Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(96)

I smiled to hide my irritation. “Fine.”

“You’re the best. Love you.” He pecked my cheek.

“Love you, too.” I got out of bed and slipped on a t-shirt. Shortly after, I nodded off while John finished watching his game. And that was that.

When Friday rolled around, I looked forward to getting a head start on my weekend. Bernie Alexander, my boss, had given me the okay to go home early. I wanted to surprise John with the evening I’d imagined earlier in the morning.

He’d rushed out early only giving me a chaste kiss on the cheek. With everything we had going on we desperately needed to spend some quality time together. A distance had grown between us I was desperate to close.

As I drove along the highway singing one of my favorite tunes, I went through my plans. I was going to take a hot shower, put on some lingerie, slip into my highest heels, and lightly perfume my body with the scent John had given to me for Christmas. My hair would be loosely curled like it had been the night we’d met—he always said he loved it like that. There would be no rain checks tonight.

After stopping by our local wine shop to pick up a six pack of John’s favorite beer and a bottle of my favorite red, I opened the door to our condo. When I walked in, movement off to my left in the family room caught my attention. It was too early in the day for John to be home, so I assumed there was an intruder. I inched my way in and looked for something to use as a weapon. But, when I turned the corner, I saw the back of John’s head. His sandy brown hair, that was usually so perfectly coiffed, was ruffled and the muscles on his soft, naked body were tensed as he pounded into a woman from behind.

The air was sucked from my lungs. In a flash, I assessed this homewrecker and tried to see what could make him choose her over me. Her bleached-blond hair had at least one inch of black roots, and her shiny, shellacked, hot pink fingernails clung to the edge of our couch as she braced herself against his abuse. The folds of her stomach hanged loose, and her breasts swayed while she moaned his name. I was stunned. This couldn’t be happening—not to me. Then, he uttered words too vulgar to repeat, and it yanked me out of my stupor—he never spoke to me like that. This wasn’t my John.

I continued to watch in horror as he thrust himself into her. The burn of bile itched at my throat, staring at the ripples forming on her toneless white thighs. Maybe I could walk out— pretend I didn’t just see it—but it wasn’t a possibility. My cheeks flushed, and I threw my keys on the table next to the door.

“Sorry to interrupt John, catch you at a bad time?” My hands shook as I struggled to restrain myself from launching at his throat.

Their heads snapped up, and John instantly disengaged.

“Sember,” he said, grabbing his shirt to cover himself. He stepped in front of her naked body—a gesture to preserve her dignity—and I choked back a laugh. The woman ducked behind the couch and grabbed for her clothes. She threw her wrinkled sweater over her head and zipped into her snug, casual black slacks. Her bra dangled from her wrist as she snatched her shoes.

“I thought you said she wouldn’t be home,” she whispered to John.

When he silently shrugged, she grabbed the rest of her things, and edged her way past me to scurry out the door. Her bare feet slapped against the pavement outside.

John stood with his mouth open and grunted, trying to come up with the right words. Finally, he said, “It’s not what it looks like.”

I actually laughed. Truly. His career was built on coming up with tag lines on the spot, and that was the best he could produce. I always assumed he was great at advertising, but maybe the stress he’d been experiencing at work was justified.

“Look, I didn’t think you’d be home this early.”

I took a deep breath and gathered my composure. “You didn’t think I’d be home this early? I’m sorry, did I hear you correctly?” I waited for a response while he threw on his clothes, but he said nothing. “How about I’m sorry? That’s where I’d start if I were you.”

He sat on the couch and groaned. “It didn’t mean anything, Sember. She works for the account we’re trying to win. I had to do it.”

“You had to have sex with another woman? Are you kidding me?”

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.” He shook his head.

Any words I could have said, planted themselves firmly in my throat. I was in a trance, watching someone else’s life. My feelings were all over the place. Rage, regret, fury, and despair simultaneously meshed together and then separated. I clutched my stomach and walked to our bedroom. He followed closely behind.

“Leave me alone,” I said. “You should go.”

“What?”

I pushed past him and pulled open the closet door. I yanked his suitcase down from the top shelf and thrust it at him. His arms remained slack. “Here. Put your stuff in here and get out. I’m going to pack up my things and I don’t need you hovering over me.” I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I envisioned breaking into a full sprint, running for my car, escaping the madness and misery, but once I was gone, I never wanted to come back to this place. I put on my poker face and kept my cool. “This is your condo, not mine. You live here, and I don’t anymore.”

He crossed his arms and stood motionless. I tossed his suitcase on the bed and grabbed random things off the floor. My eyes welled as he watched, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I grabbed his laundry basket, dumped it into his suitcase, zipped it up, and shoved it against his chest.