Page 22 of Vitamin Sea
Fantastic.
The romantic evening she had planned and prepped for had turned into a total disaster.
As Liam ambled through the door, Chloe wiped the side of her mouth and blinked a few times before letting out a sigh. Liam didn’t say anything as he busied himself with his shoes and briefcase.
She did a quick calculation—Bridget Joneswas finished, which meant she had slept for almost an hour and a half. That meant Liam was just walking in the door around 11:30 p.m.
“Hey.” Liam sounded surprised to see her lying on the couch.
“Hey,” she replied back, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice. She was thoroughly sloshed by this point, but she didn’t think that letting her emotions get the better of her would help the situation.
“Why are you all dressed up?” Liam sounded genuinely perplexed. He walked over with his briefcase before glancing at the table and seeing the special settings she had done.
“Did I miss something?” He sounded just as confused as he looked.
Chloe stayed silent and pulled the blanket tighter. She didn’t trust herself to talk.
Liam dropped his briefcase on the kitchen counter and came over to sit on the couch next to Chloe.
“Chlo?” he said.
She sat up and the blanket fell off her shoulders. Her glass of wine somehow found its way back into her hands and she took a sip.
Nice, Chloe, she thought. The last thing she needed was more wine.
Liam looked at her expectantly. She knew what a mess she must look like—smudged makeup, drool stain on the side of her mouth, blowout smooshed on one side, and red-wine-stained lips.
“You forgot our anniversary,” Chloe said, her voice wobbling. She didn’t want to cry, but her feelings seemed to be a lot stronger than her resolve.
“Our what?” Liam said.
“Our five-year anniversary,” she said, sounding a little stronger.
“Oh, fuck.” He closed his eyes. “I completely forgot.”
“I learned how to cook steak au poivre and bought a bottle of Tignanello.” Her voice was a little stronger. “I thought I would surprise you. I thought you would remember. I reminded you last week.” Her voice started to wobble again.
Liam pursed his lips together.
“I’m really sorry, Chlo.” He looked at her glass of wine and then stood up to get himself one. “I’ll make it up to you this weekend. I was stuck at the office.”
Insecurity washed over her and she waited until he had made his way back from the kitchen before she blurted out: “Was Sophia there?”
There was a pause in which Liam’s body tensed and he answered back angrily.
“Jesus Christ. Yes. Sophia was there. She’s my coworker. We’re working on the deal together.Obviouslyshe was there.”
Chloe said nothing. The revelation that Sophia had been working late with him, even though she knew she would be—shewasLiam’s coworker for goodness sake—stung. Like a taser to the face. Or, in this case, like a taser to the heart.
Liam sat back on the couch with his wine; his attitude was markedly changed from just one minute ago. Through her wine haze, Chloe wondered how it had all gone so wrong. She had spent time learning how to make this dinner, had cooked it, set up their condo with candlelight and music, dolled herself up, and had waited patiently for her boyfriend of five years to show up and be surprised.
Instead, her boyfriend had spent the evening at work in the company of a tall, blonde coworker named Sophia, and Chloe was now the subject of his annoyance. Even with a blood alcohol content of ‘toasty’ she knew that this wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.
Present
Chapter 8: A Soggy Situation
"Oh, this is too much,” Lala moaned.
