“I think I got that you didn’t like me.”
“You bring me flowers every Monday, just so I won’t use the fake plastic ones. You get me beautiful, real roses and then you act all uncomfortable about it. I love flowers. You know I love flowers.”
“I know. I’ll always bring them to you.” This time, I reached up to catch the tear that fell from her eye. “Tell me. What else?”
“I will. I don’t want the florist to bring them—you need to bring them on your own.”
“Done. What else?”
“I love that you talk to Steve now. I love that you join in when Raymond and I are talking instead of sulking on your own.”
“I don’t sulk.”
“You do, but it’s okay because I find that amusing as well.” She patted my tie, sliding her hand up and down a few times. Then her fingers gripped my shirt. “And when I was sick, you held my ankle. Do you even realize how stupid that sounds? But somehow it’s the sweetest and most romantic thing anyone ever did for me. You didn’t leave me alone for one second. I don’t think I could’ve gone through all that on my own. You were always right next to me, every step of the way, and you made me love you. So, now I can’t go back, and it’s no else’s but your fault. I’m not going to divorce you.”
“Okay.” I held her head in between my hands and kissed her forehead.
“Okay?”
“You made a good argument.”
“Don’t make fun of me, Jack. I’m not in the mood.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
It seemed like she didn’t know what to say exactly, so I took over. “You don’t remember meeting me, but I remember it, Rose. You barely even looked at me when Gary introduced us. Then we went up to your uncle’s office and I didn’t even think about it, about you. The meeting ended and when I came down and saw you with that damn puppy in the kitchen, laughing, dancing, I couldn’t look away from you. I couldn’t move from where I was standing. Then Joshua came. The way you hugged him, the way you looked at him, the way you smiled at him—it was different from all the other smiles you’d given everyone else who greeted you, and I was jealous. For a second there, I wished it was me you were looking at like that…like he was the most important person in your life. Yet he was more interested in other people. I didn’t care for him. He wouldn’t be the guy I would picture by your side.” I caressed her hair and kissed her forehead again. I didn’t know how not to, not when she was in my arms like this.
“You would picture yourself by my side, I guess. Then what happened?” she asked, looking into my eyes with curiosity.
“No. If I could let you go, I would want you to have someone better than me. Then I didn’t do anything. I was interested, sure, and if you hadn’t had a boyfriend, I would have taken a chance, but you had him, so I didn’t think much about it. You aren’t my type anyway.”
“Your compliments, I do live for them. You go for the cold, arrogant, and beautiful ones, right? Like Samantha.”
“Something like that, but for a moment there, I could picture you with me. I wanted a shot like I’d never wanted one with anyone else. Then Gary told me about the contract, it went into the will, and you know the rest. The more I learned about Joshua, the more I couldn’t just sit and do nothing, so I did something. I didn’t hesitate to call him and offer him money if he left you alone, but I hesitated when we were getting married because I knew I was screwing things up and taking things a step too far. I felt nothing but guilt those first few weeks.”
“Did you have anything to do with him being with Jodi?”
“No. I swear to you. I learned about them the same night you did. When he learned I had married you and I’d cost him the property, he contacted me again to ask for money and threatened me with telling you everything. I paid him, time after time. The night after the charity event, the night he saw us together—do you remember? I told you I was going to the office, but he had texted me that night so I went to meet him. By then I knew I was falling for you, and I didn’t want him to ruin whatever chances we had. That last time we met, I told him I wouldn’t pay anymore because of that look he put on your face the day he showed up, and if he pushed his luck, I said I’d let Jodi know who he really was. He shrugged and said there were plenty of Jodi’s, but only one Rose for me.”