Page 66 of Love or Leave

She hadn't heard from him since the weekend when they waved goodbye to each other and parted ways. As much as she wanted to talk to him and see him, she refused to initiate the communication. She knew that any interaction at all with him would just make things worse.

Why did she think she could have sex with him and sleep in his big spoon and not fall in love?

Why?!

"Everything okay?"

She looked up at Dr. Tanaka and winced. She'd told no one what happened, obviously, because they were lying to all theirfriends. The only person she could talk to about it was Antonio, and that wasn't going to happen.

Cara dropped her chin. "You know how I went to a bachelorette party last weekend?"

Dr. Tanaka slowly lowered her fork to her dish as her eyes widened. "Yes."

Cara sucked in a breath and braced herself. "While I was there, I slept with my brother's friend."

Dr. Tanaka fell back into her chair. "Oh my God," she said. "I thought you were going to tell me something bad happened."

"That's not bad?" Cara asked, her voice coming out all squeaky. "I'm pretty sure I fell in love with him."

Dr. Tanaka's eyes darted around. "What did your brother say?"

"He doesn't know."

"Oh," she said, looking down for a moment to collect her thoughts. "Are you going to… date him?"

Cara shook her head. "No. He's still in love with his wife."

Dr. Tanaka's eyes bulged.

"They're separated," she said. "It wasn't a cheating thing."

Dr. Tanaka settled back in her chair slightly, then let out a long whistle. "You should really lead with these updates on Monday mornings. Holding it in isn't good for your skin."

Cara bit into her sandwich. "I've been trying to forget it happened."

"But you can't?"

Cara shook her head and glanced back down at the screen in her hand. "He texted me, but I haven't read it," she said, staring at her phone. "I'm afraid to look."

"Maybe he likes you as much as you like him?"

Cara shrugged. "Would it matter? He's a walking red flag."

"How so?"

"He's still technically married. And he cheated on a girl before. He's very good at lying. He's ten years older than me. And Max doesn't trust him."

Dr. Tanaka nodded in agreement.

"If Max doesn't even trust his own friend, how could I?"

"Maybe you should read the text."

Cara scrunched her face, released it with a sigh, and unlocked her phone. She read the text out loud.

Antonio: Hey, just reaching out to see if we're okay.

A moment of silence passed between Cara and Dr. Tanaka.

---