Page 60 of Riding the Waves

Her marriage really was over. And she had no idea what her future held.

CHAPTER 30

Hugh’s expression was all smirk when he answered the door to Damian. “How was the storm surfing yesterday?” he asked.

“I didn’t go.” Damian wiped his shoes on the mat as he stepped inside.

“I’m assuming Amy caught up with you and offered some alternative evening entertainment?”

He rolled his eyes. “Were the boys okay?”

“Fine. No problems at all.”

Damian paused at the living room doorway to say hello to Billy and Marty, who were kneeling at the coffee table with bowls of cereal in front of them, eyes fixed on the TV. Emmy sat behind them, on the couch, the only one who acknowledged him before he continued to the kitchen.

“So what happened with Amy?” Hugh asked, closing the kitchen door behind him.

“I slept with her.” Damian dropped into a chair and sank his head into his hands.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Hugh asked, confusion wrinkling his brow.

“It was great at the time.” He dragged his hands through his hair and stretched his neck.

“How did you leave things?”

“She’s gone to have a conversation with Anthony. I imagine he’s currently trying to convince her they should give things another go.”

“If she slept with you it doesn’t seem as though she’s thinking about fixing her marriage.”

“No.” But he just couldn’t let himself go near the idea that he might actually get to be with Amy and have his family under one roof like he dreamed of. “She said the reason they split up is that she’s been in love with me the whole time, and she finally told him that.”

“That seems very clear cut. What did you say to that?”

He winced as he thought back on it. Mostly he’d been shocked by the admission, but that hadn’t been the entire reason he’d been lost for words. He also wasn’t sure how much difference it made to their current situation. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You must have said something. How could she drop that on you and you not reply?”

“I don’t know. I just didn’t.”

“I’d have thought you’d have been over the moon.”

“It doesn’t really change a lot.”

“It changes everything,” Hugh argued.

“Not really. She lives in Oxford, I live here.”

“People move all the time.”

“True,” he said unenthusiastically.

“I don’t get it.” Hugh rested his forearms on the table. “She loves you, you love her. What’s the problem?”

“She loved me back then as well. It didn’t mean she liked living with me. She hated it.”

“Did she?” Hugh asked in earnest. “Or was she sleep-deprived and stressed? She was twenty-two and instead of starting a career like she’d planned, she was taking care of two babies. Things have changed a lot since then.”

“I don’t think I have. I’m still a beach bum whose only real skill is surfing.”

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