Page 22 of Love in Bloom

“Finally, after almost three years of marriage, he made partner. I was so excited for him, for me, for us. I wanted to rekindle our marriage. We’d been living like roommates. I put it down to the stress we were both under.” Wren searched the table and helped herself to Miller’s water glass, as hers was empty.

“Michael called me with the news and told me we would go out to celebrate that evening. He said he’d make reservations and meet me at home when I was done with my committee meeting. I wanted to surprise him, so I skipped the meeting. Let’s just say he was deep into celebrating with a bartender from the country club when I walked in on them in the kitchen.”

“Ouch.” Miller took a deep breath and relaxed his jaw.

“I know, right? They couldn’t even wait to get to the bedroom. Turns out he’d been celebrating with her for over a year.”

“What happened next?”

“I packed a bag, checked into a hotel, hacked off my hair, and then headed here to visit my aunt and uncle. My mom thought I was crazy to leave.”

“She wanted you to stay with a cheater?”

“As a good Catholic, she wanted me to turn the other cheek and forgive him. She also said I needed to own my part in it. If I had paid more attention to Michael, he wouldn’t have strayed.” Miller wisely said nothing.

“Anyway, it took a while to get the divorce going. I had a hard time finding a lawyer to take my case. My mother-in-law had hoped for a reconciliation. She said she didn’t want the family name tarnished with a divorce, but I think she just didn’t have the energy to train in another daughter-in-law. She said I’d exhausted her. Every lawyer I contacted suddenly had a ‘conflict of interest’ and wouldn’t take me on. I eventually found an attorney in Nashville.”

“So, divorce is more damning than cheating in the south?”

“She didn’t know about the cheating. At that point, I still thought I was to blame, and I didn’t want to ruin Michael’s relationship with her. She thought the sun rose and set because of him. Anyway, the lawyer convinced me to use the affair as a bargaining chip in the settlement.”

“Was it a fair settlement?”

“More than fair, as you’ve noticed. I got to keep my SUV, and all my designer clothes, accessories, and jewelry. He paid off the remaining balance of my student loans, and I have a nest egg. Asmallnest egg—hummingbird-sized not bald eagle.” Wren laughed weakly at her joke. “Michael felt guilty and figured if I got everything I wanted, I’d keep my mouth shut about his affair.”

“Sounds like he got off easy.”

“Not really. He had to keep his mother.” She smirked. Miller was glad to see she had a sense of humor about it. “So, now that the divorce is official, I expect I’ll hear wedding bells, which is a good thing, since I believe Michael, Jr. is going to have his first birthday soon.” Miller’s eyebrows shot up.

“I have a few Facebook friends from Knoxville,” she explained and offered him a small smile. “I should get going. It’s getting late. Thank you for celebrating with me.” Wren slid her credit card into the portfolio the server had left at her elbow earlier. Miller replaced the credit card with some bills.

“Miller, no. All you had was a dessert. And you’ve already fed me once.”

“I like feeding you. It’s the only way I know you eat,” he said with a sly smile. “Plus, I forced myself into your party of one.” Miller moved to her side of the table to help with her chair.

“Trust me, I eat plenty. I’ve gained about ten pounds since leaving Knoxville,” Wren said as she stood. Miller studied her as she led the way to the coat check.

“Well, they look good on you. Let’s go. I’ll drive you home.”

“I appreciate that, but I didn’t want to risk it, so I walked. That’s one of the lovely things about living above my shop. I can walk to everything downtown,” Wren said over her shoulder as Miller helped her on with her wool cashmere coat. She smelled like “work” again. He was starting to think “work” was her natural scent. It was his new favorite.

“Then it looks like we can walk together. My car’s at the office.”

“How were you going to drive me home if you don’t have a car?”

“I was going to drive you home in your car, which isn’t quite as gallant but…” Miller trailed off as Wren laughed at him and walked out of the restaurant.

They made their way over the snowy sidewalks, talking about downtown Haven, the upcoming holidays, and friends. Wren shared business gossip as they passed each store. Several of the merchants were notoriously competitive in their decorating. Wren shared that what they lacked in taste they more than made up for with their enthusiasm. Every time she made a catty comment, she’d look around the dark streets to make sure no one heard. After the last time, Miller laughed. “Wren, we’re the only fools out on this snowy night. Stop being so paranoid.”

“We are the only fools out, aren’t we?” Wren threw her arms wide and twirled in a circle. “I love it when it snows like this. It’s like living in a snow globe. Everything is magical and anything seems possible.” Miller stopped her twirling and tucked his arm into the crook of her elbow so she couldn’t start up again. If it was making him dizzy, he couldn’t imagine what it was doing to her.

Wren looked up at him, but she didn’t pull away. He saw the snowflakes caught in her thick eyelashes. “I just wish I could truly enjoy magical moments like this,” she said, tilting her head back to stare at the sky. “And when I do this, it looks like we’re on the Star Trek Enterprise and we’ve just jumped to warp speed. All the snow falling down looks like stars zooming past.” Miller joined her in her whimsy, but he’d always thought it was more like the Millennium Falcon making the jump to hyperspace.

“You don’t enjoy magical snowy moments?” he asked, and she stopped looking at the night sky to look at him.

“I try to, but then reality ruins it.” She looked down at the sidewalk and kicked a clump of snow.

“How?”

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