Page 51 of An Engagement Pact

“I’m known for doing ridiculous things, you know.” His smile is even softer now. Teasing.

I’m deeply tempted to crawl over and kiss him, but I don’t. For one, there’s the fearful possibility of morning breath. For another, I don’t have time. But I return his smile as I say, “Like paying a girl to marry you?”

“Exactly that.”

With great effort, I resist his adorableness and heft myself out of bed to go to the bathroom. When I come out, Dan hasn’t gone back to sleep. He’s lying under the covers reading his phone.

He’s frowning.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing really.”

I don’t take a shower until after I walk Oscar in the mornings, so instead, I grab clean panties, a T-shirt, and shorts to pull on. “It looks like it’s something.”

He shakes his head as he glances down at his phone. “Just a weird text. From a coworker.”

“What does it say?”

He extends his phone to show me, so I walk over in my panties and T-shirt to take it from him. Peering down at the screen, I start to frown too.

What the hell?

Who sent this to him?

It says,Hey there, hope you have a good night!The words are followed by two kissy emoji.

The time indicates it was sent just after midnight last night. The contact’s name is Carla K.

Dan and I went to bed fairly early last night—at around nine thirty—so we’d have time to have sex and still get plenty of sleep.

“That’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” Dan asks, his eyes wide and guileless as he looks up at me. “Just to randomly send that to me at midnight?”

I sit on the edge of the bed and scroll up to see the other texts Carla has sent him in the past. Some of them are clearly work related. Any communication Dan initiated is perfectly professional. But some of hers are out of line for work colleagues. She told him he looks good in a certain color shirt. More than once, she asked if he had any plans for the weekend. And at one point she greets him by texting,Hey, handsome.

“She’s into you,” I say, glancing back at him.

He makes a reluctant face. “You think so?”

“Yes! It’s obvious. She’s trying to get something going with you, and the only reason she hasn’t pursued it more is because you haven’t given her any encouragement.”

“I always thought she was kind of awkward and annoying but was trying to be nice.”

“She’s trying to be a lot more than nice.” I feel ridiculously possessive—offended that some random chick is trying to make a play for my husband—but I rein in the feelings because they’re irrational. “Doesn’t she know you’re married?”

“I don’t actually know. I wear my ring, of course, and a few people have asked about it. But I don’t share much about my personal life at work, and I’ve never actually mentioned getting married to Carla.”

“Oh, she noticed the ring. No question about that. It doesn’t stop some people, and for others it actually makes them more interested.” I shake my head, trying not to cast unfair judgment on a woman I’ve never met. After all, who can blame her for being interested in someone as cute and sweet and lovable as Dan?

But if she knows he’s married, she has no business flirting with him.

“So what should I do?” He looks sincerely uncomfortable about the situation. Genuinely hoping I can help him.

My heart warms and melts at his trust in me.

“I can tell her to stop, I guess. I don’t like creating personal tension at work, but I’ll do it if I have to.”

“You might have to, but maybe because you never talk about having a wife and she’s never seen you with anyone, she doesn’t think about it as real. What if...?” I trail off because I’m suddenly nervous about the suggestion. Maybe it’s overstepping.

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