He hasn’t brought up the whole divorce thing, not since early in our roommate arrangement, and I’m not about to say anything. Instead, I’ve tried to show him, day in, and day out, how great of a team we make—together—and I think he may finally see it too.
I smile as I grab the container of treats I made and head out the front door. Today, I’m scheduled to work with my bestie at Kiss Me Goodnight. I’m so excited to spend the time with her. It seems Elma Hanson enjoyed her time away so much, she actually started scheduling herself less hours and asked me to fill in for her. So I added another job to my already busy schedule.
But I don’t mind. I love being so busy, doing a wide variety of jobs.
The drive to the lingerie store is short, and I’m singing Backstreet Boys as I pull into the alley behind the shop. I smile when I see Latham milling around out back by the lumberyard behind the hardware store and pull into the space closest to my bestie’s sexy store.
When I get out of my car, I spot Latham heading in my direction. He waves and smiles when he spies the container in my hand. “Any chance that might be some of your banana bread again?”
Smiling, I open the lid. “Not banana bread, but cranberry and mandarin muffins.”
He glances down, grimacing. “Will I like it?” he asks, hesitantly taking a treat.
“Does a bear shit in the woods?”
Latham snorts and takes a bite on the top of the muffin. He chews slowly, pulling a face. “Are there nuts in there?”
“Oatmeal.”
He takes a second bite, again carefully chewing, before he reaches in and grabs a second from the pan. “I’ll just take another for later,” he says before throwing me a grin and a wink and turning to head toward his side of the business. We all know ‘later’ really means like five minutes.
“Enjoy!” I holler, grinning as I close the container and make my way to Harper’s side.
“Thank you, Freedom!”
“You’re welcome, Latham!”
“Were you talking to my husband?” Harper asks when I pop in the back door.
“I was. He stole two muffins,” I tell her, taking my phone out and setting my purse in her small office.
“Only two? He’s always hungry,” she says, shaking her head and grinning like a loon.
“Hungry for your cookie?” I tease, recalling one time I showed up to help with inventory but found them in a very compromising position in the dressing room.
Harper laughs. “That too…”
I follow her to the counter and grab the coffee cup that doesn’t have the lipstick mark on the top and take a sip. “Mocha?”
“Sugar free,” she adds with a wink.
“So, good,” I draw out, groaning in happiness as I take my first sip.
“We have fifteen minutes before I have to unlock the door. Tell me all the deets of living with my brother, but leave out the icky stuff,” Harper begs, her bright blue eyes wide with excitement as she takes a seat on the stool behind the counter.
I shrug. “There’s nothing to tell, really.”
“Bullshit! You painted his front door. I still haven’t heard how you got away with it.” Harper grins over the lid of her coffee cup.
Again, I shrug my shoulders. “His place was in need of some serious color,” I tell her, even though she already knows.
“No shit! Did he flip his lid and start spewing statistics about burglary and crime rates to houses with painted doors?”
I chuckle. “No. I mean, yes, he flipped his lid, but mostly because of all the other stuff I painted too, remember? I’ve learned since then he’s not so bad if I just ask for his input before I do it.”
I can feel my bestie’s gaze from across the counter.
“What?”
“You love him.”
I open my mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. Instead, I go with the truth. “Totally.”
“So? What are you going to do about it?”
I sigh. “Well, he hasn’t brought up the whole divorce thing for a while, so I’m kinda hoping he just wants to stay shacked up with the ol’ ball and chain.”
She smiles. “And if he doesn’t?”
The thought makes me sadder than I ever thought possible.
“I guess I’ll just have to change his mind with the sex,” I tell her, going for comedy relief instead of facing the real issue.
Harper snorts and shoves half a muffin in her mouth. “I’m so glad you’re having the sex, even if it’s with my brother,” she says through an open, full mouth.
“I can see what Latham sees in you, being all refined and ladylike,” I tease, as she continues to chew through her massive bite.
The moment she swallows, she says, “It’s my boobs.”
“Hell yes,” Latham chimes in as he enters the boutique side of their business. When he reaches his wife, he adds, “And her ass too,” as he gives her a hard slap that makes her yelp.
“Please don’t get all kinky right now. We’re about to open, and I really don’t want to have to explain why you’re demonstrating the flogger to the first lady to enter.”
“You have a flogger?” Latham asks his wife, his eyes eagerly searching her lingerie boutique for the dirty goods.
“No. Well, not here anyway,” she replies with a grin and a wink.
There’s no missing the fact Latham adjusts his crotch before kissing Harper on the lips. “See you at lunchtime. Love you.”
“Love you too,” she tells him, smiling like a schoolgirl with her first crush.
“Bye, Free.”
“Later,” I tell him as he disappears into the hardware store. “You two
