Page 4 of Screwed
She laughed, feeling more at ease. “I thought we established that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I just don’t know what kind of job I want. Or what I can do.”
“I thought Manon offered you your old job back?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure. Working in an upscale clothing boutique is what my mother thinks I should do.” She sighed.
“I’m getting the feeling some of this is about rebelling against your parents.”
She snorted. “You make me sound like a teenager.”
“Just sayin’, darlin’.”
She sighed. “Okay, maybe it is. I just… I just…” Her throat closed up. She rubbed her nose. “I just want to be my own person. I want to accomplish something. Something real. Something I can be proud of. Oh fuck, Idosound like a teenager.”
“Callie. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know! This party just made me feel like a big failure.”
“You are not a failure. Your marriage ended because Beau fucked up.”
“He wouldn’t have done that if…” She swallowed.
“Don’t even say it. He fucked up. It wasn’t your fault.”
She pressed her lips together, her throat aching. “My parents wanted us to be married. They wanted me to marry a guy they approved of, and Beau was perfect. My parents have been together for thirty years.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “When I told Mama I was splitting up with Beau because he cheated on me, she told me that my daddy had had affairs with other women. And it was no big deal. You just ignored it and carried on and made everything look good.”
Cash closed his eyes, his mouth tightening, grooves deepening on his face. “Jesus fuck.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t do that.” She eyed him. “Did you know Beau was cheating on me?”
His mouth thinned even more. “Shit, Callie.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He’s my best friend. It would be against the guy code.” He frowned at his boots.
“I understand.” Cash and Beau were not only buddies, they were business partners. They’d been close since they met in college, playing on the football team together. Much as she despised Beau for what he’d done, Cash had to work with him, and she understood why he wouldn’t have wanted to jeopardize that, let alone their friendship.
She’d found out about her husband’s infidelity completely by accident. He’d been away on a business trip and had been emailing on his iPhone. Callie had picked up his iPad at home one night to download a new fashion magazine, and when the email had pinged, she’d absently swiped over to look at it. He was emailing the woman he’d been having an affair with, and all the emails were also showing up on his iPad, there for her to see.
Beau was a very smart man, but “the iCloud” had tripped him up.
“I think I should sell the house, too,” she added.
Cash’s head snapped up. “What?”
She shrugged. “You’re supposed to wait a year before you make any big decisions like that. It’s been over a year. I loved our house when we moved in, but it’s crazy to be living in that big place by myself. And I can’t look after it.”
“You know you just have to call, and I’ll come fix whatever you need.”
“I know.” She smiled. “And I appreciate that. But I can’t keep bothering you.”
