All of our parents are settled around the dining room table with coffee, chatting about grandkids and Christmas plans.
Will and Isaac ramble on about football, with Matt, their other brother, and Luke chiming in here and there. Mark saunters in from the kitchen, passes Luke another beer and joins them. The only one missing is Caleb, who is off on some SEAL mission.
I hope he’ll be home for Christmas.
“You okay?” Isaac whispers.
“Mmm.”
He grins down at me and kisses my hair. My eyes are heavy. I let my eyelids fall and listen to the conversations around me.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Isaac catches my chin in his fingers and kisses me softly. I never get tired of his lips. My man can kiss. He moves away from me and lowers me onto the couch so my head is on the armrest, and I feel him walk away from me.
Will, Luke and Mark are enthralled in football talk, passionately arguing about the offensive line.
Suddenly, my eyes blink open, and I wonder how long I’ve slept. I didn’t mean to drift off.
Our moms have left their husbands at the table and joined the rest of us girls in the living room. My mom cradles Sophie in her arms, earning a frown from Jules.
“I never get to hold her. Between Natalie and you guys, I never get her.”
“Don’t whine,” Natalie mutters.
“Shut up,” Jules responds, and I giggle. They are so funny, even when they bicker.
“Stace, I’m glad the blog is going well,” Luke’s mom, Lucy, says with a smile.
“Thanks, me, too. I just need something to do while I’m home with Sophie. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bored, but I just…” How do I explain that I need something, just for me, without sounding selfish?
“I get it,” Lucy responds.
“So, let’s talk strategy, girls.” Jules rubs her hands together and perches at the edge of the couch with a large stack of newspaper ads. “Black Friday.” She grins excitedly and bounces on the cushion, her pretty blond hair bouncing with her. She licks her finger and grabs the ad on top, flipping through it.
“I’m not going at four a.m. this time,” Natalie informs her, while she rubs her tiny baby bump. “This little one won’t let me out of bed that early.”
“I can’t do that early either,” I chime in.
“I’m doing my shopping online.” Sam waves us off. “I refuse to get into a fistfight over a scarf.”
“You’re no fun,” Jules pouts.
“I’m in, if we leave around seven. I can have Sophie fed and be ready myself.”
“Okay, Nat and I will pick you up then.”
“Gonna spend all my money, baby?” Luke murmurs into Nat’s ear as she climbs into his lap. He wraps his arms around her and holds her close, and I can’t help but grin at them. They are so in love.
“Yep. All of it. We’ll be homeless when I’m done.”
“It’s okay. We’ll go live with Jules.”
“Oh hell no.” Jules shakes her head and laughs. “We’ll save enough money for you to cover the mortgage.”
“Oh good,” he replies drily.
“Well, some of us are on a budget,” I inform them with a chuckle. “So go easy on me.”
“It’s gonna be so fun!” Jules claps her hands as Sophie begins to fuss in my mom’s arms.
“We should probably head home,” I murmur and stand, stretching my arms up over my head. “Will, where are Isaac and Matt?”
“I think they’re on the deck.” Will responds, and then returns to his football conversation with the boys.
What is it with men and football?
I walk over to the patio door and open it quietly. I hear my husband’s deep voice say, “I just don’t know what to do about her.”
“Well, bro...” Matt begins but stops when he sees me in the doorway. He offers me a smile. “Hey, Stace.”
“Hey.” I step out on the deck and smile at Isaac, but my stomach is in knots as I remember the mysterious phone call at dinner, and now this. “What’s going on?”
Isaac shakes his head and shrugs nonchalantly. “Nothing.”
“Uh huh.” I eye him, knowing he’s keeping something from me, but then I hear Sophie cry inside. “We should go. Soph is ready for bed.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Chapter Two
“Are you sure you don’t want me to take Soph to my mom’s?” I ask Isaac as I bustle around the kitchen, putting breakfast supplies away.
“Nah, we’ll be fine.” He cradles her against his chest, bouncing her slightly and smiles at me. “Have fun today. Don’t worry about us.”
“I intend to have fun. And shop my ass off. I am bringing a change of socks to refresh my feet halfway through.”
Isaac shakes his head and laughs. “I don’t get Black Friday.”
“It’s a challenge that involves shopping. It’s not for you to understand.” I switch my phone to vibrate and shove it in my pocket, throw my keys in my purse and glance up at my husband. “Hey, question.”
“Okay.”
“What was going on last night at Luke and Nat’s?”
Isaac frowns and sighs. “Stace, don’t worry about it. Have fun today, and we’ll talk later.”
“We don’t keep secrets.”
“I’m not keeping one now. I want you to have fun today. We’ll talk later.”
“If you say so.” He leans down and kisses me chastely, then grips my jaw in his hand and deepens the kiss, making my toes curl. He smells like coffee, his body wash and just Isaac, and when he pulls back and gives me that cocky grin with his bright blue eyes smiling at me, I can’t help but sigh, even after being with him all these years.
“I’ll see you later,” I whisper when I hear Jules honk her horn outside.
“Be safe.” He kisses my forehead. I lean in to kiss Sophie’s cheek, and I’m out the door.
***
Sometimes, you just need a day out with the girls, and I’ve realized today that it’s been far too long since I’ve taken time away from the baby to just enjoy my friends. We have been all over Seattle, following sales and just enjoying each other’s company.
“You scored on that watch for Will at Macy’s,” Jules comments as she holds a sweater up.
“I know, I hope he likes it.”
“He will. Besides that man needs a watch. He’s always late.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out to check the text.
nipples.
Huh? Isaac has sent me a text that just says nipples? Is he talking about nipples for Sophie’s bottle?
“Oh, look! The baby section. C’mon, guys, I wanna look.” Natalie leads us to the brightly colored baby department to look through clothes and other gear.
My phone vibrates again.
I luv it when u ride me and I can play with ur
My husband has lost his mind. Or someone has stolen his phone and is sending me obscene text messages.
I vaguely hear Jules and Nat chattering around me, but I’m not paying attention to what they’re saying or even what they’re looking at. I’m just mindlessly following them through the store, winding through clothes racks and around a loud Santa and elves and kids yelling and crying.
It’s really, really loud in here.
nd cum in ur mouth.
What the hell? I stare down at my phone and frown.
“Oh, Stace, Sophie would be so cute in this!”
I tuck my phone in my pocket and look over at Jules holding up an adorable black romper. “Oh, that’s adorable! I’ll take it.”
My phone vibrates again, so I pull it out and check the text.
You make me so hard.
Isaac hasn’t talked to me like this in years. Years. Before I can shove my phone back in my pocket, it vibes again, and another text from him pops on the screen.
I want u kneeling in front of me with ur pretty pink lips around my cock. I’m gonna pull your hair a
That’s it. The last of
the text is cut off again. This isn’t my husband. We haven’t done the dirty-talk thing since before Sophie was born. Hell, since before Sophie was conceived.
“Stacy?” I hear Nat calling my name, but before I can answer, one more text comes through.
This is what I’m gonna give you 2nite. Be ready. And…it’s a picture of his dick.
“Stacy?” Jules lays her hand on my arm to get my attention, and I meet her concerned blue gaze with my own.
“What the fuck is up with your brother?”
“What are you talking about?” Jules asks.
“He’s sending me obscene text messages, which I’m starting to think aren’t intended for me, given that he hasn’t talked dirty to me like this in years, and last night at Nat’s he took a private call that he won’t tell me about and was talking about some woman with Matt. Jules, if your brother is fucking around on me, so help me God…”
Jules laughs and shakes her head. “Stacy, you know he’s not fucking around.”
“As of right this minute, I’m not so sure.”
And the magnitude of that statement paralyzes me. I stare at my friends and replay last night and this morning in my head, his evasiveness, telling me to drop it but kissing me to cover it up. I feel my eyes widen, and my heart rate triples.
“Fuck.”
“Stacy, I’m sure there’s an explanation. Isaac is nuts about you.” Natalie rubs my back in large circles, trying to console me.
“He is, Stace.” Jules nods. “I know he loves you and Sophie more than anything.”
“That doesn’t mean that he’s not having an affair,” I whisper.
“C’mon, let’s get out of here. I think we’ve done enough damage to my credit card for one day.” Jules sets the few things we’d picked up on a rack, and we walk through the store and out to the car.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” I whisper.
“Well, your first step is to talk to him. Ask him.” Natalie says from the back seat behind me. Jules is driving, where I don’t know, and I’m in the passenger seat.
“I did ask him. He told me to drop it. This morning he told me to have fun today and we’d talk tonight. Oh God, he’s going to tell me he’s leaving me.” My stomach convulses, and I start to pant.
“Stacy, don’t be dramatic.” Jules sighs in exasperation and merges into traffic, heading toward my house.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to your place.”
“I don’t want to see Isaac yet. I need to calm down and think.”
“No, you need to confront my brother and find out what the hell he’s doing.”
I twist my fingers in my lap and bite my lip until it bleeds. “Maybe you can confront him and let me know how it goes.”
“Oh no, this is all you. But if you want us there with you, we’ll stay. Are you afraid of him?” She looks over to me with narrowed eyes.
“No! No, I’m not afraid of him. I just don’t know if I want the answer to my questions.”
“Stacy, I’m telling you,” Natalie says firmly, “Isaac is not fucking around.”
“I wouldn’t have ever expected him to.” My God, we’ve had ups and downs, but never, never would I have suspected that he could ever do this to me.
“So, to recap,” Jules starts as she pulls into my driveway, “he took a mysterious phone call at Nat’s last night that he doesn’t want to talk about, and today he sent you dirty texts.”
“Yes.”
“This does not make for an affair, Stace.”
“I know, but it’s so not him.”
“There are no photos of naked women. You haven’t caught him in bed with anyone…”
“No.”
Jesus, I’d die if I found him in bed with another woman. Correction: The other woman and Isaac would die. Slow, painful deaths.
“I think this is a misunderstanding,” Natalie says gently. “Where is this insecurity in your marriage coming from? This isn’t like you, honey. You are not this insecure.”
“I know.” I bite my lip again and fight tears. I haven’t felt like myself since the baby came. Our marriage hasn’t felt the same. “Since the baby was born, our sex life hasn’t been the greatest. We’re both really tired all the time.” I shrug and look down at my hands in embarrassment. “I know our marriage isn’t perfect, but I’ve never felt this disconnected from him. If I’m not satisfying him, someone else will. You’ve seen him.”
“Oh, for the love of Moses, Stacy, listen to yourself. I think you need some hot sex and a vacation, girl,” Jules comments, making me laugh.
“Yeah, that couldn’t hurt.”
Isaac’s truck is in the driveway of our pretty two-story home. It occurs to me that he put the Christmas lights up today, which just makes me more emotional. This is Sophie’s first Christmas. What if we don’t get to spend it as a family in our home?
Jules cuts the engine and pops the trunk. “C’mon, let’s get your stuff inside.”
We carry my plethora of bags full of gifts for the whole family, and way more than Sophie will ever need or remember for her first Christmas, into the house. Isaac is packing a diaper bag and has the car seat by the door.
“Ladies, you’re back sooner than I expected.” He flashes us a wide, happy smile, but all I see is the bag he’s packing.
“Where the hell are you going?” I ask. I hear the desperation in my voice. I know I sound like a complete lunatic, but I can’t make it stop.
“Uh.” He frowns at me and pushes his hand through his soft, dark blond hair. “Nowhere. I was going to ask Jules if she would take Sophie home with her for a few hours so you and I can have some alone time.”
“Of course I’ll take Sophie!” Jules says from behind me. “Nat, will you help Isaac finish loading the baby’s bag while I help Stacy upstairs with her stuff?”
“On it.”
Isaac looks at the three of us like we’ve lost our minds. “What’s going on?”
Jules just leads me up the stairs as I hear Natalie say, “You guys really need to talk, you dumb-ass.”
Chapter Three
“So, talk to me.” Isaac walks into our bedroom and crosses to me, planting his hands on his lean hips. Jules and Nat just left with Sophie, and we’re all alone.
“No, you start talking. I want to know who you were talking to last night. And who the hell did you intend to send those text messages to today?”
Yes, I sound like a nagging, bitchy wife, but I can’t stop it. I pull my coat off with jerking movements and throw it on top of the bags on our bed and turn back to face him, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Stacy, what are you accusing me of?” he asks in a low voice, his blue eyes narrowed.
“I’m not accusing, I’m asking. Again. I’ve been asking since last night.”
“I spoke to Brynna last night at Luke’s, Stacy. She was in trouble and is on her way here.”
What? Brynna is my cousin, but we were raised as sisters. “She’s on her way from Chicago?”
“Yes.”
“But the kids…”
“Are with her.”
“Is she driving?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell, Isaac? Why didn’t you tell me this last night?”
“Because I didn’t want to worry you. It was Soph’s first Thanksgiving, and Matt and I have it taken care of.” He runs his hands through his hair and paces away from me toward the bathroom.
“Why is she coming here?”
“I don’t know all the details yet. I just know that she was scared and said she needed to get out of there fast and was heading here.”
I just stand and blink at him. Brynna, the person I’m closest to in the world, is coming home and is in trouble, and I’m just now finding out?
“Isaac…”
“Yeah, I know, in hindsight I probably should have said something, but you would have worried, and I wanted you to enjoy the holiday.”
Okay. “Where is
she now?”
“I’m not sure, she’s taking it slow because of the weather and the kids, but she should be here by the middle of next week. Matt’s keeping close tabs on her.”
Isaac’s brother Matt is a Seattle cop, and I know he’ll do everything in his power to help Brynna. The Montgomery men take care of their family, and because of me, Brynna is family, too, so I trust that she’ll be safe.
“Now, about the texts,” Isaac mumbles, and my anger sparks again. “Let me see your phone.” He holds his large hand out expectantly.
“Why? So you can delete them?”
“Jesus, Stacy, what is wrong with you? Just give me your phone, please.” He appears exasperated and worried, but not like he’s feeling guilty, which gives me hope, so I hand him my phone.
He locates the texts and frowns as he reads through them. “You got them all out of order.”
“You think?”
“I hate being on two different cell services.”
“Isaac, I don’t think the fact that we have two different plans is the point right now. Who did you intend to send those to?”
“You.” He passes the phone back to me with a frown. “Who else would I send sexy messages to?”
“You tell me.”
“What has gotten into you? I just wanted to send you some fun texts to spice things up a bit. I’m fucking flirting with my wife, that’s all!” Now he’s pissed, fiery blue eyes, jaw set in a grim line, hands back on his hips.
I feel like a complete idiot. I close my eyes and sit on the edge of the bed, lowering my head and bracing my face in my hands. What is wrong with me?
“Baby, talk to me.” Isaac kneels in front of me and pulls my hands away from my face. He cups my cheek in his hand, brushing his thumb along my skin, and I feel tears well in my eyes.
“I thought…”
“I know what you thought, and it pisses me the hell off, but tell me why you went there, Stace. This isn’t who we are.”
I close my eyes again as relief surges through me, and I grip his wrist with my hand, keeping his hand against my cheek.
“Since Sophie was born, we seem different,” I whisper and open my eyes. “We’re so busy with her, you with the company, and me with the blog, and we’re always so damn tired. I just miss you. And I know that we don’t make love like we used to, and, well…”