this last month, but now he’s here… and Clay told me to turn to Tommy if I needed help.

He’snothere, but if there’s one thing I’ve always done, it’s listen to what Clay told me to do.

Gullhaven.

Can I really return to Gullhaven?

And, if I do, will the rumors that chased me out of the small coastal town all those years ago be there to welcome me home?

There’s only one way to find out—and I don’t think I can do it… until Tommy moves to stand next to me, our shoulders touching, and I experience the first sense of peace since the cops knocked on my door.

For the first time since Clay left me, I’m not alone.

TWO

GOOD NEWS

FIVE YEARS LATER

“Cyn? You home?”

Home. It’s so hard to believe it, even after more than a year of us living together, that this is my home—and I share it with a man who looks for me every time he walks through our front door.

“I’m in the kitchen,” I call out.

Seconds later, there he is. His curls as wild and attractive to me now as they were more than a decade ago, his handsome face thinned out a little from his boyish looks, and his toned body undeniably belonging to a man. His sculpted arms play peekaboo with me beneath the uniform polo shirt he wears down to the office every day. It’s good publicity for him, too. When you go to your physical therapist, you want him to look like he takes care of himself.

And, at twenty-seven, Tommy takes excellent care of his body. Trust me. As his partner for the last two years, I know every inch of him intimately.

I turn the knob on the old gas range down so that the pasta doesn’t boil over, then turn to meet him in the middle of the kitchen.

Tommy palms my ass as I go up on my tiptoes to kiss him in greeting.

“Have a good day?” I ask, bracing his chest with my hand.

“Always do when I know I’m coming back to you,” he says, deep blue eyes twinkling as he runs his hand down the curve of my ass cheek. “Something smells delicious.”

“Garlic bread,” I tell him. “It’s in the oven. Once the spaghetti is done, I’m going to toss it in sauce and melt some mozzarella over it.” A comfort dish from my childhood and, considering the date creeping closer and closer, I needed some comfort tonight. “It’s almost done, but you’re early. I wasn’t expecting you for another half an hour.”

“Got some good news and wanted to come right home to tell you.”

Oh? My stomach twists a little even as I pull a smile on my face. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with how secretive you’ve been lately?”

Tommy waggles his eyebrows. “Maybe.” He laughs a little. “Damn. I thought I was being sneaky. You noticed that?”

I shrug. “You’ve been on the phone a lot. Coming home later than your usual time instead of earlier. If I didn’t know better, I’d wonder if you were cheating on me.”

---