How to Keep a Husband for Ten Days by Jessica Hatch

Author:Jessica Hatch [Hatch , Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803149035
Published: 2023-02-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

One four-person bagel order later

Before anyone could question them, Freddie had grabbed Lina’s hand and slipped out the front door.

Lina took a moment out on the sidewalk to breathe. She was not reeling after a bit of handsy flirtation from her ex. She couldn’t be.

“May I say,” Freddie declared, “that that is the most action I’ve ever seen two people in the middle of a divorce get? Sophie’s kitchen was about to need an R rating and a scrub-down! What is going on, Leen?”

The confusing feelings weren’t going away, certainly not given how Brown had squeezed her waist to move past her to Sophie’s coffee station. And given that Freddie had promised her their friendship—no judgments made, no sides taken, for which she was exceedingly grateful—she might as well confide in them. If she didn’t, she might explode.

“Okay, Freddie, I’ll spill,” she said as they turned the corner. “You know how Brown and I kissed last night? That wasn’t fake. At least not for me. We kissed in the basement during a séance like a couple of teenagers, and I liked it. It was a onetime thing, I thought, but then, well, Sophie’s kitchen just now? What is happening? We are quite literally in the process of”—she lowered her voice as they entered the café—“of ending our marriage! I don’t need to feel feelings right now, but I am.” She gripped her own elbows to steady herself. “Freddie, am I doing the right thing?”

Freddie held up a finger to Lina and read off the order from their phone to the cashier. They ordered some extra bagels to stock up, just in case the storm was worse than anticipated.

“And a cup of ice,” Lina added.

Freddie and the cashier stared at her.

“What? It’s warm in here. Isn’t it warm in here?” she asked.

After they paid, Freddie turned to brace her shoulders with both hands. “Okay, first of all, breathe. Then tell me exactly how far into the divorce you are. Like, is it final?”

With the help of Freddie’s hands, Lina forced her shoulders back down below her ears. “Hardly. The preliminary papers are filed, but Brown’s dragging his feet over some minor line items. It’s ridiculous.”

Freddie hummed in the key of Doubtful Major. “I’m not an expert, but maybe you should use the Live-In to explore how you’re feeling. Sounds like you clamped down on divorce as an option really quickly, am I right?”

She nodded.

“Yep, that’s the Lina I know. Dollars to donuts—or, I guess, bagels—Brown is dragging his feet because he’s not sure about this yet.” Freddie eyed her up and down, clocking the way her heart palpitations were written all over her face. “Maybe you aren’t either?”

“Maybe?” she allowed. “Or maybe I’m worrying about this too much? I see this happen with so many clients at the firm.”

“Really?” they asked.

“Really really,” Lina said. “It’s like, as things are finalized, as your decision becomes more definite, you start panic-yearning for what might have been. Human nature, I guess?”

Lina tried to take her own empty comfort as gospel truth.

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