Page 10 of Might as Well

I shake my head and wave a hand in dismissal. “It’s okay. Thank you. I’m sorry you felt like you had to stay.”

He raises his eyebrows and then frowns. “You slept all day, Violet, and that’s after presumably sleeping all night. I couldn’t leave until I knew you’d wake up at least.”

My grandma always said when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Zane seems too nice, but I haven’t yet figured out what badness lies beneath the nice, gorgeous surface. With a squeak of a thank you, I walk around him to grab something to drink. I’m so thirsty, I could probably drink a gallon of water right now.

“Want anything?” I ask.

“Water, please,” Zane replies as he takes a seat at the table.

I place our glasses down and take a seat as well. Zane obviously familiarized himself with my kitchen enough to find the plates and utensils.

“I feel ridiculous,” Zane states a few moments after we’ve begun to eat. His cheeks flush a little. “There’s so much food here. How in the world will we eat it all?”

I shrug. “No one said we had to do it in one sitting. You did good, though; it’s tasty.”

Zane grins at the compliment, but it falls away. Whatever he’s thinking, he doesn’t mention it. We eat in silence, bothof us stuffing ourselves until we’re full. Zane stands and starts clearing the table.

“Leave it. I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” he asks. He doesn’t even know where everything is to put the food away, yet he’s perfectly okay to search and help anyway.

“I’m sure. Thank you.”

He nods. “I, uh, should probably go. Is it…is it okay if I text or call you? I’ve got some road games coming up. Maybe we can go out when I get back?”

I nod and Zane grins. He hesitates for a moment and then leans down to kiss my cheek.

“See you soon, Violet.”

And then he’s gone. It seems only minutes later when I’m putting the leftovers away that Cassie bursts into my home.

“Finally!” she exclaims. “I’ve been texting all day and when you didn’t answer I started doing periodic drive-bys, but I saw another car here. Was that Zane’s? What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing! Nothingat all? His car has been here since yesterday. It was here all day and now it’s gone. You’re telling menothinghappened between you and your hunk of a husband?” Disbelief saturates her tone.

I cringe. “Please don’t call him that.” Thank goodness my brother isn’t here; he still doesn’t know what I’ve done. Embarrassment and shame prevent me from telling him as long as I can keep it a secret.

“But he is your husband.”

A thought suddenly hits me. “How do I know he actually is? I haven’t seen any paperwork.”

“He wears a wedding band, Violet,” Cassie points out with theduhclear in her tone.

I take a seat at the kitchen table and clasp my hands together. He does wear a band, but that doesn’t mean our marriage is real.

“You could wear yours. On your right hand at least.”

During my two weeks of contemplation, one of my concerns was how much this man spent on those rings. I had them appraised out of curiosity. Let’s just say I don’t even have that much in all of my everyday use bank accounts. That’s another reason why I don’t wear them. That is entirely too much money on my finger.

“I should probably give them back.”

Cassie’s excitement over my situation finally dampers. “It didn’t go well?”

I shrug. “He brought me home because I had a horrible migraine and he didn’t feel comfortable leaving. I slept most of the day.”

She smiles. “So, he’s sweet.”

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