Page 92 of The Guy Who Became My Grumpy Boss

I swallowed and took a breath. “Looking back, he never asked me to do any of this, but I did it anyway. I made myself small so he could seem tall. I put myself in a pretty box so he would feel like he was contributing and doing the majority of the work in our relationship.”

Memories threatened to swallow me, and I took a second to breathe.

“When did you finally divorce?” Ashley gently asked.

I stuttered as I inhaled. “All three of my friends had had babies by then, and I finally asked Peter if he was ready to try. We’d been married almost five years, and that’s how long we’d agreed to wait.” Tears formed in my eyes. “That’s when he told me that one of my friend’s babies was his and that he’d been cheating on me.” I forced the words out, even though they hurt. “Ever since I’d come home making more money than him.”

Silence reigned as I tried to gather myself.

I didn’t often think of that day and rarely went over our conversation in my head. Peter had asked for a divorce, and I’d given it to him.

Like Marissa, I’d spent years of my life trying to be the woman that would make my man happy, but in the end, nothing I could have done would have been enough. It turned out that Peter and Molly had been sleeping together on and off since our sophomore year.

Ashley took my empty plate and moved to the table to refill it.

Teresa, who had been quiet so far, spoke. “What does this have to do with Danger Zone?”

“It’s complicated,” I said.

Everyone waited.

It took a good ten minutes to explain what had been going on with Marissa and the conversation I’d accidentally stumbled upon in the hotel.

“She sounds crazy,” Ashley said.

“I kind of feel sorry for her,” I said.

The others glared at me, and I held up my hand. “I was her. I also tried to control my weight for the man I loved. I remained stagnant for him, instead of progressing. Marissa wanted to be a park ranger. I wanted to be a hotel concierge. I even had plans for opening my own place, but I put them all on hold for Peter, who did nothing but cheat on me.”

Each sentence I uttered lightened the load in my mind. “While Danger Zone didn’t cheat on Marissa, what he did was worse—at least in her mind. He neglected her. He led her on. He toyed with her.”

Brooke huffed. “I refuse to feel sorry for that rascal of a woman.”

I sniffed. “I’m not going to be her best friend or anything; she’s been a deplorable human being to me, but I understand where she’s coming from.”

Nanette held up a finger. “So Peter—Danger Zone—did nothing wrong. Correct?”

“Correct.”

“So why are you hiding from him?”

Ashley returned with a piece of coconut cream for me and settled onto the couch.

My eyes moved from one friend to the next. “Because, in the space of a week, I’ve ditched you guys for him twice. I stopped going to my coffee place and checking in with my friends there. I agreed to have sushi one night, and I don’t really like it. I was changing for Danger Zone, and I hadn’t even realized it. When I did realize it, I sort of freaked out. Everything from Peter theFirst came crashing back down on me, and I couldn’t handle it.”

Each woman in the room studied me as I stuffed a bite of coconut cream goodness into my pie hole.

“Is there more?” Brooke asked.

I could feel their eyes searching for answers, and while I didn’t want to admit the next part, I needed to. “With all of you finding men and getting married, I vowed not to follow along with the crowd. I was afraid that I would start to date someone just so I wouldn’t be left behind.” I paused. “It took me years to find myself after Peter the First, and if I’m being truthful, it wasn’t until I met you girls that I really healed.”

Brooke seemed to think I needed a minute and commented, “No one is leaving you behind, darlin’.”

I laughed, but it mixed messily with a sob. “You aren’t?” I waved the hand that held my fork. “You guys do date nights when you’re in town. You’re always bringing the boys to our storage units, and they want to get even more involved.” I hated hearing myself say all of this, but it needed to come out. “The reason I haven’t decided what to do about the Curvy Girl Crew is because I’m afraid of losing you girls. Every option we have is pulling us apart.”

The tears that I had been valiantly holding back now poured down my cheeks.

Ashley muttered a curse, put her plate down, took mine, and handed it to Nanette, then pulled me into a hug.

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