The Favor

When Melinda called me last night to apologize for Heather’s behavior—to which I, as usual, told her it wasn’t necessary—she also asked about the whole blackmail thing. I advised her to ask Heather, figuring the annoying woman had the right to tell her parents herself, but then Melinda’s voice cracked, and she got all emotional and … well, I told her the truth. It didn’t go down well, and I suspected Wyatt would be equally upset.

Hearing my phone chime, I nabbed it from the nightstand and glanced at the screen. I smiled on seeing it was a text message from Dane.

I swiped my thumb over the screen and opened up the message: No, if I start going out at night, Vienna will ask questions. She’ll think about those pictures again and wonder if I was lying. I warned you we wouldn’t see each other as much until I divorced her. You said you could deal with it, so deal with it. I’ll come to you when I can. You’ve got no reason to feel jealous, you know you’re the only one I want.

I stilled, and my thoughts scattered … like my mind just went blank and couldn’t compute the words—or as if it didn’t want to.

I shook my head and blinked hard. That text was … it didn’t make any … was it some kind of joke?

No, Dane didn’t joke.

I re-read the message. My hand clenched tight around the phone. I genuinely couldn’t wrap my head around the content. One thing was clear. He hadn’t meant to send this message to me. He was responding to a text from someone else. Someone who was “the only one” he wanted.

Pain stabbed my chest, and the phone slipped from my hand. I began to shake, and my breaths started coming sharp and fast. No. No, he couldn’t have been fooling me all this time. There was no way. There couldn’t be anyone else. He slept in my bed with me. He wouldn’t do that if he had another woman in his life.

Unless … Oh God, what if he’d only started fucking me to throw me off the scent? My stomach twisted painfully.

Questions suddenly crowded my mind. Was the woman Lacey? Had they grown close after Hugh died? Had she ever really been a call girl? Was her name even Lacey? Or could this be someone completely different? Had he pictured the bitch when he fucked me?

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. This could not be happening. It made no sense. None.

Maybe he hadn’t sent the text. Maybe someone had taken his phone. Maybe they’d cloned it.

Or maybe I was just desperate to believe I hadn’t let him play me all this time.

I wanted to think he’d never do that to me. I wanted to think—no, trust—that, if nothing else, he’d have more respect for me than to do something like this. I’d begun to believe that I mattered to him in some way. Now? Now it seemed I’d been fooling myself. And he’d been fooling me too.

Hot tears burned the backs of my eyes. My throat felt so tight I was surprised it hadn’t closed over. I quickly pinched the spot between my thumb and forefinger to fight back the tears. I was not going to cry. Nor would I shout or rave or yell at him. No, if he’d really been playing me all this time, he wasn’t worth the emotional energy. And I’d be damned if I’d let him see just how much he’d wrecked me.

Not intending to wait for him to appear, I grabbed my cell and slipped out of the room, leaving Blue behind.

Blue …

I came to a halt. He’d gone to a cat rescue center, he’d brought home a gorgeous cat, gifted her to me as my something blue. Why would he do something so sweet if he had another woman? He wouldn’t, would he?

Maybe he wasn’t having an affair. Maybe he was just placating some delusional woman who wanted him for herself.

Or maybe I was trying to think up excuses so I wouldn’t have to face that he’d betrayed me.

Well, I wasn’t going to get answers if I stayed in this spot.

I padded down the hallway toward his office, feeling a little like I was walking to my doom. I didn’t knock on the door, I walked straight in. He wasn’t at his desk, but the computer was on.

I looked at the private bathroom and saw that the door was shut. My eyes darted back to his desk. His phone was right there. I could check his messages. I could get the answers I wanted for myself … if it wasn’t for the none too small matter that I’d probably need his fingerprint to unlock it.

Nonetheless, I hurried over to the desk and picked up the cell. I swiped my thumb over the screen.