Page 177 of The Wife Situation

“I’ll call you every day, and we’ll FaceTime.”

She holds me tighter. “Deal. I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Music to my goddamn ears,” I say.

Her breathing calms as her arm hangs over my stomach. I draw circles on her arm as her eyes close. She lets out a sigh, and I love us like this.

Lexi’s the calm in my storm, and I don’t know how I’ll survive two weekswithouther.

“I’m going to miss you,” she admits. “In case I haven’t told you.”

“I know, darling. I can tell. This feels like goodbye, and I fucking hate it.”

She smiles. “Good news is when you come home to me, we’ll know if we were temporarily under each other’s spell. It’s a great experiment.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” I tell her, tucking hair behind her ear.

The alarm goes off, informing us that it’s time for me to leave. She grabs me tight before releasing me. I slide out of bed, slipon my boxers, bend over, and kiss her sweetly before getting dressed.

“It’s not goodbye,” she whispers.

“There will never be a goodbye, Lexi. That’s a promise.”

39

LEXI

The first day without Easton was odd.

The second day was rough.

The rest is a blur; I no longer know what day we’re on because they’ve all bled together.

My phone rings and I roll over in bed to answer the FaceTime call.

“Good morning, my pretty girl,” he says, smiling. “How’d you sleep?”

I’m on my side, barely awake. “Morning. Better when you’re pressed against me. How’s your day?”

He seems tired and I wish I could hold him through the phone. That perfect smile returns.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, and I see he has a pen in his other hand.

“Are you drawing me?” I ask.

“Yes, you’re the highlight of my day.” His eyes sparkle. “Every fucking day since I met you.”

I stretch in bed. “I feel special.”

“Because you are.” He continues to sketch.

The worry I saw seconds earlier has already faded. His jaw is no longer clenched.

Easton’s voice falls to a whisper. “I miss you so fucking much; it hurts.”

“Two weeks should be easy,” I say. “It’s not.”

“It’s been the hardest nine days I’ve had in recent years.”

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