Page 67 of The Husband I Left

My stomach tightens at the mention of Evan. We’d been helping the movers haul in the last few pieces of furniture when he’d arrived. Watching him casually let himself into Genny’s apartment hadn’t done anything good for my mood.

“I know I have competition,” I say, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.

Leo gives me a curious look. “You think they’re really dating?”

I shrug. “Looks like it.”

“Are you sure?”

The question surprises me. “Why would you care?”

Leo shrugs, but there’s something in his expression I can’t quite read. “No reason.”

I study him for a moment, trying to figure out what’s going on behind those dark eyes. But Leo has always been better at keeping his thoughts to himself than I have.

“Genny certainly acted like they were,” I say finally, my mind flashing back to the gala, to the way Evan’s hand rested at the small of Genny’s back, to the way she looked at him, so different from how she’d been looking at me those last few months. “At the gala, and after.”

Leo makes a noncommittal sound. “Maybe.”

“What do you mean, ‘maybe’?” I ask, sitting up straighter. “You were there. You saw them together.”

“I saw them put on a show,” Leo corrects. “But I don’t know if what we saw was real or just for your benefit.” He pauses, considering. “Though he did seem pretty comfortable at her place. Looks like he has his own key and everything.”

My stomach twists painfully. “Yeah, well, that’s just more proof, isn’t it?” I let my head fall back against the chair. “I just wonder what she sees in him.”

Leo smirks, that familiar mischief back in his eyes. “I could give you a list.”

“Please don’t.”

“What?” Leo asks innocently. “I’m just saying, from what I saw from behind, not that I was looking that hard, he’s got a—“

“If you say one word about his ass, I’m throwing you out of this apartment,” I warn.

Leo just laughs.

“If I had to guess,” Leo continues after a few moments. “The thing that Genny likes about him the most is that he didn’t marry her to piss off his father and then let her think he was cheating on her with his ex.”

“He makes her laugh,” I say quietly, thinking of the pictures of them together on Genny’s social media. “I used to do that.”

Leo’s expression softens. “You did,” he agrees. “And maybe you will again. But it’s going to take more than burning dinner and living in a crappy apartment, Oliver.”

I nod, knowing he’s right. But knowing and doing are two very different things. For most of my life, I’ve been able to solve problems by throwing money or resources at them. Now I’m learning that the things that really matter can’t be bought or bartered for.

“I’ll figure it out,” I say, more to myself than to Leo. “I have to.”

Chapter 24

Oliver

I spend an embarrassing amount of time over the next few days trying to catch a glimpse of Genny. It’s not long before I have a general idea of her schedule. She leaves early; she’s usually home by six.

I have a plan, of course. I’m Oliver Sinclair. I always have a plan.

The plan seemed foolproof. Remembering how Genny used to get up early every morning to make my coffee, I decided I’d be waiting outside Genny’s door in the morning with a cup of her favorite coffee. It would be a way to show her I was thinking of her without putting any pressure on her. She would grudgingly accept it because it would be wasteful not to. We’d exchange a few words. Just a few. Nothing deep or meaningful.

And then the next morning, we’d do it again. And the next. And slowly, over days and then weeks, the walls between us would begin to crumble, coffee cup by coffee cup. Until one morning, I’d ask her to have dinner with me, and after studying me over the rim of the cup for a few minutes, she’d agree.

This was the fantasy playing on loop in my head as I lay awake at night.