by Vivian Wood
Maybe because you aren’t really joking.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Jack said quickly. “I mean, those standards are just for me—”
“You know, I like this a lot more than flying in real planes,” she said, eager to change the subject.
Inside, though, she thought: what do you mean those standards are just for you?
“Yeah?”
“I’ve only flown a handful of times, though. Mostly just to Arizona or New Mexico for college. And I had to take Xanax just to make it seem okay.”
“You did? Sorry, I didn’t know. You seem okay right now, though.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Maybe it’s more the airport and all the rules you have to follow …”
“We’ll need to get you a passport.”
“Sorry? Is there… something planned?”
“No, not at the moment. But planning isn’t my thing. You should always have a passport with plenty of pages waiting to go though.”
“Oh, well. Okay. Kenzie has one.”
“Yeah? She travel a lot?”
Addy laughed. “Hardly. One road trip to Tijuana for spring break and the car broke down halfway to California.”
“Bummer. I’m guessing you’ve never been removed from a flight, then?” he asked. “Given your limited flight experience and all.”
“Uh, no. Definitely not. I bet you have, though.”
“You would win with that bet,” he said.
Addy was silent as she mulled everything over. How did I end up here, looking down on my little town with some crazy wealthy doctor adrenaline junkie?
“Did we mess up our lives?” she finally asked. “Not getting the annulment right away?”
“Well… I’m having a good time. Aren’t you?”
“Sure,” she said. “I mean … how can I complain?”
“I think we’re alright, then. Oh, look! A river.”
“No, that’s Martis Creek Lake,” she said.
Addy spent the rest of the flight pointing out landmarks she knew, and steered clear of any serious talk.
It’s better this way, she thought. Light and easy. I mean, it’s just a couple of months, right?
“Time to head back,” Jack said as he glanced at his watch.
“Already?” she asked.
He laughed. “You want more?”
“It just went so fast.”
As they started to descend, she felt the panic set in that she’d felt before at airports. Jack grabbed her hand reassuringly. Addy held her breath as the ground got closer and let it out in a gust of relief as they touched down.
Jack jumped out and leaned down to help her out.
“Okay?” he asked.
She was aware of how closely they were pressed against one another. As she nodded and gazed up, she thought there was a flicker of interest in his eyes. Jack looked down to her lips, and she licked them out of instinct.
“Smile,” he said, and whipped out his phone.
He held it above them and kissed her on the cheek for the selfie. Addy felt her face flush.
I’m not disappointed, she told herself. This is all just to show Jeremy that he messed up, anyway.
It would just be a lot easier if Jack wasn’t so damn handsome.
Chapter Nine
He was disappointed when he pulled up to the condo and Addy’s car wasn’t there.
Why? he wondered to himself. You miss her or something?
It was strange. They’d only been in this faux marriage for two weeks and he’d somehow settled into a kind of routine. It felt almost… normal.
Jack opened the front door and realized that slowly, Addy had started to become more prominent in their shared space. Little pieces of her had started to appear.
A framed photo of her and her college roommate on the bookshelf. Her favorite lavender scarf hung on the hook by the door.
He opened up his laptop and saw thirty-nine new notifications on the Facebook tab. It was working. Daily, he’d cultivated a few new photos that highlighted the ideal newlywed relationship.
From Instagram to Tumblr, he’d expertly taken to building a fake, but beautiful life with his new bride.
Whether it was a photo of an amazing view he tagged her in, or simply a photo of her that was snapped on the patio on one of the rare moments they were home together, Jack had to admit that he was pretty good at this. Anyone would think they were in idyllic newlywed bliss.
Jack clicked on the notifications just to clear them. There were comments of congratulations from both of their friends. Some of his he hadn’t spoken to in years.
He thumbed through his phone to upload the selection of the day. As he swiped through the photos, filtering some and deleting others, he stopped short at the last photo he’d taken when they’d gone gliding.
Addy was freshly flushed, cheeks a warm pink as he kissed her. He looked closely at the photo—at her. Everything had happened so fast, the night at Dusty’s.
The rush into marriage, the moving in together, he’d never really looked at her before.
Of course, he knew she was hot. He couldn’t help but notice those sunkissed legs as she ran around the house in cut-off shorts. He’d caught his breath a couple of times on the rare occasions she let her hair down. It was so long that it licked the small of her back.
But those were cursory things about her. Easy and obvious. In the photo, he could see the real her. The Addy that he’d grown so accustomed to so fast.
Actually, you don’t know her at all, he reminded himself.
He drank in the unnerving blue of her eyes. There were depths there, flecks of gold and green. It was so intense, it was like she cradled galaxies in her eyes.
Her skin was soft, supple, and that kind of all-American golden bronzed that only came from a lifetime of growing up near a lake. A spray of freckles burst across her cheeks and nose, concentrated most along the bridge.
Her eyelashes were unnaturally black, lush and thick. Her lips crested with a sharp cupid’s bow that lent a kind of permanent pout.
Faintly, just between her thick and shapely brows, he could make out the light worry marks bred from years of woes he knew almost nothing about.
It made her look wise, like she’d lived. That small so-called flaw was what made her so perfect.
But it wasn’t just her face. He remembered the curves of her body as he’d pulled her out of the cockpit. How he could feel the hourglass figure beneath her loose t-shirt.
The way her hips spanned out, a perfect surprise of a curve above her lean body, toned by hard work and not hours grueling away at the gym.
He shook his head.
How could he have never realized before how beautiful she was? Not just sexy, not cute, but truly beautiful.
Jack hated to admit it, but when they’d first met, all he’d really seen when he looked at her was that she wasn’t like the other girls he’d dated. And that had been enough for him.
She wasn’t blonde, she wasn’t tall, and she wasn’t insanely thin from constantly working out.
When he’d met Rosalie for instance, he was struck by her magnitude. She was achingly thin, but with her height and her haughty confidence she’d made it seem like it was natural. Like every man should want her, and he’d fallen for it.
However, the first time he’d pulled Rosalie close, he’d almost pulled back in shock at how thin she was. But he’d trudged forward because every other guy in their program had wanted her so badly.
Now, as he looked at Addison, as he really saw her for the first time, he realized how hot she was.
Ridiculously smoking hot, he corrected himself. How had he never seen it before? Why weren’t all the guys in this podunk town knocking down her door? Maybe they were, and you were just so caught up in your own interests you didn’t realize.
Mentally, he patted himself on the back.
You made a good choice, mate, even if you were totally blotto at the time. He racked his brain for clues that she might h
ave dropped. Was she a hot commodity around here?
He didn’t know—and part of him was ashamed for going back to his old habits of basing someone’s worth on what everyone around him thought.
“Hey,” Addy’s voice broke through his thoughts. Embarrassed, Jack shut off his phone and snapped the laptop shut.
“Hey. Long day?” he asked.
She groaned and slumped onto the couch next to him.
“The longest,” she said. “And not just that, the worst.”
“What happened?”
Exhaustion emanated from her. She smelled of fresh baked pies and real vanilla.
“Well, for starters, the deep freezer and dishwasher stopped working at the same time. It’s like they were in on it together, total nightmare. The repair guy is there now. I just couldn’t wait around for him to tell me the bad news.”
“Bad news?”
“Yeah. I’ve suspected for a while now that the dishwasher is on its last leg. It probably has to be replaced. And the deep freezer, it’s a miracle it’s lasted as long as it has. It’s ancient, rusty—I think it’s the same one that my… well, never mind.”
“Dishwashers and freezers aren’t that expensive, are they?” Jack asked. “I mean, I don’t know American prices, but—”
“These aren’t, like, the dishwashers you buy for homes. They’re commercial kitchen grade.”
“So, what, like… ten grand?”
“Probably fifteen.”
“Oh. Well, I can lend it to you.”
“Sorry?” Addy rolled her head to the side and looked at him.
“It’s no problem, just fifteen thousand—”
“That’s a… nice offer. But I can’t take your money.”
“Seriously, Addy, you’re my wife, remember? No big deal. Besides, I know where you sleep. Right over there!”
“I’m serious too, Jack. I’ll figure something else out. Right now, I just need to relax for a minute.”
“No, I know what you need.”
Addy visibly stiffened. “You… you do?”
“Yeah. Hold on,” Jack pushed himself up and sauntered into the kitchen.
He pulled the bottle of whiskey he’d picked up the day he landed in Tahoe out of the corner cupboard along with two cut crystal tumblers.
“Fancy,” Addy said. She leaned around the couch and watched him. “How long have you been hiding that in there?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know. Rocks or neat?”
“Rocks.”
He put three cubes in each of the glasses and filled them one-quarter of the way. With a flourish, he handed Addy her glass and set the bottle down on the little side table she’d picked up last week.
“Jack Daniels,” she said. “Cute. Is that the only hard alcohol you drink?”
“Like I’ve never heard that before. Cheers,” he said.
They clinked glasses and he watched her wince at the burn. “Is this your answer for everything?” she asked.
“Pretty much, yes. It works, doesn’t it?”
They finished the first few pulls quickly, and Addy refilled their glasses. He let the sweet burn coat his throat as they settled into the depths of the couch.
Jack could see her loosen up. When she got slightly tipsy, just like that first night, the constant air of worry that clouded over her dissipated.
Addy let out a sharp, sudden laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, faintly aware that he’d started to slur.
“Nothing. I was just remembering. Well… I had a dream. About you.” She buried her face in her forearm and the ice cubes tinkled in the glass. “Forget it, it’s too embarrassing, even buzzed.”
“About me?” Jack leaned forward. “Like a … like a sex dream?”
“What? No! God, no. We weren’t… we didn’t… do anything.”
“Oh,” he leaned back, disappointed. “Well, way to build up the hype and then smash it back down.”
“Just because it didn’t have to do with sex doesn’t mean—”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re really repressed?”
She turned red. “What, are you a psychiatrist now as well as an MD?”
“Psychiatrists are MDs, actually.”
“Whatever. You were just in the dream, that’s all. We were at the hospital. And Rosalie came by, and you wouldn’t kiss me. You said I was a bad kisser.”
“Are you?”
“No! Well… I hope not. I don’t know, you’ve kissed me before. You should know…”
Jack squinted and pretended not to remember. “I’m not sure, I can’t remember. It must not have been very memorable.”
Addy’s mouth dropped open, horrified. “What?”
“Maybe we should practice. You know, so that way when we kiss in public, it looks authentic.”
Addy set her glass down and sputtered. “Wow, really? I mean… if that’s what you think we need to do—”
Jack laughed and slapped her thigh.
“Calm down,” he said.
The heat that radiated from her leg sparked against his skin. He pulled her closer, somewhere between comfortably buzzed and more serious than he wanted to be.
Addy’s eyes widened. He felt himself grow hard as he leaned in. She closed her eyes when he was inches away. The quaint charm of it was intoxicating.
Her head tilted back, an invitation, and his lips met hers. Jack realized it was the first semisober, real kiss they’d ever shared.
As his tongue flicked against her teeth and explored her mouth, she mewled and her breath grew ragged. The little animal noises had him rock hard.
What would it be like to have her? To let her be on top, taking all the pleasure she wanted?
Jack started to lower her down on the couch, but a shatter stopped them both. Her half-full glass of whiskey had toppled to the floor.
“Sorry,” she said meekly.
Jack rose up on his hands, his breath so heavy it filled the room.
Addy wiped at her mouth and stood up, wobbling slightly. Jack felt his heart sink. She was clearly drunk, or nearly there.
“I think maybe you should get a glass of water and go to bed,” he said. “Don’t worry about the glass, I’ll clean it up.”
She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but then changed her mind. She turned and headed toward the bedroom.
He saw her turn and give him one last look before she disappeared and closed the door.
Chapter Ten
She leaned against the doorframe of the restaurant’s kitchen as the repairman droned on about all the problems she already suspected. “It would cost more to repair them than it would to buy them new. And I get nothing if you replace them, so that should tell you something.”
Addy sighed. “So, what are we talking?”
“I mean, it can vary. Depending on what you want, brand … but I would estimate maybe twelve thousand altogether. If you do some bargain hunting, you might be able to find some deals. Or if you can wait until Labor Day sales—”
“I can’t wait even a day without having a dishwasher and freezer,” she said.
“Sorry?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. Do you have any recommendations for affordable commercial appliances?”
“Sure, sure,” he said. With grimy black hands, he pulled a stack of business cards out of his wallet. “This guy’s local, he’ll treat you right. Tell him I sent you.”
“And what do I owe you? For the diagnostics, and everything?”
“I’ll send you an invoice tomorrow,” he said.
She walked him to the front of the restaurant and chewed on her lip the entire way. Paying for the new appliances would completely drain her personal savings. Addy couldn’t believe there was a time she thought twelve thousand in savings was an impressive feat. It was gone, just like that.
It’s not like you have much choice if the restaurant is going to stay open, she thought. Of course, you
can always talk to Dad about taking out a loan.
She nearly laughed at herself. There was no way he’d ever agree—if he was ever even sober enough to have a conversation about it. Besides, that would just make it worse. She’d be in charge of paying it back, with interest.
Might as well use her own savings and avoid the extra charges. Maybe the restaurant would turn around and she’d actually be able to pay herself back.
She locked the door behind the repairman and started prepping for the lunch shift. They only had a one-hour break between breakfast and lunch shifts.
Without a working dishwasher, that was sixty minutes to wash the dishes, cups, and flatware by hand. And of course Dawn demanded her full hour break and Kenzie hadn’t come in for the morning shift.
At least you don’t have to work at night anymore, she thought to herself as she rolled up her sleeves.
The new hires had actually wanted evening shifts. They were experienced waitstaff and knew that’s where the best tips were. Addy knew it too, but it wasn’t worth battling it out over the closing shift.
Let them have the heavy tippers, she thought. It made them happy, and happy employees stuck around.
Dawn’s timing was impeccable. She showed up for her second shift right as Addy finished up with the last dish.
“Hey! I would have helped if you’d waited for me,” she said. She reeked of cigarettes.
“I couldn’t wait for you, these needed to be ready for lunch.”
Dawn shrugged. “Well … thanks.”
Thanks. Like Addy owed her a favor.
She sucked in her breath to keep from saying anything. The last thing she needed was for Dawn to quit in a huff and stick Addy with another position to fill.
As Addy headed to the car, her phone buzzed.
“Husband” lit up her screen briefly with a text notification. It made her blush. Before she read the text, she quickly changed it back to “Dr. Hottie.”
That was a lot more fitting and not nearly as weird.
If she hadn’t shattered that glass of whiskey the other night, she could have really gotten herself in trouble. Jack was just being a guy, and guys didn’t turn down sex. Especially not him—God, he must have always had it easy.
