Page 13 of The Liar's Wife

Buzz. Buzz.

A scream nearly escaped my throat as my phone buzzed in my pocket, breaking up the tension. I stood, trying to calm my shaking hands as I pulled it out.

The office.

“H-hello?” I said, keeping my voice low.

“Hey, babe, where are you?” It was Dannika.

“I had to go to a client meeting this morning,” I lied. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s more than okay,” she said in a singsong voice. “Your little cutie came by to see you.”

My heart plummeted, and I grasped onto the wall of the tree house, pulling myself up. “What?”

“Ben’s here. He brought Gray by for a visit. Should I tell him it’ll be awhile? Are you close?”

I trembled with fear, the lump in my stomach metastasizing as cold fear traveled through my body at breakneck speed. I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel calm again. Not with all I knew—all I was hiding. Allhewas hiding. “Tell him I’ll be there soon. I’m just wrapping up.”

“Sure thing.” She clicked her tongue. “I’ll see you soon.”

I nodded, though she couldn’t see me, and let the phone slide down away from my ear.

Ben hadn’t texted or called. Why on earth was he at myoffice? My phone screen reverted to my normal background—a photo of the three of us, letting me know the call had disconnected, but I could only hear her words ringing in my ears.

Ben’s here.

Chapter Eight

Irushed into the office, hair flying, pants covered in dirt. I dusted my legs off with each step, practically falling over myself as I went.

“Slow down. Where’s the fire?” Howie asked, lowering the headset from his ear. “Oh, wait, he’s in your office.” He winked, pointing me toward my office, where I could see the outline of my husband sitting across from my desk through the frosted glass.

“Did he say what he’s doing here?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

Howie shook his head slowly. “I…no. Should I have asked? Dannika was the one who talked to him. I didn’t know.”

“No, it’s fine,” I assured him, trying to seem less concerned than I was. I could count on one hand the number of times Ben had showed up at my office, and never without warning.

“The baby’s cuter than you, by the way,” Howie teased as Iwalked past, and I cast a grin back at him that I hoped looked playful.

I pushed my office door open, dread sitting heavy in my stomach. What was he doing here? What did he know? Why should I feel guilty when I’d done nothing wrong?Nothing short of trespassing, anyway.

Ben stood, looking me over as he leaned in to give me a hug. I held my breath in fear I’d catch a whiff of an unfamiliar perfume and it would break me. I couldn’t break down right now. I had to stay strong. “Hey, honey. Sorry to surprise you like this.”

“Hey.” My voice was so sugary sweet it nearly made me sick. “No, don’t be silly. I’m glad to see you. I’m just sorry you had to wait. Is everything okay?” I hugged him back, then lowered myself to Gray’s stroller, where he was sleeping peacefully.Big day for the both of them.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben said, shoving his hands in his pockets with a deep, drawn-out inhale. “Everything’s fine. He was extra fussy this morning, so I thought I’d take him for a drive. You didn’t mention you’d be out of the office.”

I stood, one brow raised. Was he really questioning whereI’dbeen? “I don’t normally tell you my schedule.” I laughed at the end, attempting to make my statement less abrasive. “What else have you done today?” I waited, barely breathing. It felt like a game, both of us teasing and toying with each other to see what would be revealed. I wasn’t sure if I was the only one playing.

His eyes darted toward the floor, and I could swear he grew a shade paler. “Nothing, really. I fed him some breakfast, and then we headed here.”

I glanced at the Apple Watch on my wrist. “It’s been twohours since I left. Surely you’ve done something besides feeding him breakfast.”

“What would we have done?” he asked, meeting my eyes finally. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “We were slow moving, I’ll admit. Traffic was pretty bad, but we hung around the apartment for a while after breakfast while I tried to keep him calm.”

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, my concentration momentarily pulled to my child from my cheating husband. “Why was he fussing?” Gray was usually a happy baby—oh wait.I reminded myself he was lying. Gray hadn’t been fussy at all when they were at the park. This was all an excuse. Why was my gut instinct to trust him even when I knew it was a lie?