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Liv
I’veseenthepaparazzithreetimesinthepasttwoweeks.IwaswithLukeeverytime,soweavoidedthem.Thiswholecelebritythingisabreeze.Scottyhasdisappeared,butI’mnotnaïveenoughtobecomplacent.LukeincreasedmysessionswithBrandotoeveryotherday.I’vebeentraininghowtogetoutofvariousholdsandI’mimprovingexponentially.
For lunch today, I decide to grab a pre-made salad from the market near my building. Mark browses the selections with me. I smile to myself as I daydream about Luke. He’s so cute in the morning when he tries to persuade me to go run with him. I resist because I loathe running. Besides, when he gets back all sweaty we take a shower together, and that’s a workout in itself.
We move to the snack aisle and I grab a bag of pretzels and turn the corner, startling when I come face to face with Amber, the woman who helped end my marriage. She stares back at me in shock. Jeremy is with her. She recovers first and turns to him with concern in her eyes.
Jeremy grins at me. “Liv. How are you?” He walks over and hugs me before I can object. I stiffen, but he squeezes and steps away.
His smile slips when Mark stands next to me, squaring his shoulders. I put my hand on his wrist and he stops from moving in front of me.
“I’m good, Jeremy. How are you?”
Mark glances at me. He knows my ex-husband is named Jeremy. There are about a thousand other things I’d rather be doing than giving forced small talk to my ex and his lover. I think of Luke and relax.
“We sure miss you in the office. I lost a few clients when they found out you weren’t working for me anymore.” He talks to me with the same familiarity as when we were together. Like we’re sitting at the dinner table talking about our day. I hold back my cringe.
“Oh,” I say, as I shift my basket to my other hand.
“Any chance you’d think about returning?”
If looks could kill, I’d be dead under Amber’s glare right now. I shake my head no, and the death glare turns down a notch.
“Ah. Well, the offer will always stand.” His eyes roam my body for a quick once over. “You look amazing. Have you been working out?” Before I can answer, Amber interjects.
“Where do you work now?” Jeremy looks just as shocked as I do that she spoke.
“I’m at the Larson & Andrews firm.”
“You’re a lawyer?” She sounds so incredulous.
“No, I’m the receptionist.”
Her sneer carries nothing but condescension. “Well, I guess you aren’t perfect after all. Jer Bear, I’ll be in the car.” She storms off in a huff. I can’t hide my cringe at the Jer Bear nickname. He always hated that.
“I’m sorry about her,” Jeremy says when she’s out of earshot.
I shrug.
“We’re uh, just figuring things out right now. It’s complicated.”
He watches my expression, which remains neutral. I shrug again. “It’s not my business.”
He sighs and glances at Mark, who remains stone faced. “Are you happy, Liv? Everything good with you?”
“Yea, I’m happy.”
He addresses Mark. “I hope you know how lucky you are to have her. She’s a rare type of person.”
I attempt to correct him, but Mark speaks. “I’d be an idiot not to.” He crosses his arms and stares Jeremy down.
Jeremy’s lips thin and his nod is curt.
“I should head back to work,” I say, eager to end this awkward conversation.
Jeremy nods. “Right. Yea. Well, it was good to see you.”
I nod and move to walk away, but he speaks, drawing my attention to him again. “I’m sorry, Liv.”
