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“That makes no sense.”
Wyatt laughed, warm and deep. “It’s too hard to convince someone unless they actually try it.”
Anita found herself smiling. “I hope you don’t think I’m willing to be your guinea pig, because I’m not.”
“Suit yourself.”
She was still smiling when she hung up with Wyatt. They’d agreed to meet that afternoon. Carly wouldn’t have band, so it would work out time-wise. It wasn’t that she had to be with them, but she’d be upset if she were left out. She’d asked multiple times over the past two weeks for updates.
Anita grabbed her keys and decided some grocery shopping was in order. Just in case Wyatt stayed for dinner again. She headed to the store, grateful for the sunny day. Everything seemed brighter for some reason. The colors of the vibrant green bushes, the scarlet blooms, a shiny sky-blue car...She didn’t realize she was smiling to herself until an older woman pushing a cart full of potato rolls greeted her in the grocery aisle.
“You’re having a good day,” the woman said in a friendly tone.
She blinked. “I guess I am.”
The woman nodded and continued on her way. Anita looked about the aisle, not sure what exactly she wanted to fix for dinner. She headed to the meats section and decided on stir fry. She had the time to marinate the meat. Next, she picked up salad fixings, then paused by the bin with corn on the cob. She wondered if Wyatt liked corn. She picked up a few, deciding that most people liked corn.
“Anita?” a man said from behind her.
The back of her neck prickled. She’d know that voice anywhere. Yet it was impossible to hear it in her local grocery store. Maybe she’d misheard another person talking.
“It is you,” the man continued, coming around the other side of the bin.
Anita’s heart sank as she looked into the brown eyes of her ex-husband. “Bobby?”
“Robert. I go by Robert now.” His brows pulled together as he studied her.
She studied him right back. His dark brown hair was short, with a hint of gray at the temples. He wore a brand-name golf shirt that sat snug around his stomach paunch, revealing the weight he’d gained over the years, but clearly he’d never changed his shirt size. A gold chain winked at his neck, and he wore one of those watches that looked expensive. Even from here, she could smell his dose of cologne. It had been a long time since she’d seen this man...how long exactly? Ten years.
“What are you doing in . . . Seattle?” she managed to ask.
“You’re looking really good, Anita.” Bobby’s open gaze perused her as if he had all the time in the world to be staring at her in a grocery store.
“What are you doing in Seattle?” she repeated.
His eyes flicked back to her face, and he flashed his white smile. “I’m visiting my parents.”
She nodded and gripped the handle of her shopping cart. “How are they?”
“Fine.” His brows quirked. “Where’s Carly?”
She felt immediately annoyed by the question. “She’s at school, Bobby. With all the other kids her age.”
“Right, right.” He rubbed a hand over his chin, which had some stubble.
She’d forgotten him always saying his little catchphrase of Right, right.
“Are you single?”
Anita opened her mouth, then closed it. This man had no right to any information about her personal life. Especially not after completely disappearing from Carly’s life. Instead of answering, she said, “Are you still married?”
His gaze flicked with something unreadable. “Gloria and I are separated.”
Gloria...had Anita ever known his second wife’s name? “Sorry to hear that,” she said stiffly. How else was she supposed to reply?
“You didn’t answer my question.” He gave that white smile again—the one in which he expected to always get his way.
Why couldn’t there be some sort of interruption? Maybe another person needing to pick out corn? Or an announcement about a sale on cucumbers coming over the PA system? Or maybe she could have arrived at the store fifteen minutes later and avoided all of this. “I’m still single,” she said.
