Page 100 of Never the Bride
“Us?”
I lean forward, ready to tell all. “Here’s the thing, Doc, I really like Camila. There’s no point in hiding it. I like her, and I want to see where things go.”
“There’s nothing wrong with falling in love with your wife.” She smiles, knowingly.
I smile too, incriminating myself. “No, I suppose not.”
“So where do you go from here?”
“I don’t know. I was going to ask you that. How do I make my wife realize that this marriage might be the best thing that has ever happened to us?”
“You can start by being honest with her about your feelings.”
“I’ve done that. I mean, I told her that I liked her and that I wanted to pursue her in a real way.”
“You could also open Camila up to your life. Your family. Your friends.”
“I was going to ask you about that. I have a family reunion thing coming up for the Fourth of July, and I wanted to ask Camila to come with me. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Abby’s eyes soften. “Hess, you don’t need my advice on how to date your wife. Do what feels right.”
My shoulders lift. “It feels right to be with her all the time.”
“Then there’s your answer.”
Camila
Hess sits in our usual spot at the Waffle House with a plate of food in front of him.
I fall into the booth with a sigh. “That was the most awful experience of my life.”
“I’m all ears,” he says with a kind smile.
“The dad is a cheating narcissist who wrecked their family, blindsided the wife and children, and now he wants his teenage daughter to just forget it happened and agree to live with him and his twenty-two-year-old mistress fifty percent of the time. I don’t blame the poor girl. Who would want to do that?”
“No one. Not after he ruined her family life. She needs time to process and work through what she’s feeling.”
“Right?” I throw my hands up. “But no, they sent me in to preach forgiveness and reconciliation and to spout off all these lies that her father didn’t mean to hurt her and that this is just between him and her mom.” I drag my hands down my face. “I hate myself right now. I hate what I said to that poor girl. I hate the way I manipulated her so my firm could close the divorce settlement.”
Hess grabs my hand across the table, and immediately, I feel comfort. “Don’t beat yourself up. In the end, the divorce needed to happen. What you said just sped up the process a little bit.”
“I don’t know how I got here. This wasn’t supposed to be the job. I was supposed to be helping people get out of awful marriages and move on to something better in life, but today, I just felt like I made things worse for this girl.”
“Her dad cheating is the problem. Not you.”
I force a smile, wanting to believe Hess, but deep down, I’m not sure I’m as innocent as he’s making me out to be. I know what I said to her. I know how I manipulated her. That’s not who I want to be.
“Let’s just move on. I don’t want to think about it anymore.” I shake my head. “What did I miss at counseling?”
“Nothing, really. I told her where you were, and she didn’t seem to care that you had to miss for work.” As Hess talks, I pick up his fork and start eating his waffle. He pushes the plate closer, making it easier for me to reach.
“Did you tell her we kissed?”
“I did.”
“And?”
He smiles. “She seemed pleased.”
