Page 96 of The Work Wife

* * * *

Wes walked into Romance 101 with a smile on his face and Jamie’s hand in his. They’d spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach, and while neither of them mentioned the kiss during the hike—or what it might mean, they did continue talking about their goals and what was ahead of them. And right now, the easiest workshop in the world was ahead of them.

Weston didn’t pretend to be a Casanova when it came to women. He often had difficulty asking them out or making the transition at the end of the date to sex, but one thing he had been told over and over by nearly every woman he’d dated was that he was the most romantic guy they’d ever dated.

Originally he thought it was merely a platitude like You’re so big or You rock my world, but after a number of times he finally asked if it was true.

Meredith Owens affirmed that he had a sweetness and honesty about him that made women melt. He’d not tried, it just came naturally.

Without thinking, his natural skills at romance had him pulling Jamie’s hand to his lips as soon as they sat down. She smiled at him, and his heart fluttered from the knowledge he’d made her happy.

Jamie seemed to like simple reassurances that she wasn’t alone. Didn’t everyone? Sometimes he noticed her staring off. A slight touch brought her back to him and she relaxed. Even in the office he would notice her off in her own world, and a word or his singing would bring her back.

“All right. It looks like everyone is here. We’ll go ahead and get started with Romance 101.” Misty glanced around the room. “How many of you think you know how to be romantic?”

No way would Weston raise his hand. It was a trap. A trap into which Curt fell, with a dopey grin. As if he hadn’t learned his lesson in the conflict resolution class and pretty much every other workshop, there he was, raising his hand.

“Oh, good. Then you can come up here and tell us what you think is romantic.”

Curt laughed and stepped to the front, like a lamb to the slaughter. “Holding the door for her. Telling her she looks pretty when she gets dressed up. Breakfast in bed on her birthday. Those kinds of things.”

It was difficult to watch.

The instructor looked at Wendy, who cringed.

“He believes this because you let him believe it?” she asked, and Wendy nodded guiltily.

“Holding the door is chivalry, not exactly romance, but it’s a nice gesture. What about telling her she looks pretty when she’s not dressed up?”

Curt blinked in confusion.

“How about breakfast in bed when it isn’t her birthday, but for no other reason than you want to make her happy?”

Curt’s brows had creased as he looked at his wife for direction.

“It would be nice,” Wendy said.

“Doing romantic”—here Misty made air quotes—“things when you feel it’s expected isn’t really romantic. That’s the same as following a playbook. It’s instructional, not emotional. You need to act from your heart. It doesn’t need to be grand, but it does need to be sincere. Breakfast in bed once a year doesn’t have the impact of a simple daily reminder of why you were married to begin with.”

The instructor turned to face Weston, and his stomach clenched.

“Even if I didn’t know it, I would have guessed you two were the newest married couple. Do you know why?” She looked around the room and no one answered. “When they sat down he kissed the back of her hand.”

Jamie nudged his arm and laughed.

“Why did you do that?” Misty asked Weston.

“She seemed nervous, and I wanted her to know I’m here with her.”

“Did you feel like he cared about you?” She pointed to Jamie with excitement.

“Yes.”

“And that’s why you married him, correct?”

Jamie looked up at him, her warm brown eyes searching his face. “Yeah. That’s why.”

He couldn’t even detect the lie, even knowing it wasn’t true.