Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(37)

“You need to tell Seth you’re going back to work,” her mother advised.

“I will.” But she wasn’t in any hurry. They were barely speaking. For Leif’s sake, they each made an effort to be civil in his presence. As far as Justine was concerned, though, they might as well be roommates. Or strangers.

“Is that why you had lunch with Warren Saget?” her mother asked, staring directly at her.

Shocked, Justine widened her eyes. Warren had taken her to lunch last week, but he’d been careful to ensure they wouldn’t be seen. They’d met at a small, out-of-the-way restaurant in Gig Harbor. It’d happened only once and Justine had felt guilty about it ever since. How her mother knew was beyond her, but it explained the invitation for tea in this private setting.

“You heard about that, did you?” she asked, hoping to make light of the incident.

“I did, and I probably wasn’t the only one. I didn’t know Warren was back in your life.”

He wasn’t, but saying so would only raise other questions she didn’t want to answer. “Warren’s a friend of mine,” she said tersely.

“Is he, Justine?” her mother asked point-blank.

It seemed that an explanation would be necessary, after all. “Soon after the fire, Seth and I had an argument. I had to get away so I went down to the waterfront. While I was there, Warren joined me. All of a sudden I had a panic attack. I’ve never had one before and Warren was extremely kind to me.”

“Oh, Justine! How frightening.”

She nodded. “I didn’t know what was happening, but he calmed me down and talked me through it. Then last week he asked me to lunch and it seemed to mean so much to him, I couldn’t say no.” She sighed. “I shouldn’t have gone. I regret it now.”

“Have you thought what Seth would say if he knew?”

Justine had foolishly believed no one would ever find out. Including her husband. So much for that theory. If her mother had heard about the lunch, then there wasn’t any reason to believe Seth wouldn’t eventually hear about it, too.

“Who told you?” she asked.

“An attorney friend. It wasn’t like Sharon came running to tell me, either. She hardly knows you and mentioned that she saw you in Gig Harbor with your father. I knew it couldn’t have been Stan and surmised you must’ve been with Warren.”

“It won’t happen again, Mom.”

“It’s none of my business. This is your life, but I’d hate to see you do something stupid that’ll hurt you and your marriage.”

Her mother was right. She had to talk to her husband, let him know how damaging his actions had been. Confrontation had never been easy for her but they needed to reconnect with each other before it was too late.

Justine went home soon afterward. She wasn’t supposed to pick up Leif until dinnertime, and she’d hoped to find Seth.

To her disappointment he wasn’t home. Maybe she’d drive over to her grandmother’s place. Just as she got ready to turn around and leave, the front door opened and Seth stepped inside. Penny, their small dog, trotted over to greet him.

She and Seth stood several feet apart and stared as though they’d never seen each other before. For the longest time all they did was look. Neither moved. Neither spoke.

A tightness gripped Justine’s throat, and all at once tears filled her eyes and clogged her throat. She couldn’t continue living the way they were, couldn’t go on pretending everything was fine when it so clearly wasn’t.

With all her heart she loved Seth, and she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. If she didn’t do something, she would lose him. They’d lose each other.

Out of need and fear, she took one step toward her husband. He did the same. Before she knew it, Justine was in his arms and Seth was kissing and hugging her as though they’d been reunited after a lengthy absence. He tangled his fingers in her hair as he brought his mouth to hers. Tears spilled down her face and she was sobbing and kissing him back, all the while pulling his shirt free of his waistband. She needed her husband, wanted him.

Justine wasn’t sure how they made it to the bedroom. Ravenous as they were for each other, they didn’t even completely undress before they fell on the bed, gasping and panting.

By the time they’d made love, Seth was half on the bed, his feet on the floor, while Justine was pinned to the edge of the mattress. They broke into wide grins.

“Oh, Seth,” she whispered, “I’ve missed you so much.”

He straightened and they climbed onto the bed, lying on their sides, facing each other. He kissed her chin and traced her cheekbones with one hand.

“I’ve been the biggest fool who ever lived,” Seth told her. “We lost the restaurant. That’s tragic, but I still have what’s most important in my life. You and Leif.”

Tears clouded her eyes and she attempted a smile.

Seth continued to stroke her face. “I went down to see Larry Boone this afternoon.”

Justine bit her lip.

“I took the job, Justine. I’m going to be selling boats.”

A small cry of happiness escaped as she wrapped her arms around Seth’s neck and hugged him with all her might.

“I’m so glad,” she said, sobbing openly. “Everything’s going to be fine.” That was when she told him about her lunch with Warren. From the way his mouth tightened and his eyes narrowed, she knew Seth wasn’t pleased. But once the truth was out, Justine felt as if a backpack loaded with rocks had been removed from her shoulders.