Marriage For One

“You just said—”

“I said you were warmer to him. You smiled and talked to him more than you talked or smiled to me. That’s all I meant. Also, again, they’re not my friends—”

“Just partners, I know. I got it.” She released a longer sigh and massaged her temple. “If we want to keep up this charade, we desperately need to communicate more, Jack. You have to talk to me.”

I looked out the window and stayed quiet for the rest of the way back to the apartment. How was I supposed to explain that I was actually trying my best to talk to her as little as possible? That I had to do so?

Once we were in the building, the doorman stood up. “Mr. Hawthorne, Mrs. Hawthorne. Welcome.”

“Good evening, Steve,” Rose said, smiling at the older man. To my surprise, she stopped next to his station as I called down the elevator. “How are you feeling today? Your migraine is gone, I hope?”

“Much better. Thank you for asking, Mrs. Hawthorne.”

“I told you before, you can just call me Rose. Has it been a busy night?”

The doorman’s eyes darted my way. “Erm, just the usual.”

With my hands in my pockets, I watched their interaction with interest.

Steve’s eyes cut to me then back to Rose again before he quickly added, “Mrs. Hawthorne.”

The elevator doors pinged open and she looked toward me. “Looks like our ride is here. Have a good night, Steve. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Yes, Mrs. Hawthorne. I’ll be here.”

I held the doors open as she quickened her steps and got in the elevator. I stepped in after her. We only managed to go up two floors in silence before my curiosity got the better of me. “You know the doorman?”

“Yes. I met him the first morning I was leaving for work. We chat a bit in the mornings. Why?”

“You’ve only been here for two weeks.”

“So?”

“I didn’t know his name,” I admitted uncomfortably.

She hugged my jacket tighter around herself. “You never asked?”

“I—no.” I didn’t want to admit that I hadn’t deemed it necessary, because I didn’t like how that made me sound.

A moment later, I couldn’t stop myself from asking what had been on my mind for days now. “Do you still talk to Joshua, your ex-fiancé?” I blurted out at the same time the elevator doors opened, surprising both of us.

Rose froze and gave me a startled look. I cursed myself for bringing it up, but after the dinner, I was too curious to ignore the idea completely.

“No, I don’t talk to him. Haven’t talked to him or seen him since we broke up and I’m not planning to do it in the future either. Why would you ask that?” she finally asked, walking out of the elevator before I could answer. I followed her to our door.

“I thought maybe you weren’t over him yet and that was why tonight was more difficult.”

“Trust me, I’m over him. I got over him pretty quickly, considering. Tonight wasn’t difficult, Jack. I’m not a stranger to awkward dinners. Tonight was…just a first. That’s all. It was our first dinner, too, and I actually think we did a pretty good job, don’t you agree? Still, I think we should work on getting to know each other a little bit, just talk about random stuff. The next one should go down better. Also, I thought you’d be distant when we were around other people—that’s why I was surprised when you touched me…so much.” She peered at the door. “Aren’t you gonna open it?”

She still had my jacket on. “The key is in your right pocket,” I replied, reaching for it before she could do it herself. She froze when my hand slid into the pocket and inadvertently touched her body through the lining. I stopped when my fingers touched the keys and met her startled eyes. We stood exactly like that as I slowly pulled the keys out. Her throat moved as she swallowed, and she looked away first, laughing awkwardly.

Unlocking the door, I stood back so she could enter. Inside, after taking off her shoes, she slid my jacket from her shoulders and handed it back to me. “Thank you.” She avoided my eyes, and I realized I didn’t like it.

“You’re welcome.” I took it off her hands and neither one of us walked away from each other.

I thought she looked beautiful with her hair down and a little messy, her lips bare and her eyes still sparkling. I was heading straight for trouble if I was noticing the details.

She smiled a little. “Well, do you think we should—”

My phone started ringing in my hand and she paused mid-sentence. Dragging my eyes away from her lips as her smile slowly faded, I looked down at the screen and my entire body tightened. Ignoring the call, I looked up at Rose. “I need to take this. It’s about work and I might need to drop by the office for a bit.”