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“Fine.”
She blinks. “What?”
I nod. “If it helps you to have an escape route, then you can keep your separate account.”
“Really?” she asks, looking amazed. “You’re okay with this?”
No. Not at all.I’m not her ex. I’m trustworthy. I would never hurt her. I’ll kill any man who does.
Those are the thoughts raging through my mind.
But outwardly, I just nod. “I said fine.”
56
PAIGE
Being away from work has been harder than I expected. I like my new role at the company. It gives me purpose. It makes me feel useful.
However, those feelings started to fade during my full-body massage. Now, with a flavored water in my hand and a deep conditioning treatment worked into my hair, I’m reconsidering a life of luxurious leisure.
“I should be working,” Rada says, lifting the edge of her eye mask to peek over at me.
I wave her worry away. “Youareworking. You’re keeping me company while my husband insists on pampering me back to full health. That’s work.”
“Pampering” isn’t even the right word; Misha has gone above and beyond. The formal living room on the first floor has been transformed into my own personal spa. I’ve got a never-ending supply of canapes flowing in from the kitchen at one-hour intervals. Rada sits beside me while Layna rubs my feet.
“Do you need something to drink?” she asks.
“I’m all good; just got a refill.” I lift my water glass to show her.
“Just checking. I’m supposed to give you anything you could possibly desire.”
I smile at that, imagining the words in Misha’s voice. Then the hollow place in my chest—the one I’ve been trying hard to ignore—rings out like a struck gong.
Before I can doubt myself, I sit up. “There is one thing you could give me: the truth.” I look from Layna to Rada. When they both nod, I carry on. “Have either one of you ever been in love?”
Both of them look up at me in surprise. Rada is the first to speak up. “Um, I have. At least, I think I have.”
“If you just think you have, then you probably haven’t,” Layna says with a smile. “I’m currently in love. With my husband. We’ve been married for seven years now. When you’re in love, you know it.”
I smile at the obvious joy radiating out of her. “How did you meet?”
“We were both training as massage therapists in Thailand,” she says. “We eloped four months after we met.”
“Wow.” Rada shakes her head. “You married him after only four months together? Crazy.”
My face flushes. Misha and I knew each other for much less than four months. And love didn’t factor into the decision at all.
“It was the best decision I ever made,” Layna says with no hesitation.
Rada glances at me. “What about you, Paige?”
She’s gotten much better about calling me by my first name. It almost makes this moment feel like a spa day with girlfriends rather than a strange meeting with two of my employees. Maybe that’s why I’m able to be honest.
“Is this where I have to tell you I’m desperately in love to keep up appearances?”
Layna and Rada exchange another glance. Layna is the first to speak. “This is a safe space,” she says gently. “You don’t have to say anything you don’t feel comfortable saying.”
