Page 180 of The Paid Wife: A Lesbian Romance

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be back in a couple of hours.”

Dani nodded and attempted a smile. Her eyes were still red

and watery, her dark lashes clumped together. “Okay.”

Emily touched her index and middle finger to Dani’s

quivering lower lip. “I promise,” she breathed.

Dani walked over to the oven and took two cookies, then

wrapped them in a paper towel. “For the road,” she said, and

this time her smile was bigger and full of trust.

Chapter 20

Emily

Emily said she would fix things and she’d been sure she

would when she left Dani’s apartment. She knew she wasn’t

giving up. Not on Dani. Not on them. Not even on her parents.

Somehow, she’d find a way to make what had turned into a

giant mess into a smaller mess that eventually worked itself

into no mess at all. That was her goal, but she had zero idea

how to achieve it.

Since it was after seven when Emily arrived at her parents’

house, she figured they’d both be home. She didn’t feel

confident just walking in. She parked in the driveway in front

of the house and rang the bell, feeling like an intruder. How

had she called this place her home not so very long ago? It felt

cold and impersonal now, a huge sprawling structure with no

life to it at all.

She shivered even though the temperature was still

blistering. She ran her hands along her bare arms, smoothing

out the goosebumps and tamping down her nerves. Her mom

answered the door, her hair swept back into a tight,

immaculate knot at her neck. She was wearing the usual I have

nowhere to be but here attire: a sleek, form-fitting white dress,

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