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Rose
“You’re still going to him,” Clarissa sighed as she watched me get dressed. I ran into town yesterday and picked up the proper shoes, though I wouldn’t put them on until I got over to his house. Walking in the sand in these shoes would be horrible. I grabbed my socks and stuffed them into the shoes before heading for the door.
“I thought about it all day yesterday,” I told her.
“Are you going to talk to Alexander? About the open marriage?”
I shook my head slowly. “No, if I gave him any indication that I wanted something different, it could ruin everything. It’s not worth the risk. Besides, James is married also. I’m pretty sure his wife wouldn’t approve of him being in a relationship with me any more than I would approve of Alexander having a steady relationship with another woman.”
“Wait, you said you didn’t care if Alexander slept with other women. Now it bothers you?”
“What bothers me is knowing that he would have someone in his life that he loved. Random women can’t hurt me. But a meaningful relationship would gut me.”
She watched me carefully and then gave a half-hearted shrug. “Then I guess we should get going.”
“Where?” I asked in confusion.
“To see James. Thatiswhat you want to do, right?”
I smiled at her, pulling her in for a rough hug. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Hey,” she patted my back. “I’m always on your side. I just wanted you to really think it through. As long as you’re sure, I’ll help in any way I can.”
With that, we walked out of the cottage and along the beach toward James’s house.
“So, what’s with him and this house?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I think he just wanted to fix it up.”
“What do you know about him?” she asked, not with accusation, just curious.
“Not really that much.” I knew I turned bright red at the admission. I really should know more about him than how he made me feel.
“I guess, I’m wondering why he’s here when he’s married? How does he afford it?”
“Well, it’s beachfront property. I’m assuming he has some money.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “But not money like you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll remind you that I technically have no money until I get divorced.IfI can get a divorce. Everything I spend is Alexander’s money.”
“Then you should use it wisely.”
“I’m not going to spend his money just to watch him squirm. If anything, he would probably make my life more miserable.”
“Oh, come on. You know when you go back to him, he’ll hand you his credit card and tell you to go spend money, because that’s what he expects of you.”
I dropped my eyes to the sand and tried to think of what I wanted to do when I finally returned home. “I’d hoped to find a job, but I doubt he’ll want to see his wife working.”
“What would you do?”
“I have no idea. My parents sent me to school for business, but I don’t really want to be in the business world. I’d like to find something of my own, but I won’t get that until I’m free.”
“Is that why you did this?”
“I did it for a whole hell of a lot of reasons.”
It didn’t matter. I couldn’t take it back now. All I could do was enjoy the time I had before I was called home. I had no idea how long that would be, but since I only paid up for two weeks here, staying wasn’t an option.
