Page 17 of One Last Kiss
When she hadn’t immediately responded, he’d bolted though. He’d been willing to follow her anywhere, but he wouldn’t watch her squirm uncomfortably while she thought of a good way to reject him again.
The ache in his heart deepened to the point that he had to resist clutching his chest with one hand.
“Are you all right?” Dr. Dumont asked. “Do you need a glass of water?”
He looked up at her and shook his head. “Just tell me, in your experience, when things get to the point of divorce papers, do couples ever change their mind? Do they ever turn backand decide to have another go at it?”
“In my experience?” Dr. Dumont asked.
He nodded.
“Well, in my experience of over twenty years practicing, no. Once couples have gotten to the point of divorce papers, and they’ve both signed, I’ve never seen any of my clients change their minds.” She raised a finger. “But I will never give up hope that one day they will. I believe couples get married because they love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together. That’s a very strong feeling,” she said. “If two people harbor such strong emotions, why can’t they work on things and make it last?”
“You’re the therapist,” Sam said. “You tell me?”
“I believe they can,” Dr. Dumont told him.“And if they didn’t believe it, I don’t think they’d be coming to see me.”
“Well, there’s a snag in your theory this time,”Sam muttered. “I’m not a complete couple coming to see you. It’s just me. Abby isn’t here because she doesn’t believe in us anymore.”
When Dr. Dumont didn’t immediately respond, Sam looked up and met her gaze. There was something there in her eyes that caught his attention. A secret. Something she wasn’t telling him. “What is it?” he asked, feeling his heartbeat kick up.
Dr. Dumont’s mouth quirked as if trying to suppress the tiniest of smiles. “As a therapist, I’m required to uphold something called patient confidentiality,” she told him.
Sam nodded. “You told me that during our first session.”
“Then you know that I will never tell any of my patients that I am seeing you. And vice versa, I will never tell you the names of any of the other patients I work with.” Her brow line lifted high over her glasses.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Sam asked, raising his voice.
“You tell me, Sam?” she asked in hercool, collected voice.
That was another therapist strategy that he was getting tired of. The way she turned his questions around and fired them right back.
Sam swallowed. Was Abby coming to see Dr. Dumont on her own too? When she’d asked him to go with her and he’d declined, he’d just assumed that she’d hadn’t come. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe both he and Abby were coming because they hadn’t given up hope on their marriage.
Looking up at Dr. Dumont, he asked, “What do I need to do?” He already knew she was going to fire that question right back at him though. What did he need to do to make Abby stay?What did she need from him but didn’t feel like she was getting before? What was it that she didn’t believe he would be able to give her now?
He’d thought it was a baby, but it had never been about that. He remembered the night she’d walked out on him. There’d been a hesitation in her body language as she’d turned to look at him. He’d thought about that moment so many times. Had she wanted him to talk her out of leaving? The sting of rejection had overpowered his ability to do anything in that moment but watch her go.
She’d had the same expression in the basement when they’d been freed. His offer to go to Atlanta with her lingered in the air between them. He’d assumed she was going to shoot him down, but what if he’d pressed harder? Was that what she was hoping for?
“She needs me to fight for her and our marriage,” Sam told Dr. Dumont.“She needs to know that we can survive any trials or disappointments as long as we have each other. She’s had a lot of people let her down in her life. I’ve been one of them. She needs to know that from now on, I’ll be there.”
Dr. Dumont smiled. “So go make her believe you, Sam.”
