The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda (speld decodable readers txt) 📕

I didn’t know at the time that I’d take him, too, although I must admit the thought did cross my mind. Look, men can only be dislodged from unhappy relationships. Period. If they’re happy with the first, there will be no second, I’m telling you. But I didn’t start this. He did.

John rolls to his side. My head still rests on his arm. “It was a nice idea for you to bring us here. I know you meant well.”

I did. Sort of. “Finally glad we’re here? This is our special place.” I kiss the tip of his nose and snuggle into his chest.

“I am, but there are a lot of loose ends to tie up. With going public and all the employees, it’s a tough time to be away.” John pushes himself to a sitting position, effectively ending our cuddle time. “I’m just not sure this is working.”

I stare at him as we both turn to see another group of hikers coming our way.

What did he just say? “John? What’s not working?”

He blinks. “This vacation. But let’s make the most of this. We’re here. Let’s enjoy today and then we’ll go back home.”

“Sure. I just thought you’d wrapped everything up. I thought all you needed was time with me.” I am right. He knows it. I wonder if he knows that I know what he’s been doing with his extra time.

“It’s been busy, crazy busy.” John pulls at a clump of prairie grass and rubs it between his hands. He nods at the group of hikers who pass by us. He waits until they’re a few feet away before speaking. “It was the biggest deal of my life. It needed all my attention. It was for everybody—you, Ashlyn, Kate, the employees.”

“Whatever.” It comes out of my mouth before I can stop it. “I wanted it to be about us, you and me.”

He chuckles. “Of course you did.”

This isn’t a joke. “We need to get going. I have lunch reservations at the Chop House.”

I’m kicking myself for letting my anger recede. I was lulled into complacency by his arm around me, by a cuddle in the meadow and a trip down memory lane. I was transported to our engagement: the warmth of the sunshine, the bubbly zing of champagne, the huge diamond ring he slipped on my finger. Like a dream. It really was.

A dream I made come true. Let me tell you, though, it wasn’t easy. Again, there’s this misconception that the next wife just has it so easy. We bat our eyelashes and like magic, a successful husband appears.

Don’t believe it. It was work getting to that meadow moment. At first I was happy with my new job in the big city. I found a charming apartment in German Village, leased a new car, and was feeling pretty empowered. I was a young professional woman launching her career in a new city, far enough away from my old Kentucky home that the past was just that. I was Rachel from Friends, Carrie Bradshaw in a smaller city. And I had a couple of dates those first few months in town. I did. With men, or boys really, who were all just out of college, self-centered, and sex driven. Blech.

I went to work at EventCo the next morning, happy to have escaped the clutches of yet another gangly twentysomething boy, and there sat John. Bespoke business suit. Hair graying at the temples. Blue eyes framed with crinkles. He’d smile at me like I was a burst of sunshine or a hidden treasure, not like a girl he’d like to fuck. And that’s when I knew. I needed to find someone just like John. He was my type, only unavailable.

After about a month on the job, I asked him if he had any single friends he could connect me with. I stood at the door of his office. Waiting for a response.

He looked up from his computer and tilted his head. “For what?”

“For a date, silly. I’m new to the city, and all I’ve met on my own are gross young guys. I want to find a successful older guy. Like you,” I said.

“Like me, huh?” He smiled. And I felt it. A zing, a current running between us. “I’m one of a kind, Tish.”

“OK, well someone almost as handsome and successful as you then,” I said, laughing. “Will you think about it? Please?”

“Oh, I’m thinking about it,” he said as I ducked out of the room.

With his wife working away on the other side of the office building, John began thinking about me. At least, that’s what he told me despite the fact the framed publicity clip hanging above my desk declared Kate and John Nelson were “Mr. and Mrs. Incredible.” The Columbus Monthly magazine article by the front desk read: John and Kate Nelson started EventCo with a big idea, long hours behind the computer in their first apartment in Columbus. Today, it’s the world’s biggest online event company. How did they do it? It’s an incredible story. They’re our own local superheroes. And they’re still in love after all they’ve been through.

So when John made his move eight months after I started working at EventCo, our flirtation had been going on for months. I never thought anything would come of it. I wanted someone like him. Not him. I knew it would be a huge challenge with John. See, it wasn’t like I was just replacing the first wife. This was an empire to divide and conquer. I had to become more vital than a superhero to John.

It turns out I did have an in, a superpower I didn’t know I possessed. I understood Ashlyn and had an instant connection with her. Teenage daughters, something I’m quite familiar with personally as I recently was one, can be big trouble, a lurking villain in a superhero household. And Ashlyn was playing her role to perfection, the little monster. John and I became close because I could help