204 Rosewood Lane - Debbie Macomber [127]
“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 Jack didn’t know how badly Stan was hurting. This wasn’t what it looked like!
“You can believe me or not,” Jack continued. “That’s completely up to you. But I’ll tell you something. It’s either him or me. You decide.”
“You want me to tell my ex-husband that I won’t see him again?”
Surely even Jack must realize he had no right to make such a demand.
“That’s exactly what I want, or we’re through.”
“I don’t deal well with ultimatums,” Olivia told him.
Jack set the coffee and the maple bars on the dining-room table. “That tells me everything I need to know.” He turned and headed out the door.
Olivia was so shocked she didn’t know what to do. Shocked and then angry. It took her a full ten seconds to decide to chase after him. By then Jack had reached his dilapidated old car.
“You say Stan wants me back?”
“He’s made that plain for months.” Jack’s hand was on his door.
How dare he just walk away like this! If what he said was true, then the least he could do was