Page 87

When the three girls left the room, Gus stayed behind, making an excuse about using the bathroom. What he really needed was time to himself to process all that had happened. He should have been more careful talking about their agreement. He only hoped the truth wouldn’t come out. So far, their plan was working like a charm. Merritt was winning them all over and showing everyone, especially his dad, that he was capable of change. But if Dad ever found out about this plan, he would surely see it as another of Gus’s many screw ups, and he couldn’t let that happen.
And the thought of losing Merritt was still hanging heavy over him. Imagining the house without her in it made his heart ache. He’d gotten used to having her close, inhabiting the same space, seeing her beautiful face each morning. He hated the idea of going back to living alone. She felt like family now, like that feeling people sometimes talk about—like coming home. There was comfort with her, but there was also chemistry.
What Adelia had said was right. That kiss had been real, for him anyway. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to be able to kiss her whenever he felt like it. Being close to her made him experience feelings he had never felt before. And the fact that they were friends first had ramped up the attraction in ways he had never expected. He’d never wanted someone and felt so close to them emotionally at the same time.
And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. It was more than friendship and more than physical attraction now. He was in love with his wife.
TWENTY-NINE
Something was up with Gus. He’d been acting strangely all last evening. He should’ve been in a good mood after Skylar said she’d keep their secret, but when he emerged from their room, his expression had changed. He hadn’t been his usual playful self. He had kept his distance, even going so far as to get up when she sat down beside him on the love seat. He’d said he needed a glass of water, but he didn’t come back to sit by her after he got it. And at the end of the night, she’d gone to bed alone, while Gus had stayed up to talk with the guys.
And now, here Merritt lay in the early morning light, staring at his side of the bed. Empty. Bed still made. Pillow and blankets untouched.
She sat up and looked over his edge of the bed, wondering if he’d actually slept on the floor like she’d told him to, but he wasn’t there.
She flipped her legs over her side as she sat up, wanting to find him to make sure he was okay. It was normal to want to comfort a friend, right? That’s all this was.
After getting ready, she went to the kitchen to join those who were awake. She scanned the faces at the table and was disappointed that Gus was not among them.
“Morning,” Adelia said as Merritt sat down beside her. “Did you just get back?”
“Back?” Merritt looked at her with confusion.
“From riding.”
Her brow furrowed. “I didn’t go riding.”
Adelia’s expression turned to confusion too. “I thought you went out with Gus.”
“Why would you think that?”
She opened her mouth to speak but paused.
“What?”
“I saw somebody on the horse with him.”
“Who?”
Adelia shrugged. “I thought it was you.”
Based on Ida’s presence at the table, Merritt knew exactly who was on that horse, and a jolt of jealousy shot through her.
“I’ll be back.” She abandoned breakfast, deciding instead to find her husband.
She put on her coat and boots and walked toward the barn in time to see two horses coming up the hill. One carried Genevieve and the other Gus and Rhonda. Together. Her in front of him, leaning back into his chest. She was smiling and laughing, and Merritt suddenly wished she’d fall off and get trampled. Well, she didn’t actually wish her physical harm, but her mind quickly went to a bad place at the sight of her husband’s arms around another woman.
She mentally smacked herself because she had no claim on his affections. If he fell in love with Rhonda, she couldn’t fault him. The heart wants what the heart wants, as the saying goes. And she had known there was a possibility that one of them might meet someone during their fake union. But seeing him like that with Rhonda hurt more than she expected.
Merritt attempted to tamp down her jealousy because there was a more important issue to contend with. No matter how she was feeling and no matter what was going on with Gus and Rhonda, she needed to remind him of his agreement to remain monogamous. A tabloid headline about an affair would humiliate her and do no good for his public image, not to mention the situation with his family.
As they neared, Gus avoided eye contact as he dismounted and helped Rhonda down from the saddle.
“Thanks for the ride.” Rhonda grinned at him then smiled politely at Merritt as she and Genevieve took the horses to the stable.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were going riding?”
“It wasn’t planned. Gen’s mom and Rhonda came over from their hotel this morning. They were talking about going for a ride since they didn’t get to go with us the other day, and they invited me to go.”