Page 20 of The Amendment

How long had she been standing there?

What had she heard?

What had she seen?

What did she know?

“Hey,” I said. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“What were you doing?”

“I, um, sorry…” I scratched the back of my neck.

Lie.

Lie better than this, Peter.

“One of our contractors is heading out of town for a project, and I had to give him a few forms before he left.”

“Why didn’t you just email them?”

She didn’t believe me. I didn’t blame her.

“He’s old school. Still uses a flip phone. But, seriously,one of the best.” I moved to walk past her, hoping to end the line of questioning, but she wasn’t done. I knew she wasn’t even before she spoke again.

“Why did he come by in the middle of the night, then? Why not this evening? Why didn’t you tell me he was coming? We said no more lies, no more secrets, and—”

I cut her off, gripping her shoulders gently. “Ains, breathe. No more secrets. I’m not lying. I had no idea he was coming. I woke up because my phone was buzzing and he asked me for the forms. He was supposed to come by in the morning, but he decided to head out late tonight instead. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it was a big enough deal to wake you up about.”

She stared at me skeptically, so I leaned forward, pressing my lips to hers. “Want me to prove it? I’ll call him if you want me to.”

As much as Ainsley knew me, there were a few things I knew well about her. Well enough to bet my life on. Like the fact that she’d never admit to anyone else—well, anyone aside from Glennon—that we had issues or that she felt she couldn’t trust me.

“No, it’s fine,” she said with a huff, pulling out of my arms and walking back to our bedroom without another word.

I didn’t want to lie to her anymore, but I had no choice. This was Jim’s fault. I was trying to be who she wanted, but I had to do this to protect her. To protect us all.

Once the favor was done, things would go back to normal.

No, they’d go forward to being perfect.

CHAPTER NINE

AINSLEY

He was lying, again, but I didn’t know why.

All I knew was that there was still something keeping us apart. I loved my husband, but how much longer could we go on like this?

How much longer could we pretend things were okay?

As I slid back into bed, my body radiated with anger, but I couldn’t allow it to consume me. Something had to change, and I’d be the one to change it.

I rolled over to face him, running my hand across his chest. He looked shocked, then pleased, the redness fading from his cheeks.

“Do you miss it?” I asked, working to keep my expression unchanged.

His eyes narrowed. “Miss what?”

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