Page 77 of The Boss Upstairs
He blows out a breath, and looks down at his half-eaten meal. “No.”
I nod, and my fork dances over my salad as I debate whether to take a bite, or ask another probing question. I stuff a forkful of lettuce in my mouth. That’s sure to shut me up.
“I came to discover a few things about my wife. I’ve never been the kind of husband who pries into his wife’s affairs. I have great respect for people’s privacy as I cherish my own. But I accidentally fell upon her personal email account by chance, and one thing led to another. I was compelled to dig deeper.”
I’ve abandoned my lasagna, completely riveted. Ethan is busy drawing circles in the sauce on his plate. I usually don’t let him play with his food, but tonight I’m just glad he’s occupied.
“I’ve told you all about the arrangement Bridget and I had with Mirella and her husband,” he goes on. “Well, I’d been in love with Mirella for about two years, and I’d always thought our initial meeting was fate. I was under the mistaken assumption that we were soulmates. When, all along, our first meeting was planned… kind of.”
“How so?” I ask, confused. We’ve now both abandoned our meals, and I wonder if we should be eating instead of delving into his past.
“Bridget and I were having dinner with friends, but they cancelled at the last minute. There was a couple at the restaurant whose reservation got lost, and they had no table. And Bridget kindly invited them to sit with us.”
“Mirella and her husband?”
“Yes. I was under the impression that we were all complete strangers. I was instantly drawn to her. She was certainly not perfect by today’s standards, but she was the most beautiful, sweetest thing I’d ever seen. It was love at first sight for me.”
His words cut me. I know it was years ago, but the thought of him being so passionately in love with someone else tears me apart. “So they weren’t complete strangers?” I ask, confused.
“No. My wife, Bridget, and her husband, Gabe, already knew each other. They had known each other for two months, having met at a furniture show, when she was furnishing our summer property.”
I take a sip of my wine. “Oh… and how do you know this?”
“Email communications.”
I sit up straighter. “Were they having an affair?”
Ethan slaps his hands hard on his tray. He does this when he’s done.
Oh no, Ethan. Not now. It was just getting good.
I dash over to the counter and fetch the box of donuts. “It’s donut time!” I select the most colorful one of them all, the one with sprinkles, and hand it to him. His eyes are wide with excitement. I break off little pieces for him because I don’t want him to choke.
Weston smiles at the sight of Ethan scarfing down his donut.
“Go on,” I urge. “I’m sorry. Toddlers…”
His mouth is a hard line when he resumes his story. “Perhaps an emotional affair. They were certainly discussing the possibility of having a physical affair. Bridget was more than willing, but Gabe did not want to be unfaithful. There was clearly a very strong physical attraction between them. Bridget mentioned our open marriage, and Gabe told her that his wife would never go along with something of that nature.”
“She was obviously wrong,” I point out, stating the obvious.
“She was…” he says. “The plan that night was for them to check us out. We were to eat at the same restaurant and enjoy our meals. Then Gabe was to come and say hello, introduce himself and feign surprise to have run into her, the woman from the furniture show. They were testing the waters, sort of speak.”
“Then what happened?”
He ventures another bite of his lasagna. It’s probably cold by now. “Well, apparently, as soon as he saw me, he changed his mind. He didn’t want me anywhere close to his wife.”
I laugh. “I don’t blame him. Just look at you.”
He grins widely as he reaches for his wine. “Well, I did have my finest suit on.”
“I bet you did. I bet he took one look at you, and knew he’d lose his wife if he didn’t hold on tight.”
He smiles, and I can completely understand this man’s fear. Weston Hanson is… What exactly?Enigmatic.
“But then a few things happened,” he goes on. “First, our friends cancelled on us, and then Mirella’s and Gabe’s reservation was lost. Gabe was livid. I thought he was going to punch the hostess. Bridget intervened just in time, and invited them to sit with us.”
“And the rest is history.”
“Exactly.” He shakes his head. “I don’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell me about him straight out. Honestly, I think she got off on the secrecy and deception. And Mirella would have never agreed if she knew about the pre-existing relationship between them. She was in my boat. She thought our initial meeting was pure fate, and that we were destined to find each other.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “It doesn’t mean that your love wasn’t real.”
He nods, a whisper of a smile traces his lips. “I know. It was. It was very real. It was the stuff of love songs.”
“So that’s when you decided to leave your wife?” I ask. “When you found this out?” It doesn’t seem to be enough to break a marriage, especially when kids are involved. Yes, she was a bit deceitful, but—
“No, there was more.”
