LITMIR.BIZ

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this? Because I don’t want to be a source of trouble between you two.”

      “Of course I’ll tell him.” She wasn’t one who kept secrets, and Stan should know that. His questions irritated her.

      They sat in the back of the theater, and as soon as they were settled in, Olivia took a handful of popcorn.

      “You actually like this guy, don’t you?”

      With her mouth full, she simply nodded. The truth of it was, she did. Jack was intelligent and argumentative and he had a sense of humor; he challenged her and he made her laugh. He was a bit insecure, too, but she was willing to look past that.

      Stan seemed about to ask her another question when the previews started, for which Olivia was grateful. She didn’t want to spend the evening discussing her personal relationships.

      After the movie, they stopped for coffee and dessert at the Pancake Palace. That had also been part of their date-night routine. But as they sat in the booth across from each other, Olivia was determined not to let Stan sidetrack her, either with nostalgic references or with questions about Jack. He’d contacted her, wanting advice about his marriage. So that was going to be the subject of their conversation.

      “Are you and Jack—”

      “Wait a minute.” Olivia raised her hand. “Is tonight about you or me?”

      Stan lowered his eyes. “Defeat has never come easy to me.”

      Olivia had to bite her tongue to keep from reminding him that he’d been the one to pack up and move out of their home. He’d been the one to file for divorce and the one who insisted their marriage was over.

      “What happened?” she asked.

      He shook his head. “Marge wants out.”

      “Why?”

      “She says she doesn’t love me anymore—that we had something special once but we don’t now. She’s already filed for divorce.”

      “How do you feel about that?”

      Stan refused to meet her eyes. “It hurts like hell.”

      Then, because her own experience had given her some insight into Marge, Olivia asked, “Do you think she’s met someone else?”

      Stan’s gaze shot to hers as he slowly nodded. “I’ve thought that for some time.”

      Olivia didn’t feel any sense of vindication at being right. She felt sadness for both her ex-husband and his second wife. Stan and Marge had once had a solid marriage, but apparently old patterns had reasserted themselves. She recalled that Marge, too, had been married when she’d met Stan.

      “I’m sorry.”

      He tried to make light of it, but Olivia knew him well enough to recognize the pain in his eyes. For the first time, she looked at him and didn’t see the strikingly attractive man he’d once been. Stan seemed old and somehow, worn-out, his skin sallow and lined.

      They talked for nearly an hour and she was astonished to see that it was almost nine by the time they paid for their coffee and pie.

      “I haven’t been sleeping well,” he confessed as they drove back to the house on Lighthouse Road. “I have to tell you, Olivia, this divorce business has really got me down.”

      She patted his hand. “Life has a way of working everything out. Don’t give up on Marge yet.”

      Stan pulled over to the side of the road. The sun was just setting, and the last threads of light cast a golden glow across the shimmering waters of the Cove. “I’ve always loved the view of the house from here,” he said, leaving the engine to idle.

      Olivia did, too. She remembered when she’d first seen that old house with the For Sale sign in the front yard. She’d felt chills go down her spine. She didn’t even need to tour the inside to know this was the home she wanted for her family. Although the price had been a stretch for them, together they’d managed to come up with the down payment and get a loan. The twins had been four then, and it was the first time they’d had their own rooms. Unfortunately the house hadn’t been enough to hold their family together after the loss of Jordan. Yet in many ways Olivia viewed it as a symbol of everything that was best about their marriage.

      “Marge moved out last weekend,” Stan admitted.

      Olivia hadn’t known that. “I’m so sorry, Stan.”

      He sighed and looked away. “Thank you for not gloating. This is what I deserve, isn’t it?”

      “We’ve been divorced a lot of years.”

      “Yes, I know, but you’ve been decent about it, Liv, really decent.”

      She wasn’t sure that was entirely true.

      “I don’t think I can face going home. Not tonight,” he said, sounding broken and tired.

      “What are you going to do?”

      “I’ll just get a hotel room.”

      Olivia knew this could just be a ploy, but she did feel bad for him, and she understood his not wanting to go back to an empty house. “There’s no need to do that. You can sleep in James’s old room and drive to Seattle in the morning.”

      Some of the stress left his face. “You wouldn’t mind?”

      “No, but I do have an appointment tomorrow. I should leave by nine.” She and Jack were going to Sol Duc Hot Springs so he could do research for a travel article. Since she had the better car, she was picking him up.

      “No problem, I’ll be on the road by eight. Sooner if you want.”

      “Any time before nine will be okay.”

      Stan parked his BMW in the back by the garage and before he went upstairs, Olivia gave him a fresh set of towels.

      This was the first time they’d slept in the same house since their divorce. As she readied for bed, she wondered if she’d done the right thing by inviting him to stay.

      In the morning, her doubts disappeared. She was awake at seven and while she brewed coffee she heard the shower running upstairs. Humming to herself, she was surprised to hear someone ringing her doorbell.

      She ran to answer it.

      “J-Jack?” she stammered, instantly afraid he’d hear Stan and assume the worst.

      “I come bearing gifts.” He held two containers of coffee and a white bakery sack. “Maple bars,” he said enticingly. “Your favorite. I thought we’d have breakfast here before we head out.”

      “I—”

      “Olivia,” Stan called as he bounded down the stairs. He stopped cold when he saw Jack. He wore one of Justine’s old housecoats and a pair of her fuzzy slippers.

      “You remember Stan, don’t you?” she muttered, which was probably the most inane thing she could have said.

      “Oh, yes, I remember Stan.” Jack’s eyes were cold and narrow.

      Stan, doing his best to appear dignified, wrapped the silky housecoat more securely around him. “Obviously, my timing couldn’t have been worse.”

      “On the contrary,” Jack said. “Your timing couldn’t have been better.”

      “Sorry.” Stan cast an apologetic look at Olivia and hurried back up the stairs.

      Jack and Olivia faced each other. “You can’t believe that Stan and I…slept together.” Surely Jack had more faith in her than that!

      “Whatever, Olivia.”

      This was such a juvenile response she didn’t know how to react.

      “He wants you back.”

      She’d heard that before. But

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