Page 131 of Hot As Ice

It must be the wrong thing to say because Celeste bursts into tears.

I panic and freeze, then grab some napkins and hand them to her. She dabs at the tears. “I’m so sorry,” she says. “I don’t know what came over me. These earrings are beautiful, Stevie.”

“I made them myself,” I say quietly.

“You did? Wow. You’re so talented.”

I shrug. “I’m okay.”

Celeste dabs at her tears some more, then takes the earrings out of the box and replaces the ones she’s wearing with them. I’m pleased to see that they look great on her.

“Thank you so much for this lovely present,” Celeste says. “You really didn’t have to.”

“I just wanted to thank you for having me in your wedding party and for throwing Hunter such a great birthday last week.”

Celeste offers me a watery smile. “You’re the sweetest.”

I nod, trying to keep a neutral expression. When she dried her tears with the paper napkin, some of her makeup rubbed off, and now I can see the bruise around her eye.

“Excuse me,” she says, getting up. “I need to go to the powder room and check my makeup.”

“Okay.” I grab my phone and consider texting Hunter to tell him what I’ve seen, but he has a game tonight and I don’t want to distract him. I can tell him afterwards. My heart sinks, though, seeing Celeste like this. She doesn’t deserve it. No woman does.

When she gets back, her makeup is all in place again and her usual smile is back on. But I don’t want to ignore what I’ve seen. It takes a lot for me to do it, but I decide to mention it.

“You have a bruise on your eye,” I say.

She looks down at the plate of pancakes that arrived when she was in the restroom. She picks up her fork. She pokes at a blueberry on her plate. The silence stretches. She sets the fork down and looks at me.

“Yes, I do,” she says.

“How did it happen?” My heart is hammering as I speak the words. I’ve always had a hard time speaking up. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable. But the past month I’ve proved to myself that I can be strong, so I have to move past the discomfort.

“I…” She swallows, takes a sip of her drink.

“You…fell?” I offer.

She shakes her head.

“Bumped into something?”

She shakes her head again.

I take a deep, quiet breath and say, “Was it Hunter’s dad?”

Tears escape her eyes for the second time in less than 20 minutes. She grabs a napkin and dabs at her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I say, feeling awful that I keep making her cry. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“I want to file for divorce,” she says. “But I’m scared.”

“Oh my god, Celeste. I – You –“ Stumbling over my words, I reach out and grab her hand across the table. “You’ll have so much support if you do it. I promise. Hunter and I will have your back.”

“It’s so scary, Stevie. Ben has so much money. I don’t stand a chance against him. I’m terrified.”

I squeeze her hand, hoping I can make her feel safe. “Please talk to Hunter. He can help you.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want to involve anyone. I feel bad that I even told you. It’s my problem to solve, Stevie. Don’t worry. Okay?”