Frayed Silk(60)

“You wanted to tell me in person that you’re done using me as your plaything, you wicked woman.” He winks.

I burst out laughing. “Oh, my God. Shush. You were not my plaything.”

He looks down at the menu, skimming a long finger over it then spinning it around on the table. “What was I, then?”

A knot forms in my throat, and I force myself to swallow it down. “You’re my friend.” I reach over and grab his hand.

He lets me, looking up at me. “Funny, it felt like a little more than that to me.” He links his fingers through mine, twiddling my wedding ring around. Tears prick my eyes as I watch him.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

His shoulders lift. “Can’t be helped, Blondie. It was only meant to be a bit of fun, right?”

I frown at him when he finally meets my gaze and lets go of my hand. He laughs. “You can’t honestly think I’d want anything serious to happen with a woman who’s married and has two kids.”

Yeah, that stings. But I get it. “Fair enough,” I mutter.

“It was meant to be fun, but I guess you kinda stole something from me along the way.”

“Jared …”

“It’s okay.” He holds up a hand. “My mistake. Next time I’m looking for a distraction or a little fun, I know to be a bit more selective.”

We thank the waitress when she places our coffees down. I stir mine, looking over at Jared while he stares out the window at the busy street outside. He takes a sip of his coffee then shifts in his seat, tugging his wallet out and putting a piece of paper down on the table.

“Tell your husband I said thanks, but I won’t be needing this.” He taps it then picks his mug back up, eyeing me over the rim as I turn the paper around. My lungs seize in my chest as I take in the check for a hundred thousand dollars. Holy shit.

“He paid you to stay away from me?” I breathe.

He shrugs again. “Can you blame him, really? But yeah. Though it seems a little unnecessary now, doesn’t it?” He clears his throat. “Despite his asshole tendencies, I’d say the guy must care about you”—he holds his fingers a few millimeters apart—“just a tiny bit.”

I know he’s trying to lighten the moment, but I can’t laugh when this is anything but funny.

He fucking offered him money to stay away from me.

I get that he doesn’t trust me like he once did, but I had no idea it was this bad.

“Things are better then?” Jared asks when I keep staring at the check like it’s going to grow teeth and physically bite a chunk out of my heart.

Tearing my eyes away from it, I swallow thickly as I look up at him. “Yeah, they are.”

He nods. “What changed?”

He doesn’t say it, but I know he knows it’s got to do with him. It’s not only that, though. “Something happened to him, earlier this year.” I blow out a breath. “It, um, well, it messed him up pretty bad. He didn’t know how to handle it, and I finally found out what happened.”

Nodding again, he picks his mug back up, and I do the same, blowing on my latte and taking a few small sips.

“Bad enough to excuse how bad things got between you two?” He puts his mug down.

Is it? It’s hard to judge such a thing really. He should have told me, but I understand his reasons for not doing so. “Everyone deals with things differently, I guess,” I settle on saying.

“By making their wife miserable?” His dark brows furrow.

I wrap my hands around my mug. “I don’t think that was his intention. He’s a good man who was struggling with something terrible. Does it excuse the way he treated me?” I shrug. “No, probably not. But I’m willing to look past it, to forgive him and try again. Especially seeing as he’s willing to do the same for me.” I eye him pointedly.

He smirks. “Got a good point there, Blondie.” Looking down at his coffee, he asks, “So this is a goodbye then, right?”

My heart splinters. But it is, and I’m okay with that, even if it hurts a little. Because I love my husband. Probably more than any sane person should after what I’ve been through. But I know him. I know the man I married—and I’ve finally got him back. I’m not giving that up for the world. For anything. “Yeah, it is,” I admit quietly.

“Well”—he tips his head back, downing the rest of his coffee—“I’m glad I could help out, babe. Let me know if he ever becomes an ass again. My services will always be available to you.” He winks.

Laughing, I shake my head. “That won’t be necessary, but thank you.” I sigh. “And even if he does, that’s not me, Jared. I don’t regret knowing you, and I never could, but I won’t do something like that to him or myself again.”

He bites his lip, staring at me for a heartbeat too long before rising from his seat.

“I guess I’ll see you around then, Blondie.” He throws a ten-dollar bill onto the table. I give him a watery smile as tears prick the backs of my eyes, making it hard to try to talk. He looks down at me then gently grabs my chin, tipping it up to meet his green eyes one last time. He lowers his head to kiss me softly on the forehead then walks away.

My heart constricts as I watch him through the window, walking into the busy flow of pedestrians before disappearing.