“Awww, honey. I’ve missed you. The office parties aren’t the same without my partner in crime.” She air kissed me and hung her coat on the hook beside our table. “I wanted to make good on my promise.”
The server came by bringing water and menus, and we both ordered coffee.
“How have you been?” Juliette ripped open a raw sugar packet. “It was a shock when Kyle said you were divorcing.”
“Was it really?” I tapped a finger against my pursed lips.
A small grimace appeared. “He seemed super happy with you, so yeah, it was.”
“Funny. He spent loads of time at the office. Most nights it would be eight or nine before he got home.”
“That’s early, considering he was a junior partner.” She picked up her menu. “What happened last week? After you visited, Kyle cancelled every single meeting for that afternoon and holed up in his office.”
“Has Kyle been talking about me?”
“Only a few passing comments, and just to me. Nobody else, as far as I know.”
I pointed a finger at her, waving it. “Is there something going on between you and him?”
“Uh-uh,” she said with a humourless laugh. “He’s my boss. An office romance would ruin our great working relationship. I’ve been his assistant for seven years. You get to know a man.”
“I’ve known him almost four.”
“But do you truly know him?” Juliette shook her head. “Before you, he often slogged at the office until midnight. Work was his life for a long time. Kyle’s a driven man, but for you, he made sacrifices.”
“Right.” I snorted. “Mister Romantic. I should have clued in when he wanted the quickie no-frills wedding.”
The other woman tipped her head down and stared into her cup, fiddling with her spoon as she finally looked up. “Maybe I shouldn’t share this, but he’s wrestling with something. He’s in the office late every night. Over the past two weeks, I’ve counted five times where he was sacked out on his couch when I arrived. He’s been showering in the partners’ lounge and then diving in for another eighteen-hour day.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s heartbroken over little old me.” I wrinkled my nose, even though some of these words were ringing true.
“Always the little self-deprecating comments. Stop doing that and recognize the man is devastated. He loved you, but he had a hard time showing it. Or maybe he couldn’t show it in the way you expected. My theory is that the quickie wedding was self-defence before your ex-boyfriend showed up and took you back.”
My mouth dropped open. This was the last thing I expected to come out of this woman’s mouth.
“Why so shocked? Weren’t there good parts to your relationship?”
What had drawn me to Kyle Weston? And how did Juliette know how he felt about me? Even I hadn’t comprehended that during our separation and divorce, and barely during the second half of our marriage. From his actions, I’d assumed his feelings for me had died, followed shortly by our entire relationship.
A thought niggled at me, though. There had been times in the early months of our relationship when he’d beat me home, and we’d go out—dinner, a movie, or an evening walk along the seawall. Those had been the best of our days together. One weekend we’d visited the Okanagan Valley to tour wineries, and he surprised me with a romantic dinner on a patio overlooking the lake. Maybe my infatuation had faded. Maybe the love wasn’t real to begin with, even if I’d wanted Kyle to be the one. Maybe he just checked those perfect little boxes. Gorgeous? Check. Educated? Check. Successful? Double check. Wealthy? Triple check. Would make me happy for the rest of my life? Massive question mark.
“It shouldn’t be that difficult to answer that. He could have given you the world. What could you possibly need that he didn’t offer?”
His undivided attention? A scrap of affection? A happy family? Nope. I couldn’t say any of that to Kyle’s administrative assistant. He’d hate me forever if I divulged my grievances to his staff, even if this woman was once my friend. An office friend. Not a spill-all-my-painful-secrets friend like Beth or Dara. “I don’t know,” I said softly.
“If you ask me, you gave up too soon.”
Had I? Even if I had misread Kyle and the depth of his feelings for me, the one thing I couldn’t mistake was how I’d felt when I was with the man. That compared to Jake … well there simply was no comparison. Jake was my person. “I hate that Kyle’s hurting, and I never meant to hurt him, but our marriage wasn’t working on so many levels.”
That was the truth. My truth, even if it wasn’t his. As much as ending my marriage sucked, it was exactly right. My heart wasn’t in it, or at least not on the level it needed to be to overcome the issues we’d been facing. Now, with those experiences—both joyous and devastating—behind me, I was ready to give Jake everything.
Chapter 10
The tune just wouldn’t get out of my head and the bounce in my step became more pronounced as I strode down the stark hallway. I stopped humming as one of the RN’s rushed by with a chart in her hands.
A sly grin accompanied her perky, “Looking good, Amara. Who is he?”
I turned to respond, but she’d already disappeared through the double doors. Continuing my trip, I exited into the sunny afternoon, glancing at my phone as I hurried toward home, Jake’s short text making me smile:
On my way home. Can’t wait for our date tonight.
Home. For three glorious days, Jake had been staying at my apartment, and we’d sunk into an easy routine; one that grew more comfortable with each visit. The beat of my heels against the pavement increased. The return to the sweetness of being loved by Jake had planted a permanent grin on my face.
I’d barely gotten in the door when my phone rang, heralding Jake’s return from work.
“Come on up,”
