Page 72 of Wife After Wife

I can’t sleep, eat, or think straight. Fault is entirely yours. In NYC for a few days, put me out of my misery on return, please?

H x

•••

At lunchtime, Merry phoned. She was almost hysterical, and it took Ana a while to calm her down enough to find out why.

“Harry says it’s run its course, that it was never meant to be serious. How could he treat me this way?” Her voice rose to a wail again. “What am I going to do, Ana? I love him; I can’t live without him. He’s everything to me.Everything. Oh my god, how do I carry on?”

Ana tried her best to soothe her—deep breaths; pour yourself a brandy; take the dog for a long walk—promising to go up to Scotland as soon as she could. But she knew she’d be making her excuses.

•••

She was summoned to Harry’s office a week or so later. It was after five, and Janette had left for the day. He showed her in, indicating the couch, and kept his distance, sitting on the edge of his desk. But the look in those deep blue eyes scorched her retinas.

He came straight to the point. “I’ve told Katie I want a divorce. And... maybe you know. I’ve ended things with Merry.”

Ana didn’t respond immediately. Her eyes briefly settled on a framed photo of Maria on his desk.

“I’m still marrying Percy.”

“Really?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have... you know. Kissed you. We’d both had too much to drink.”

“Perhaps. No regrets here.”

Neither looked away, and the silence lengthened.

“Thank you for the bracelet,” she said, to fill it. “It’s beautiful. But I can’t keep it. You must see... me working here, and I love my job. I can’t...”

His intense gaze was making her incoherent. She dropped her eyes but somehow became entranced by the way the golden hairs on his lower arms contrasted so beautifully with the pale blue of his shirt, and there were little freckles beneath them...

“It’s OK, Ana. I understand. Katie won’t divorce me because of her Catholic faith, so I’ll have to move out and we’ll be separated for however long it takes. Sorting out the move will take time; there’s Maria to consider. It probably wouldn’t be wise for you and me to be together publicly while I’m still living with Katie. Company gossip, media interest, and all that.”

She remembered little Maria, flying across the reception area into her daddy’s arms. And Katie, with her sad eyes.

Why was he assuming she wanted this? She’d just told him she was marrying Percy. The arrogance of the man!

“And going straight from one sister to another while I’m still married probably wouldn’t be a good look either. I wouldn’t trust Merry to keep quiet. We need to give her time.”

“So...” began Ana.

“So until that’s all sorted, we’ll need to be extremely discreet. Snatch a moment when we can.”

“I’m not risking my future for a few stolen moments, Harry.”

“Of course not. If you’d rather I left you alone until I’ve moved out, I understand. Some things are worth waiting for.”

Ignoring the warnings firing from her brain, her heart soared. But she kept her gaze steady.

“You’re supposed to be marrying at Christmas, right?” he said.

“Yes.”

“So you’ve got some time to work out what it is you want. I know what I want. I meant it when I said you’re the one. If you break it offwith Percy, I’ll work things out so we can be together without it harming your career. I promise you that.”

“I understand.”