Page 26 of His Loving Wife

“Oh, forget it. You’ve probably been pissing yourself the whole way here just thinking about telling her.”

I cover my mouth and momentarily forget to breathe. I’ve never heard Andrew talk to Aster like this. I’ve never heardanyonetalk to Aster like this.

“There’s no need to be rude,” David says, standing.

“Oh, hush. Aster’s been asking for this. She practically came here begging for a reaction.”

I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. “Andrew, pl—”

But he’s not done. He leans over the table, pointing at Aster and David. “You invite yourselves over, intrude upon our vacation, even have the gall to complain about the food not being ready. Now you’re trying to upset my wife?”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do,” she says.

There were a million other times she could have told me. Aster used to listen to me whine over rejection letters. She’s seen me squirm in discomfort when someone asks how the writing is going and I have nothing to say. And she’s somehow mastered the fine line of putting down my writing career and academic success at the same time. As emotionally intelligent as my sister is, she must have known this news might upset me, but she was begging to share it anyway.

“Well.” Aster pulls the napkin from her lap and places it over her plate. “I certainly didn’t expect my news to put a damper on the evening.”

“Like hell you didn’t,” Andrew says. “I hope you aren’t feeling toolethargic, David, because the two of you won’t be staying here tonight either.”

“You must be joking,” David says.

“You’re seriously going to kick us out? Make us get a hotel room this late?”

“Take it out of the boat fund,” Andrew says. With that he grabs his plate and walks into the kitchen.

David gathers his things and quickly walks outside, leaving me alone with Aster.

“That was just…” She starts but doesn’t know how to finish. “I can’t believe you’d allow him to speak to me that way.”

“I think we both know tonight’s outburst wasn’t just about the book. This is how you treat us. Like we’re sitting in the audience of the great show that is your life. You treat Mom that way, too.”

“Don’t start in on the Mom stuff. She blames Dad—”

“Newsflash, Aster. Dad isn’t around anymore. Mom and I are the only family you have left. If you don’t start treating us better, you’re going to be awfully lonely.”

Her cheeks are flushed. She clears her throat.

“Thank you for dinner,” she says curtly, and walks away.

I watch her leave, then I join Andrew in the kitchen.

“I’m sorry,” he says, his back turned to me as he loads dishes into the sink. “I’m just sick of her bullshit. I wasn’t going to let her act like she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She always knows.”

He faces me, and I can see the apprehension on his face. He’s worried he’s crossed a line, overstepped the boundary between a partner and in-laws.

“Kate, say something,” he says.

I step closer, pulling him in for a hug, resting my cheek on his chest. “Thank you.”

He pulls back, aiming for a look at my face. I’m at a cross between laughter and sadness, wishing tonight hadn’t gone sour while also grateful Aster got her comeuppance. Andrew often skirts confrontation; it’s that reluctance to get involved that has pushed us away from each other in the past year. Tonight, he sensed I was struggling and came to my defense. I feel a connection to him that I feared may have forever been broken. The man I first loved, the man who would do anything to protect my happiness, still exists, and I’ve just had a glimpse of him.

He kisses me. I’m surprised by how right it feels, my body pressed against his. We continue kissing, careless about the exposed windows across the way or the children nearby in their bedrooms. A ripple of desire swells like I haven’t felt in years, like we’re somehow being transported to those young, spontaneous kids we were when we met, before life and all its accompaniments became so daunting.

I grab his hand and lead him toward our bedroom. We lock the door behind us, as though retreating from the obstacles of life is that easy.

Chapter 13

8 Months Ago

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