Page 20 of The Next Of Us
“Have you gone to the doctor?”
“Yes.She said just to monitor my symptoms.”
“There’s nothing they can do to help?”
“I can look into Hormone Replacement Therapy.”
“And?”
“And she suggested I give myself some grace, lower my expectations for a while until my hormones level out, and try to add joy to my life.”
“What about counselling?”
“I told her my husband is a therapist.”
I chuckled.“Not with me.With someone who you can talk to freely.”I squeezed her gently.“Someone you can vent to about me if necessary.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“And the plants?”
She barked out a short, self-deprecating, laugh.“Carlos is going to fire me.”
I chuckled.“Carlos is not going to fire you.He loves you too much.Besides, you keep an eye on him for Vera.She won’t let him fire you.”
She stilled in my arms.“Does Vera keep an eye on you?”
I froze.Had word of Lynda’s infatuation made its way back to my wife?
“She does,” I answered carefully.My heart thumped in my chest.If I didn’t take this opening, she’d never forgive me.And she’d be right.“And it’s been appreciated.”
She stiffened further.“What do you mean?”
I swallowed my trepidation.“Do you remember Lynda?”
She drew back to look at me, her eyebrows raised.“Lynda from the staff barbecue?The one whose son you helped?”
“Did she tell you about her son?”
“She did.She sat with me for an hour, said you were a godsend.”
“Hm.”Would this make it better or worse?
“What happened?”
“She told me she was in love with me.”
Nadine struggled to get up.This time, knowing better, I let her go.
“What?”she clipped, her eyes narrowing on my face.
“About six months ago—”
“Sixmonths?”
“Yes,” I answered drily.The confession was long overdue.“Around the same time your mother passed away, she started behaving differently.I didn’t want to burden you and thought I’d dealt with it.”
“What exactly did you do about it?”she challenged, her eyebrows snapping together.
