“What are you doing here?”
“I thought maybe you could use some girl time.”
I start to cry again, which I swear is all I do, and hug my best friend. “I could. I so could.”
She wraps her arm around my shoulders and we go inside. She already has three bottles of wine and cookies waiting for me.
“This is perfect.”
She grins. “Good. I had very clear instructions.”
“What?”
“Your husband called on his way home from Georgia two days ago.”
“Wait,” I say with shock. “Oliver called you?”
“He did. Almost caused me to drop Cassandra when I heard his voice.”
This man continues to shock me. He called Devney, his ex and my best friend, because he couldn’t stay the extra days in Georgia with me. He had something urgent at home that he had to take care of immediately. He hasn’t said what, but I assume it has something to do with the resort.
I miss him, but I understand the pressures of work, so I’ve been trying to let him focus on that without bothering him too much.
“I can’t believe he called you . . .”
“He was very persuasive, not that it took much to convince, but it was very sweet.” Devney pours us each a glass of wine before sitting down. “So, tell me the truth, are you okay?”
I sink down, feeling like I can let it all out. “No, I’m not.”
“I didn’t think you would be. Hell, after my brother and sister died, I wanted to crawl into that hole with them, but we can’t.”
“You had Sean and Austin.”
“Yes, and you have Oliver.”
I sigh. “I do, but I worry.”
“About?”
“With my father gone, there’s no need for pretense anymore. He could end things, and I wouldn’t blame him. I keep thinking about how he should, even.”
Devney takes a sip of her wine and watches me. “You don’t believe that. If he only cared about maintaining the lie, he wouldn’t have been there with you for a week right before the resort fully opened. He sure as shit wouldn’t have called me to ask if I would come see you so you wouldn’t be alone when you got home.”
She’s right. “Okay, so, maybe it’s that I worry we won’t work for other reasons.”
“Such as?”
“Is this not incredibly strange talking about Oliver?”
Devney raises one brow. “Not any stranger than watching you marry him.”
“Point taken.”
“We don’t have to talk about any of this, Maren. I came here to be a shoulder to cry on or the friend who holds your hair back if you get obliterated drunk. Either one works.”
I rest my head on the back of the couch and shrug. “I don’t want to talk about Georgia.”
“I understand.”
“I should. I know I should.”
“Says who?” Devney asks. “There are no rules for grieving, Mare. You can talk or not or cry or not, there’s no wrong way or timeframe on it either. I don’t care what people say, some days you’re going to be in the shit and other days won’t hurt.”
“Do you still cry?”
The last thing I want is to make her sad, but I don’t know what to expect. I was so young when my mother died that it’s hard to remember how I felt or how I endured it.
“I do. I miss my brother. He was my best friend, and . . .” She looks into her wine as she slowly swirls it around the glass. “I hate saying this, but there are times I feel so much guilt that it can choke me. My brother was supposed to raise Austin. That was the agreement. Yes, he is my son, but that wasn’t supposed to be my role, you know? Then the accident happened, and I was a mom to this kid who thought I was his aunt. I shouldn’t have him. I shouldn’t have the life I have.”
I reach over, taking her hand. “I think we all have the lives we have by design.”
“Maybe, but then how the hell do you explain your love life?”
“I can’t. I’m married to your ex—actually legally married—for now, but we’re dating, which is strange.”
Devney smiles. “It’s also amazing. Wait, what do you mean for now?”
I place the glass down on the coffee table. “I’m filing for divorce.”
“What? Why? What?” She sits up straight.
“I spoke with a divorce attorney the day before I left, and she is drawing the paperwork up. She’s not sure if I can do an annulment since I kind of tricked him into it, but she thinks he would have to file it. Either way, I’m going to let him out of it.”
“What does he think about this?”
“I haven’t told him.”
Devney’s jaw opens and closes. “I’m going to assume you were of sound mind when you came up with this plan?”
“Obviously.”
“I’m not so sure. Why would you divorce him without talking to him first?”
I release a heavy sigh. “Because I love him.”
“Makes total sense. I would want to end the marriage to the man I love too.”
I shift my weight forward, needing to explain. “No, it does make sense. Oliver has always been the guy who was second choice.”
“Mare . . .”
“I know you didn’t think of him that way, but it’s how he feels. You left him to marry Sean, and no one is saying that was the wrong choice, but it is how it went down. Then there was the girl he was with before you guys met.”
Devney sits back. “I forgot about her.”
“He was engaged to her, I think.”
“But she met someone else . . .”
I nod. “Exactly. He told me how he didn’t want a relationship. He had no intention of falling in love again.”
“But he did, Maren. He fell in love with you. The fact that he was in Georgia for you proves that.”
“It does, which is why I have to do this.”
I have to give him up so I can prove to him that he’s my first choice. He needs to see that we are together because we love each other, not because of some mistakenly filed paperwork.
I want him to know that I love him. I want him. And we can take whatever time we need to get to know each other and be together.
Devney raises her glass to me. “Here’s to hoping it goes the way you want it to.”
I grab mine and tap it against hers. “I have a plan.”
She laughs before taking a sip. “And we see how well that went last time.”
This will be different. It’s being done the right way.
“When will I see you again?” I ask Oliver.
“Soon, I hope.”
“How is the issue at the resort?”
“Issue?” Oliver sounds confused. “Oh, the issue I had to leave for? Yeah, it’s being handled.”
I wipe a spot on the floor a little harder before plopping to my knees. Hearing his voice makes me eager to see him. I don’t want to waste time. It’s precious and goes far too quickly. What we have is worth making the effort for, so we’re both going to have to bend. I’m more than willing to go first.
“Good that you could help. I was thinking that I could come there this weekend?”
Oliver doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. “I’d like that, but I’m going to be working the front desk. I have to make up for the time my siblings filled in for me.”
“I can help,” I offer. “I may not know how to run a resort, but I’m sure I can answer the phones or whatever you need.”
“I’m good. We’ll get it figured out. Just stay there.”