Page 33 of Mistletoe & Magic
My breath fogs the window. “I think I just…wanted to be loved. In the beginning, he love-bombed me and said and did all the right things, but then he stopped. Then I realized I didn’t fit in that world. I never would.”
“What world are you talking about?”
“A lawyer’s wife,” I say as I watch out the window as we hit the highway to Wisteria Cove. “Cocktail parties, firm dinners, smiling at the right moments, uncomfortable shoes and outfits curated just right so the wives wouldn’t look at me like I was trash like Derek loved to remind me I was.” I glance at him. “Ithought I could mold myself into that person, so he’d love me. Be the woman who fits.”
He keeps his eyes on the road, but I see the way his jaw ticks. “Sounds miserable.”
“It was.” I watch the blur of pine trees, my voice softer now. “And after being back home in Wisteria Cove, with you and Junie, I realized I don’t fit in that world at all. I don’t even want to.”
His gaze flicks to me, brief but intense. “What world do you want to fit into?”
I shrug, a little helpless. “Who knows? The problem is, I don’t know where I belong.”
He’s quiet for a few beats, the only sound the hum of the tires on snow. Then, almost too low to hear, “Maybe you’ve been looking in the wrong places.”
My heart stutters, but I don’t press him. Maybe he’s right.
The snow falls again, soft and steady, and for the first time in a long time, the search doesn’t feel so impossible.
The hum of the tires on the highway is steady enough to make my eyelids feel heavy, but I keep them open, watching the snowbanks blur past.
Remy’s got one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the console. His jaw’s tight, like it always is when Derek’s name comes up. I’d noticed it the first time how his shoulders went stiff, the way he measured his words.
“You and Derek seemed to know each other,” I say softly, watching his profile.
His mouth flattens. “I know him well enough to know I don’t like him.”
“How do you know him?” I ask curiously.
He glances at me, eyes cutting over for just a second before they’re back on the road. “When we lived in Boston, my ex-wife worked with him at hisfirm.”
My fingers twist in my lap. “Junie’s mom?” I ask as I glance into the back seat and make sure that she’s still out cold, clutching Lola.
“Her name is Sloane. She’s a criminal defense attorney at his firm. At least she was; I’m not sure if she’s still there.” He says, his mouth in a firm line.
“The name sounds familiar, but I’m not sure. He worked at a pretty big firm, and I can’t remember very many of the other attorneys’ names,” I admit.
He nods and watches the road, our twenty-five-minute drive turning into a longer one with the trailer and the snow.
“When was the last time she saw Junie?” I ask, then shake my head, thinking that maybe I’m crossing the line. “Wait, you don’t have to answer that. I’m sorry; that’s none of my business.”
“January. Of last year,” he adds.
“As in almost two years?” I ask, my eyes going wide. No freaking way. I couldn’t go that long without seeing my family if I lived less than an hour away from them.
He nods. “She likes to do this thing where she says she’s coming to get Junie and tells her they have this fun weekend planned, and then Junie gets all packed up and excited and waits, and she never shows up. She always has a lot of excuses.”
“And she works with Derek?” I ask, racking my brain as I try to remember her. Then it clicks. “Wait, does she go by Whitmore?”
He nods. “Yes. That’s her maiden name.”
“I’ve met her,” I tell him, not even believing this right now. “I have seen her at Derek’s work events. She and Derek don’t get along. He doesn’t have good things to say about her. She made partner before he did, and he didn’t like that.”
He shakes his head. “Sounds about right. Put it this way—she’s a shark. Does whatever it takes to get what she wants.”
“Wow,” I breathe and say before I can stop myself. “I can’t see the two of you together.”
He looks over at me and gives me a look. “Who do you see me with?”
