“Out of curiosity,” Mia began, “how do you think you’re going to hide this from him? What if he wants to see you tonight?”

“He left for Charleston this morning,” she admitted. “He said he won’t be back until sometime tomorrow, so I’m good.”

“You dumped all of this on me because you were afraid of putting Gwen in labor, weren’t you?” Mia asked astutely. “Plus you knew that your sister would probably have a heart attack over it.”

“Well . . .” Crystal hedged, “nothing really shakes you, and I had to tell someone in case Bill drags me off afterward.”

“Well, hell,” Mia huffed. “Now, I’m your enabler. I want to officially go on the record as being opposed to this crazy bleeding-heart sympathy counseling you’re doing with Bill. I’ll keep my mouth shut, but I want you to promise me that you’ll talk to him after it’s over tonight. Let him know where you stand and that this was a onetime thing for you.”

Crystal crossed her heart. “I will. I’ll invite him for coffee and tell him the truth.”

“All right.” Mia sighed, sounding resigned. “I just know this isn’t gonna end well, but you’re a grown woman. I hope you know what you’re doing. Often it’s better for someone to have no hope than the false kind.”

Crystal was on her feet and almost to the door. Turning back, she asked, “Are you talking about me or Bill?”

“God knows at this point,” Mia admitted.

• • •

What a mistake, Crystal thought dazedly as Bill used yet another tissue to wipe his eyes. She had to admit that the man who she’d always thought was oblivious to her feelings seemed to have a long and very detailed list of every time he’d hurt her in the past. As he listed each and every one of them, she nodded politely while he begged for forgiveness. As their hour drew to a close, she was physically and emotionally exhausted. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t to sit quietly the entire time while Bill talked nonstop and the counselor nodded approvingly before finally saying brightly, “This was a great session, you two. Bill, you communicated your feelings beautifully. And Crystal, next week we’ll begin with you. After that, we can have joint discussions as we work to put your broken pieces back together again.” Then she clapped—she honest-to-God clapped—her hands and said in a peppy shout, “Now stand up and take a bow—you both deserve it!” Nightmare on my street.

Bill jumped to his feet enthusiastically. When Crystal remained seated, mainly in shock, both the counselor and her ex-husband looked at her expectedly. So she had little choice but to stand and bow as if she’d just finished the starring role in a third-grade play. Shoot me now. After that, there was no way she could force herself to spend more time with Bill, even if they did need to talk. So she said the first thing that she could come up with, to get away quickly. “I’ve really got to go. It’s that time of the month.”

Thank the Lord that some things never changed. Bill looked like he was ready to bolt at her words, and he stammered out, “Oh, um, sure. You go do—whatever, um, you need to.” She waved limply with one hand while holding her stomach for good measure with the other and shuffled quickly to her car.

And just to give her a swift kick, fate took that exact moment to make her phone chime. She fumbled in her purse, pulling it out to see a message from her mother. It’s about time you got your head on right. Bill told me that you’re getting back together. Don’t mess it up this time! Complete with an exclamation mark and a fucking emoticon with a frowny face.

The scales were officially out of balance in her life once again. The good side with her nonrelationship was rapidly being overwhelmed by the bad side with Bill and her ex-husband-loving mother. Joining the Peace Corps was sounding really good right about now.

Chapter Sixteen

It was almost two in the morning when Mark walked in the door of his Charleston home. He loosened his tie and tossed his suit jacket on the back of a chair. Evenings with his parents were freaking exhausting and he wanted nothing more than to leave the city and not come back. Every once in a great while, his father decided to make an ass of himself to get attention. And he’d done that yesterday afternoon. As usual, he’d been either drunk, high, or a combination of both.

He’d learned long ago that things would continue to escalate unless he gave his father the outlet he was seeking, which was usually an opportunity to flex his imaginary muscle. When his grandfather had turned the family company over to him, his father had nearly gone ballistic. Mark couldn’t understand how his father was the only one who didn’t see it coming. After all, Mark had taken a stagnant company and shot it straight to the top, ahead of all of their competition. His business instincts were spot-on almost without fail, and that was something that his shrewd grandfather had picked up on right away. Therefore, while his father lived the life of an overgrown playboy, Mark quietly took control and never looked back. And his parents cursed him for it even as they ran through the money he made for them like water.

His parents shared a bizarre relationship. He knew that they both had lovers and didn’t bother to hide their affairs from each other. Yet they had each other’s backs in a way that Mark would never comprehend, considering the state of their marriage. No doubt money played a part, as his mother was used to living the good life. When he was forced to spend time with them, he never ceased to be amazed by their actions, even though he should know what to expect from them by now. His mother would pretend for a few hours that she actually gave a damn about what was going on in Mark’s life, and his father would go through a rehearsed list of all of the ways that Mark had embarrassed and failed them. It was almost like some childish bid for attention.