Page 48 of Wife By Accident

“Olivia!” Rachel sounded cheerful, even though there was a faint crash in the background that must be one of the kids knocking something over. “How are you? I feel like it’s been years.”

“It’s only been weeks,” Olivia said. “But I’ve missed you, too.”

“How are you? How’s Mr. Meany?”

“Um…” Olivia winced. “There are a few things I need to catch you up on.”

“Oh? Good news, maybe?”

“Um, maybe. See, at the conference in Las Vegas, Mr. Marley was being a real jerk, and…” And the whole story poured out. Olivia had meant to hold back a little, but a part of her must have known that it was time to come clean. She told Rachel all about quitting her job on the spot, going to the casino, and meeting Leo.

“Somehow,” she said, “we ended up married, but neither of us remember it.”

“What?” Rachel sounded shocked — and maybe a little amused. “Married? What?”

“Please save all questions for the end,” Olivia said, with more dignity than she felt. She continued, telling Rachel about her spontaneous trip back to New York with Leo, the weeks they’d spent together, and her growing feelings for her husband. She only left out the part about them sleeping together.

“Of course, we’re planning to get divorced as soon as possible, but maybe there’s a chance for us to find something real,” she finished.

“Why?” Rachel asked.

“Why is there a chance for us to find something real?” Olivia shook her head. “Because Leo is wonderful. He’s smart, handsome, funny, thoughtful… He’s kind. He cares about me, asks me questions, shares his own feelings⁠—”

“No, no,” Rachel said impatiently. “Why are you getting divorced?”

“Um, because we were never supposed to get married,” Olivia pointed out. “What kind of person gets married to someone they’ve only known for a few hours? Not me, that’s for sure.”

“Maybe it should be you. This Leo seems great. You’ve been moaning about how you never had time to date. Maybe a part of you saw something in Leo that you wanted to hold on to, and that’s why you got married.”

“This really isn’t the reaction I was expecting from you.”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know. Judgment. I’m judging myself for getting married and not even knowing it.”

“I’m not judging you. You’re one of the smartest, most level-headed people I know. If you married Leo, there must have been a really good reason.”

Just then, the elevator dinged. Panic shot through Olivia’s chest — Leo absolutely couldn’t come home to find her talking about him on the phone.

“Sorry, got to go!” She hung up, quickly opened her laptop, and tried to look busy, despite her racing heart. Still, her sister’s words lodged inside her heart. Maybe Rachel had a point. Maybe Olivia shouldn’t rush to get divorced from the first person in years she’d had feelings like this for, if ever.

“There you are,” Leo smiled as he entered the living room. He sat on the couch across from her. “What are you working on?”

“Oh, just normal things,” Olivia said quickly. Then she realized how ridiculous that sounded. “I mean, I’m editing photos.”

“Does this mean I’ll finally get to see some?” Leo asked. Olivia opened her mouth to make an excuse, then closed it. Maybe it was time to show Leo some of her work. After all, she cared about him deeply. And he wouldn’t laugh at her. Would he?

“You know what? Okay.”

“Really?” Leo looked deeply pleased, and Olivia tried to ignore how warm his pleasure made her heart.

“Really.”

He scooted closer, until his shoulder brushed Olivia’s and she was enveloped by his warm, masculine scent. His proximity reminded her of their night together, and, not for the first time, she struggled to focus on anything other than Leo. It would have been so easy to turn her head, just a little, and kiss him.

Instead, she opened her online portfolio. Before clicking on the first picture, though, she lowered the lid of the laptop and turned to Leo.

“Don’t laugh at me, okay?”