every day. Some days, Gary wanted me to join them in the dining room, but they weren’t like Susie, who made me laugh with her stories. They didn’t have easy conversations even when it was just the four of them. They didn’t laugh from the heart, didn’t love from the heart.
Still, there was one fact we’d all agreed on: Gary had saved me. Reluctantly or not. I was thankful, just like they wanted me to be, and I would be for the rest of my life.
However—and that is a loaded however—I couldn’t say I’d forgotten about those dinners, the house parties, the get-togethers, and tonight’s dinner with the partners was one of the last things I wanted to do, but I had made a deal. Playing pretend was something I wasn’t so bad at. Didn’t mean I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t bad at it.
When the screen lit up with a new text message, I picked it up.
Jack: Answer your phone.
For some reason, that simple text had me smiling harder than a text that short should have. It definitely drew Sally’s attention.
“What’s going on? Good news?” she asked, her neck stretched so she could see what I was doing.
I waved her off. “Nothing. Just a text.” A text that was pure Jack Hawthorne.
“Oh! Share with the class, please. Love stories are my favorite kind of stories.”
“Unfortunately, no love story here.” I still hadn’t told her I was married, not because I was trying to hide it but because I didn’t know how to explain my husband. “Maybe you’ve spent enough time with the stories there. Wanna switch out books for sugar and flour?”
“Sure.” In one quick move, she was up and sauntering toward me, her ponytail swishing from side to side. “You mind if I turn on the music back there, too?”
“Not at all. Go for it.”
I grabbed my phone and headed toward the books that were scattered on the floor. I lowered myself onto the cushion she had been sitting on, crossed my legs, and took a deep breath. As Sally started another playlist on Spotify, I called Jack back instead of waiting for him to call me once again.
He answered on the third ring. “Rose.”
“Jack.”
I kept waiting for him to say more since he was the one who had called first, but he said nothing. “If you’re busy, I can call later.”
“No. I wouldn’t answer if I was busy.”
“Okay then. Why were you calling?”
I was hoping maybe dinner had been canceled.
“It’s almost five. We need to be at the restaurant at seven. I’m heading out of the office in a minute—would you like me to pick you up?”
“Oh, yes please. Around six, maybe?” My eye caught on a book that was still in one of the cardboard boxes, so I grabbed it and checked the back cover.
“That won’t work. With the traffic, it will take us at least forty-five minutes to get to the restaurant. Add to that the drive from your coffee shop to the apartment, and we wouldn’t make it in time.”
“No, you can just pick me up on your way to the restaurant.”
He said nothing.
“I’ll get dressed here. I bought the dress today, so I don’t need to go to the apartment. I’ll be ready when you get here.”
A few seconds passed where neither one of us spoke. I placed the book in my hand on the third shelf and picked another one up from the floor. “Jack?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t have a—never mind. I’ll be there at six.”
“Okay. I’ll be ready.” I hesitated for a moment, not sure if it was my place to ask. “Is everything okay?”
“Of course. I’ll see you at six. Goodbye, Rose.”
“Okay. Go—”
And the line went dead.
It was going to be a long night for sure.
When Sally left around five-thirty after sitting around and chatting with me, I went straight back to the kitchen to get ready. Since my wardrobe didn’t include a dress fancy enough to go with one of Jack’s expensive suits, I had gone out and looked for something I could wear that wouldn’t look too cheap while I was standing next to him. I didn’t want a painful repeat of the day we got married. Thankfully, I’d found something in the second store I rushed into when I headed out on my lunch break.
It was as simple as a black dress could get. It was made of a thin material, the name of which I had no idea whatsoever, and had short sleeves.