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"She told me as much. Said she'd hoped it would pave the way for her in the fashion world." The idea of being used weighed on me. That she’d fooled me so easily. I'd always thought of myself as a good judge of character.
She gasped. "Oh my God. That is horrible. I’m so sorry." The look in Reese’s eyes was real, and I appreciated that.
"Yeah. I'm still in disbelief myself every time I replay it in my head. I wonder how I didn't see the signs."
"How did you find out?" she asked.
"We were at an event. She was flirting with a guy. I confronted her about it, and she just threw it in my face. I thought she might be drunk, but when we got home, she laid it all out. She had been drinking too much, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t speaking the truth. The next morning, she tried to patch things up, but there was nothing to salvage. When she realized she’d lost me, she turned vicious. I filed for divorce the next week. It was a shit show."
"I don't understand how someone can do that."
I shook my head. "Me neither."
"Ummm... well, I thought I’d have words of wisdom for you, but I don’t. Sorry I can't be of any help." She turned her head away, her eyes downcast.
"Reese." I reached for her hand, squeezing it. She startled for a few seconds but then relaxed. At the back of my mind, I realized I was probably crossing a line, but I didn't care. This felt right: touching her, talking to her. I didn't feel the need to hide anything from her. "You were right about one thing. Talking to you helped."
She brightened a bit at that. "Okay, that's good. I'm happy to give you a recommendation—"
"No, I'm not going to talk to a therapist. It's just not how I do things."
"I respect that. Just so you know, you can call me at any time to talk about it. Your conversations are safe with me."
"Why would you offer? I’m practically a stranger."
"I think we know enough about each other to stop pretending we're strangers," Reese said.
She was right, and I did want to call her after this weekend. But not to talk about my ex-wife.
A gust of wind blew past us, and she shivered. "Oh, it's getting chillier. I wish they'd put cozy blankets out here."
"Here." I took off my jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. She already had a jacket on, but it seemed far too thin.
"Dom, you're going to be cold."
"No, I'm not. I have a shirt on and an undershirt."
She made a small sound at the back of her throat.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Nothing.” Reese blushed. “Thank you for the jacket."
The wind intensified out of nowhere. It looked like a storm might roll in.
"I think we should head inside," she suggested.
"Yeah, come on. I'll hold you close and warm you up."
We descended the porch steps, taking a left turn toward our bedrooms, but then I felt Reese pull to the side before she yelled, "Ouch!"
"What happen—”
She lost her balance, falling to the right. I was so surprised that I didn't have time to brace myself, and I went down with her. Before I knew it, we were both on the ground. I managed to stop myself from landing on her, but only just barely.
Reese was shaking. A few seconds later, I realized it was with laughter. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I don't even know how I did that. I must have put my foot down the wrong way."
"Are you hurt?" I asked.
