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I studied Drew, his tall frame and broad shoulders, able hands that washed the dishes for my sister. He was the kind of guy I should have married. The kind of guy who knew how to make a girl feel safe. A hardworking, honest man with good family values and a soft heart.
Why hadn’t I realized I wanted his type, instead of the flashy and smooth-talking, sophisticated socialite that was Nolan Prosser?
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Drew’s eyes were apologetic, and he turned his gaze to the window above the sink.
"No, that's okay. I actually think I want to talk about it." I dropped the plate in the rack and sighed. "I guess in hindsight, there were signs that I should have noticed. Like, how when we were dating he slowly pulled me away from my friends." I shrugged. "I didn't mind at first. I mean, when you're dating, all you want to do is spend time with that person."
"Unless you're me afterFinding Your Soulmate, that is," Drew joked.
"Which we'll just chalk up to your sixth sense." I grinned and took the cup he handed me. "Anyway, I should have noticed that whenever I had something planned with my friends, Nolan would suddenly have something come up or some big excuse to keep me back and spend more time with him. Just things like that eventually isolated me from everyone…and sadly, I didn't even realize I was being isolated."
I felt sick just thinking about the dark time in my life. I'd always thought I was such a strong and independent woman, and there I was, practically a hostage in my own home.
I shook away the memories, only to be assaulted with more. "Then there were the few times I asked to use his phone because I'd accidentally left mine at home, and he refused to let me dial the number myself. Like, heneverlet me touch his phone. He always dialed the number himself, pressed send, and then I had to hand it back as soon as I was done. I always thought he was just being sweet to dial the number for me, but now I know he was simply keeping me from seeing that he’d been messaging with a bunch of different girls."
"Was this just when you were married? Or back when you were engaged and dating?"
I looked down. "Pretty much the whole time we were together. I wasthatdelusional."
Drew shook his head. "You're not delusional, Kate. You just expected the guy you were with to be decent. That's not a bad requirement."
But I still felt stupid. Drew hadn't seen anything from Gwen because they'd spent such a small amount of time together.
I, on the other hand, had spentyearswith Nolan.
How blind could I be?
I took the bowl Drew handed me, needing to keep my hands busy again so I could finish my story. This next part made me feel the yuckiest inside. "Then there were times when he was away on business trips and his phone would just ring and ring, when I knew he wasn't in meetings. He always pretended that he forgot to take his phone off airplane mode, but now I'm sure he was just using his favorite affair service for the weekend."
"He had an affair service?” Shock and anger registered on Drew's face.
"I didn't even know those existed until I found out." And it had been so humiliating when I had to go to the doctor and get tested for STDs because of it.
Drew stopped his scrubbing and leaned his hands on the counter. "Do I have your permission to punch Nolan if I ever run into him?” he asked. There was something primal and protective in his eyes that made my stomach constrict.
I liked that he wanted to protect me.
But instead of saying that, I said, ”Only if I get to slap him first."
“Did he ever hurt you?” The look in his blue eyes was intense when he asked that, like he might just come apart if I said Nolan had hurt me.
"He never physically abused me, no,” I said to put his fears at ease. "But there was a lot of verbal and emotional abuse."
His jaw flexed, like he was fighting the urge to go out and find Nolan right now. But he seemed to calm down momentarily, and after a moment, he dried his hands on the turquoise dish towel and turned toward me. "Is it okay if I give you a hug? I kind of hate the thought of you going through that."
I nodded, unable to form a verbal response to his unexpected offer.
He stepped closer and pulled me against him. I sighed and relaxed against his chest, breathing in his clean scent.
How had he known I needed his arms around me before I even knew myself? It was like he always knew just what I needed.
He spoke into my hair. "I'm so thankful you got out of that marriage as quickly as you did. It couldn't have been easy."
I bit my lip and nodded. "Thanks for not judging me. Especially after I lied about it at first."
"You'll never have to worry about that with me,” he whispered.
But could that really be true?
