The guy with the wife probably shouldn’t.
But that wasn’t him. Not anymore, and not for a long time now.
“Can I ask you a question?” Rue asked. “About…about your wife?”
“Yeah,” he said. “You can. But only if you don’t ever hesitate again. Not when it’s about Amy.” He was so damned tired of people walking on eggshells.
“Okay,” she said softly. “Did she mind if you had female friends?”
“I didn’t have many,” he said. “But I don’t think she would have cared. She never questioned or cross-examined me, not even when I was out with Sawyer. The way he went through women before he met his fiancée, that’s a pretty good sign that she didn’t feel like she had anything to worry about.”
“So if she was okay with it then, why feel guilty about having one now?”
“Because,” he said without hesitation, “none of them looked like you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “That wasn’t what I expected.”
“I didn’t expect you, either, so we’re even.”
He could have sworn she blushed, but that didn’t seem like something she’d do. “No changing the subject,” she said. “My point is you have no reason to feel bad about this. I mean, your wife knew your brothers. She would probably love that you’re pulling one over on them, and it’s not like I’m going to ever really take her place. You might want your family to think that, but you and I both know I’m leaving. The terms of this relationship are non-negotiable.” She poked him in the chest. “So deal with it. And pretend you’re happy, because no one is going to believe you if you hang on to that deer-in-the-headlights look.”
He almost smiled. “In my defense, I’m more worried about what my brothers will say to you than I am by telling them you’re my…with me.”
She smirked. “Yeah, I can see how comfortable you are.”
“Nevertheless.”
He probably meant to say more, but she’d grabbed his hand. Or, not so much grabbed, but threaded her fingers through his like it was nothing. And it shouldn’t have been, but his heart hammered and twisted while three weeks flashed in his head like neon.
Three weeks was nothing.
Right.
He could drown a thousand times in three weeks.
“I’m not a PDA kind of guy,” he told her. One last-ditch effort to save himself. Futile, he’d guess, but he had a feeling he was in way over his head. “Just so you know.”
“And just so you know, you’ll be fine. In fact, I think you already are.” She tugged him by their joined hands toward the door. “Now let’s go convince them of that.”
Chapter Four
Great plan, but easier said than done. Especially when Ethan and Rue walked out of his bedroom, and the first person he saw was his mom, busily arranging a deli platter. When she looked up, nothing in her expression suggested she thought it odd that Ethan’s brothers were hanging out in his apartment while he was closed in his bedroom with a woman. But he still felt as if he’d been caught. Hell, he had been, and he could only wish she’d think they’d been fooling around. His life—or at least his lie—would be so much easier if she could believe that about him, but Alice Chase hadn’t raised four boys without learning to read them like books. He knew she’d see right through him, especially with Ethan’s lingering discomfort with a woman who wasn’t his wife.
Rue again squeezed his hand. What started as a forced smile melted when she caught his eye, at which point, she promptly addressed his mom. “You must be Mrs. Chase. I’m Rue Campbell.”
“It’s an absolute pleasure to formally meet you,” his mom said, like it really was the best thing that had ever happened to her. “I’ve seen you at some of the Von Adler events, and I’ve heard your mother talk about you, but I’m not sure we’ve ever spoken.”
“I’m not on the committee,” Rue explained. “My mom is the one who has to be in the middle of everything, while I’m more of the behind-the-scenes type.”