Page 54 of The Write Choice

It takes Ben a second, but he nods in understanding. “Oh,” he says simply.

“Yeah,” I reply, raising my beer to my lips. Ben looks at me with a good deal of sympathy.

“Do we need to make tonight Operation: Get Brandon laid?” Daniel asks.

I just about spit out my drink. “Please, no.” I cough.

“You gotta be patient,” Ben offers. “It took Jenny nine years to give me a chance, but I don’t think you’ll have to wait that long. Katie will come around.”

Daniel snorts, and I glare at him. He shrugs. “Oh, come on. Katie is stubborn as hell. Once she makes up her mind about something, you have to drag her out of it.”

He’s not wrong. “Okay, but I’m not going to drag her to bed.”

Both men nod approvingly. I drain my beer and go to the fridge to get another, mostly to give myself some space. This is not exactly how I pictured this evening. Isn’t there some game on or something? Daniel isn’t the sports type, but I’m almost positive Ben is.

As I head back to the living room and transfer another taco from the box to my plate, I’ve decided to change the subject to something more neutral, like sports, when Ben leans forward suddenly.

“What is it that Katie wants?” Before I can respond, he waves his hand in front of his face as if to erase his words. “I mean, I know you said she wanted time to paint. She’s got a space now since you set up that studio, and time with the kids at school, right? But if that were it, she’d be falling all over you. So, what does she want?”

I stare at him dumbly for a second because I’m ashamed to admit I don’t know. Daniel gets it right away though, because he’s known me for so long. He jumps to my rescue.

“She wants you home on time. You’ve said that, and you’ve been trying and succeeding to some degree. Why does she want you home for dinner or whatever, though? It’s not like she doesn’t have all day to herself. Maybe she’s hinting at help with cleaning or something like that?” he suggests.

I shake my head. “No, Katie has always been adamant that she doesn’t want help with the housework. In fact, she said she wouldn’t have any purpose at all if it weren’t for the cleaning and laundry.”

As soon as I say it aloud, I hear it. The guys do, too, because they both grimace.

“That’s sad,” Ben says.

“Yeah, I see that now,” I mutter.

“Does she want to go back to work at a gallery?” Daniel asks. “Or anywhere?”

“I don’t think so. The last time we talked about galleries specifically, she said Christine was still so young, and she thinks the galleries are kind of…” I trail off and glance at Ben. It’s one thing to admit my issues in front of him. It’s another to air Katie’s dirty laundry. “Toxic.” I finish cryptically.

“Katie got sober when she was pregnant with Mason,” Daniel fills him in helpfully. When I glare at him again, he shrugs. “What? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“It’s really not,” Ben reassures me.

“I’m not embarrassed. I just don’t know how much of her business she wants out there.” And it’s been a minute since I have had a true friend around, even though Daniel and I have talked on the phone at least weekly since he moved out here. I’m out of practice trusting people, I guess. “But what is embarrassing is I have no idea what Katie wants or needs, and I should.”

Daniel tilts his head, studying me. “Does she know what she wants?”

I frown at him, considering. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Then that’s not embarrassing, either.” He leans back in his seat and crosses his arms, as if that’s the end of that. Which I suppose it is.

“You need to be persuasive, then,” Ben says more to himself than to us, but when we both snap our heads to him, his face flushes. “Not in a creepy way. But you said once she makes up her mind, she doesn’t change course very easily. How long has it been?”

“Before his wedding,” I indicate Daniel, who winces sympathetically.

“Oh, shit,” Ben curses.

I nod, twisting my wedding band around my finger with my thumb.

“You should try taking her out on a date. I know finding a babysitter in New York was next to impossible, but your parents are watching the kids now. What if they watched them every week? Or we could. We’d be happy to.” Daniel suggests.

“Maybe,” I say slowly. I’m unconvinced a few dates will have Katie falling in love with me again, but at this point, I’ll try anything.