Page 32 of Second Chance Husband

“Paisley,” he whispered, taking a step.

I set down the glass and scrambled back, hands in front of me.

“Don’t. Don’t pity me. I’m not pitying you for being here alone.” I cursed under my breath. “Not that I should. There’s nothing wrong with being alone. That’s what I keep telling myself. Ms. Twice-divorced.”

“Paisley,” he repeated.

“I hate when you say my name.” A falsehood.

“You didn’t always.”

I narrowed my gaze at him, wondering what the hell he was on about. Then I realized that he had been matching me drink for drink.

I pointed at him, mouth agape. “You’re drunk too.”

“That means if I’m drunk as well, that means you’re drunk. It’s science and semantics.”

“Get better at the cutting remarks. Mr. I’m Drunk But I’m Going to Yell at You for Being Drunk.”

“I’m not drunk, I’m just happy.”

“You’re not happy, August. But it’s okay, you can have some of my wine. I’ll be charitable.”

“I’ve been drinking bourbon, switching to wine sounds like a hangover. I’m not in my early twenties anymore.”

I winced at that, remembering that no, we were not in our early twenties anymore.

If anything, thirty was hitting us quickly. On our next birthdays.

I shuddered at that, and went to check the temperature of the water, adjusting the taps a bit.

“Are you cold?”

I shook my head. “No, I was just thinking about the fact I’m turning thirty soon. Which isn’t old, but it is an age that happens to be a milestone. A milestone that I’m apparently not ready for.”

He frowned at me. “What do you mean you’re not ready for?”

I pointed at him, annoyed. “I am not where I thought I would be.”

“An uber successful businesswoman who is literally on the Forbes list right now? The one who young girls actually look up to, and I have actually seen one dress up as you for Halloween one year in my high school.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

He waved it off. “No, never mind. Don’t want to inflate your ego.”

“Someone dressed up as me for Halloween?” I asked, my voice going slightly high-pitched.

“Yeah. You hit the Forbes list. One of my students wants to be a female CEO who takes over the world. You’re happening to do it before anyone else, so when everyone was allowed to dress up on Halloween, she was you. I thought it was hilarious.”

“And she didn’t realize that you knew me?” I asked, incredulously.

“Nope. Yes, PCR is the name of the company, but nobody connects the Cassidy to us.”

I cringed. “I regretted putting the C in there, not because it was you,” I said, wondering why I was apologizing to him for divorcing me. “Mostly because when Devney and then Addison got married and changed their names, people started to wonder.”

“I’d say I’m sorry about people wondering, but then again, I don’t think I have enough booze for everything that we’d need to unpack from that conversation.”

I snorted, then turned off the taps. “August. There’s not enough booze for any of this.”

---