Changing Course (Wrecked and Ruined #1)(39)

"Um..." I drone out, trying to buy myself some time to figure out how to answer this question. I don't know this woman, and I surely don't want to explain to her that, yes, I've been naked with her husband, but not actually had sex with him. Crap, Brett is someone's husband! I'm assuming she would consider what Brett and I did on Monday night to be cheating, so I decide to just give her the abridged version, sparing us both the pain of the details.

"Yes, but just once. It was on Monday night. He took me out to Lang's, then we went back to his place...Oh God, did I do it in your bed?" I ask, and I swear I hear a muffled laugh. I can't imagine what she could find humorous in this situation. But before I have a chance to wonder about her strange reaction, she responds.

"No. He has a place in Chicago where he stays at when he has to work late. The kids and I live about thirty miles outside the city. It's hard for him to commute sometimes. Gosh, I thought that apartment was such a good idea when he suggested it, but now it seems like he takes every woman he meets there! I just assumed he was working late. I'm such a silly woman." She sniffles into the phone.

"You…you have kids?" I cry harder imagining beautiful green-eyed babies who look just like their father.

"Yes, two girls. They are the ones hurt most by his...extra-curricular activities. They miss him so much when he stays in the city."

My heart breaks for those innocent children. I can't believe he would do this. He seems so genuine and sincere, yet he’s out cheating on his wife every opportunity he gets. Great, he’s cheating on his wife and children with me! As I dry my eyes, I decide I no longer want to be a victim here. She needs to know the man she is married to so she can finally get free of his lies.

"He told me you were dead." I tell her quickly and quietly, before I lose my nerve.

"Oh, no, sweetheart. I am very much alive." She begins to loudly laugh into the phone. It confuses the heck out of me, because she doesn't even attempt to cover it this time. For the life of me I can't figure out what could be funny right now. Whatever. I guess we all react differently in stressful situations. I just need to fill her in, so I get off this phone and forget all about this conversation and Brett cheating Sharp.

"He said he lost you in a car accident." I pause as something dawns on me. "Crap, did he lie about Caleb's fiancé too?" I hear a loud bump, then nothing but cold silence.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

"I'm...here," she says, and for the first time since I answered my phone, I hear real tears in her voice. It's all probably sinking in for her now. Maybe her shock has worn off, mine certainly hasn't though. I listen to her sniffle for a second knowing that, in a way, I am responsible for this.

"God, I'm sorry. I had no idea he was married. You should probably know he doesn't wear a wedding ring either."

"Yeah, um... I should go." She answers as I hear a knock at her door over the phone.

"Hold on just one second, Jesse" I can hear her go to the door. Her voice clears up as she completely transforms from the sad woman she was only few seconds ago. "Oh, no problem, sweetheart, I was just chatting with Jesse."

"Sarah, what the f*ck!" Brett's voice roars over the line.

"She needed to know."

"Really, what did she need to know?"

"That you're my husband."

"Jesse, hang up the phone!" I hear him shout over the phone as they exchange a few muffled words.

"You are such a dick, Brett! Is that any way to talk to the love of your life?" And that is all I need to hear in order to close this screwed up chapter in my life. I hang up the phone leaving Brett and "the love of his life" to hash it out between themselves.

I turn off my phone falling into bed crying over a man who doesn't deserve my tears. I try to forget, but I can't take my mind off of him. I think back over the time we have spent together, wracking my brain for all the signs I should have seen. I wonder what he told his wife while we were together. Would he sneak away from his family to call me every night? How long would he have strung me along before getting bored and moving on?

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I'm awakened by an angry knock at my door. Half-asleep, and forgetting the craziness from earlier, I wander down the hall to see who is causing such a racket at...jeez it’s only nine P.M. I must have crashed out. I peek out to see Brett standing outside. Lord, he's sexy even with his face contorted through the oval glass of the peep hole. Suddenly, everything about the last few hours comes back into focus causing me to slide down the door just to keep myself from opening it.

"Jesse, open the door," he says quietly. I have no idea how he knows I'm here, but the fact that he doesn't shout at the closed door lets me know that he does. "I can see where you’re blocking the light at the bottom of the door. It wasn't there a minute ago." He answers my unspoken question.

Knowing I've been caught I quickly flip off the hall light sending the room into darkness. "And now, I know I was right because you just turned off the light completely. I'm a detective, remember?" I drop my head back against the door causing a loud thump. Wonderful, now I've confirmed his suspicions.

"Please, gorgeous. I have no idea what Sarah said to you, but let's talk about it."