Wife by Design

“We could do it again.”

“Exactly what I was thinking. Only this time I want to sit next to you so I can put my hand in my lap under the table and have it end up in yours.”

“How about tomorrow night? I know Maddie’s already asked Darin to watch a movie.” She named the romantic comedy that had bored him to tears the first time he’d seen it. “And if you want to facilitate that, it would be best if they were together at my place instead of hers. I wouldn’t want to put the responsibility for them on Gwen’s shoulders.”

“Tomorrow night is fine if you don’t mind me bringing my laptop. I have work to do.” And no patience to sit and watch the romantic comedy she’d just named.

Now if he could be doing creative things to Lynn’s body while the movie played in the background, that would be a different story….

* * *

SOMEHOW, ON WEDNESDAY night after dinner and before starting the movie, Maddie and Darin roped Grant and Lynn into a repeat performance for Friday night. Gwen wasn’t going to be there. And Maddie would be spending the night at Lynn’s, anyway.

It seemed to make sense, until they put on the movie and Grant realized he was enjoying his work more than he had in years. For no reason other than the fact that he was able to see Lynn every time he looked up from the computer. Just knowing she was there was exciting—even with no sex involved.

Lynn Duncan was the first thing he thought of when he woke up in the morning these days. And he fell asleep with her image in his mind every night.

It was a no-win situation.

He was going to have to do something about it. Maddie and Darin couldn’t continue on this way, either. It was unnatural, everyone convening at Lynn’s house as though they all lived there.

He was going to have to find a way to deflect his brother’s attention from his new girlfriend and on to something else.

Like diving.

Before he and Darin arrived at Lynn’s for dinner Friday night, he made plans to take Darin down to the water on Saturday. It would be cold. But they both had wet suits leftover from earlier days.

He thought about telling Darin the news before dinner so his brother would have something besides his dinner companion to think about, but Maddie found him and Darin out on the property at quitting time to walk with them over to Lynn’s.

She had Kara with her.

“Hi, Mister.” The little girl put her hand into Grant’s as they started to walk.

“Hi, Kara. How are you?” The tiny hand in his felt strange. So small…and yet seemingly monumental, too. Did her hand in his mean he was responsible for her well-being as long as she kept it there?

Like her father had been on Saturday when he’d walked away with Kara, her hand entwined in his, her little legs half jogging to keep up with him?

Brandon seemed like a great father. Maybe a perfect one.

And now that little hand was in his.

“I didn’t dance today.”

“Were you supposed to dance today?”

“No.” She skipped along next to him.

He wondered if she could tell his hand was sweating. If she’d let him go with a squeal of “gwoss.”

“What did you do today?”

He was failing a test. He was sure of it.

And he didn’t want to care.

“Colored a picture for Mama,” she said, sounding as happy as ever. She seemed to be waiting for a response from him. Didn’t little kids jabber all the time? Nonstop?

“Where is it?” It seemed to be the next logical question.

She stopped, but still held his hand, so while Darin and Maddie went on ahead of them, Grant had to stop, too.

“Don’t you know about pictures, Mister?” If she continued to look up at him like that with those little eyebrows drawn and the painfully serious look in her big blue eyes, he’d be wanting to change his name to “Mistah.”

“I don’t think so, Kara,” he said, deeming that he ought to treat her question with equal solemnity. “Do you suppose you could help me learn about them?”

“Sure!” She started skipping again, swinging his hand in hers. “Come on,” she said, pulling at him. “Dawin and Maddie are almost home.”

And so he walked faster.