Page 7 of Forbidden Fruit

“That never bothered you before,” I say.

“Think of it as a goodbye present to me.”

“You’re already giving me that,” I say, looking at the divorce papers.

“Oh, come on. We can relax. It’ll be fun.”

“You have a strange idea of fun.”

“Tell me about it,” she says. “I married you.”

“Cute,” I say. “Very cute.”

“It’ll be great for us.”

“Us?” I say. “There’s an us?”

“Of course,” she says. “You, me, Jack, and Becca.”

There it is. Becca. It’s the first time I’ve heard her use the girl’s full name, and it won’t be the last.

“This is about her, isn’t it?” I say. “You’re up to something.”

“You make it sound so devious,” she says. “It’s not.”

“You think I’m going to watch you push Jack into a proposal when he’s mistreated that poor girl for years?” I snap, unable to disguise the anger in my voice.

“They’ve been together for years,” she says. “It’s going to happen. This will just speed things along.”

“It’ll be a disaster.”

“Clive.”

“Like every vacation we ever took.”

“It’ll be good for him,” she says. “And for you.”

“For me?”

“Come on, Clive,” she says. “One last hurrah.”

“This is a bad idea,” I say. “A terrible idea.”

“Is that a yes?”

She’s pressing hard. Too hard. I think of Becca, how quiet she is, how she puts up with Jack the way I used to put up with Kay. There’s more to her than Jack will ever see, and I’ll have to stand by while he shows her less attention than he does to his new golf clubs.

“She’s in love with him,” Kay says, trying to read my face.

“She’s in love with something,” I say.

“You know what I think?”

“Do I want to?”

“I think you’re jealous,” she says.

“Kay—”

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