Page 48 of Angels & Whiskey

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Just go, Autumn. I’ll see you there.”

Going to Starbucks when I had my weekly date with Brandi used to be my favorite day of the week. Now—I had other reasons to look forward to the coffee shop and it wasn’t just one day a week.

As I sat in my usual chair, looking out the window, I replayed the morning at the gym. Did Gabe say he was going to wait for me? Did he say he wanted to be with me? Like actually be with me? We didn’t know anything about each other. How could he say such a thing? If I didn’t know better, I’d think he had women crawling all over him. He was gorgeous and strong and fuck that smile …

Before I could finish my thought, Gabe and Paul walked in. Gabe met my eyes and smiled and I smiled back. I felt my face flame and I looked down at my coffee cup. I felt like a girl with a secret crush—well, I was. Gabe brought out my flirtatious side. The side that had been hidden for three years. I’d thought it was because I was married and that part of me had died because I didn’t need to ropethemin anymore. Maybe that was true. But the more Rich punished me, the more I wanted to fight back.

I pretended I wasn’t waiting for Gabe and Paul to sit at the table in front of me. My focus was down on the table, reading on my ereader, when a folded piece of paper was placed on top of the screen.

Looking up, I noticed Gabe was still sitting at the table next to me. He motioned with his head for me to read the note.

A,

Since we can’t talk in public, I decided that we should pass notes. Paul jokes that I’m still in junior high when it comes to you, so I might as well live it up. So tell me, what kind of coffee do you order?

Patiently Waiting,

Gabe.

I smiled as I read his note then reached into my purse for a pen to write him back on the same paper.

G,

I didn’t even know they still made paper these days. I like your idea though. I always get a non-fat vanilla latte. You? Where’d you move from?

Patiently Waiting to Leave Him,

A

We passed a few notes back and forth while Paul laughed and shook his head at us. From an outsider’s perspective you’d think that he was only talking to Gabe.

Before I knew it, I needed to head home and wait for Rich’s call.

When I arrived home, I walked through the house, making a mental note of all the cameras throughout. I didn’t know where the feed was being monitored from because I didn’t see any room with a computer in it. That had led me to believe that Rich was monitoring my movements from his office.

After Rich’s call, I checked the roast I was cooking in the crockpot and piddled around the house. I was bored to death. I hated feeling like a caged animal. I supposed some women would love to be a housewife where they were able to go to the gym every day, and get their hair and nails done as needed.

But I wanted to be able to come and go as I pleased.

Rich and I needed to have a talk. I was still going to leave him no matter what happened, but at least I could say I fought back.

Then a thought dawned on me. Rich assumed I hated him leaving bruises on my arms. Of course I did, but I never stood up for myself. Like I told him the night before, I’d never done anything for him not to trust me—

Except todaywhen Gabe’s lips happened to come into contact with mine …

But that wasn’t my fault.

I needed to start fighting back. Maybe not yell, scream and kick, but something that could be seen on the security cameras. Of course, Rich could just delete the footage, but it was worth a shot. It would show I was strong; strong enough to leave him. The more he let me have slack, the more I could put my plan into motion to leave him. He was beingniceRich right now, butmeanRich was bound to come out—soon.

Before I could text him that I was going to go shopping for a dress for his party, Lea knocked on the door.

“Hey, I have the invitations. We should get these out before five.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall. We had three hours to get them done. “Wow, that was fast. Sure, come in.” A part of me told myself I should text Rich and tell him Lea stopped by. But then I wanted to verify my suspicions that he was monitoring the security camera feed from his office. “Rich didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“I just got them in the mail and knew we were on a deadline, so I rushed over. I’m sorry if I’m intruding.”