Fling in Paris (15 page)

As she folded that trim, curvy body into his visitor’s chair, he shoved the thoughts from his mind even as his slacks started tenting—he was dating Simone again, and so it was inappropriate for him to be lusting after Sherry.

“What can I do for you today, Mrs. Williams?”

She reached into her briefcase, pulled out a piece of paper, and slid it across his desk. “I’m handing in my two-week notice today, sir.”

Sir. He scanned the letter quickly, absorbing the contents as the word echoed in his mind. She’d never called him ‘sir’ before, and for some reason it bothered him.

“I see you’ve already made the arrangements with HR. I trust they’ll be sending a replacement?” He tucked the letter into the document organizer on his desk, then folded his hands neatly.

“I have.” The slender column of her throat bobbed slightly as she swallowed, and he noticed that she’d begun twisting her fingers. He shook off the urge to reach across the desk and comfort her—she’d brought this upon herself and they both knew it. “I’m willing to spend a few days orienting her before I leave.”

“That would be appreciated.” He paused, unsure if he should leave it at that, or if he should say something more. “It was… good of you to come in and spend as much time as you have training the staff. They’ve improved greatly.”

An awkward silence fell as she simply stared, and Roberto knew that the gulf, filled with all the unsaid things between them, was too great for him to bridge at this time. He should be glad that she had made the decision to leave. It wasn’t possible for them to continue an amicable or professional relationship without strain. Far better for her to have someone else step in so that she could return to her husband.

His hands fisted, and he slid them under the table before Sherry noticed. He wasn’t about to let Sherry think he was actually upset about this.

“Thank you, Mr. Zanetto,” she finally said. “I’ll make sure that everything is in order.”

She stood, smoothed her skirt down those curvy hips, and walked out of his life.

Chapter 13

“When did you first feel that your marriage was falling apart?”

Sherry and Nick exchanged uneasy looks. They were seated together on the low-backed, leather couch in the therapist’s office, designed to make the patient feel comfortable and at ease, as were the muted colors in the room. Unfortunately, the interior design was having no effect on Sherry’s mood. She simply didn’t feel comfortable being this close to Nick, and she sure as hell wasn’t feeling any better about these counseling sessions than she did when they’d first started them.

“I’d say it was back in March,” Nick spoke up first.

Sherry nodded. “Nick’s hours started increasing a lot then, and we didn’t spend much time with each other.”

The therapist pushed back a lock of silver hair from her face, adjusted her square glasses, then scribbled something in her notebook. “I imagine that you didn’t see a lot of each other.”

Sherry contained a sigh—that was the understatement of the year. By the time April rolled around, the only time she saw Nick was when he woke her up climbing into bed at all hours of the morning, and sometimes during breakfast. But she’d later learned that it wasn’t just the crushing hospital shifts keeping him from her bed and her life.

“No, we didn’t.” Nick cleared his throat. “I spent a lot of time at work, which was partially how this whole thing started. I was spending so much more time with Nancy, my assistant nurse, and Sherry and I became so disconnected that when she…” he stopped and shook his head. “We started an affair.”

Sherry opened her mouth, then closed it again before she said something very uncomplimentary. “You’re making yourself out to be a victim of circumstance, Nick,” she said tightly. “You know very well that you were fully responsible for instigating that affair.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Nick snapped. “I still feel guilty about it.”

“Now, now,” the therapist waved them down with a hand. “Let’s not fight about it. Sherry did you or Nick ever do anything to try and spice up your relationship?”

“I frequently tried to set up dates, or put together candlelight dinners at home,” Sherry told her. “But Nick never did seem to be able to make any of them.”

“That’s because I was wor…” he paused and glanced at the therapist, who was watching him with raised brows. Sherry held back a smirk—it seemed that even now, with the truth out in the open, he still wanted to fall back on that old lie. Unless there was something else he hadn’t disclosed? Sherry frowned.

Nick cleared his throat and tried again. “Okay, sometimes I was working. And other times… I was with Nancy.”

Sherry sighed. “You don’t have to make it sound like it’s a big revelation, Nick. I already know.”

“Just how long was your relationship ongoing with Nancy?” the therapist asked smoothly before Nick could say anything. Sherry watched as his expression morphed instantly from ire to guilt. So there was something he was holding back from her.

“Umm…” he swallowed nervously. “Since ten days ago.”

The therapist blinked. “So you’ve only recently broken off your relationship with this woman, even though both you and Sherry made the decision to repair your marriage last month?”

“It’s alright, Nick,” Sherry said past the dull slice of pain in her chest. “I won’t blame you for that.” How could she, when at the same time she’d been indulging in a torrid, passionate affair of her own? It would be hypocritical of her to condemn him for it, even if her mind was screaming that she should walk away, that if he could cheat on her right up until the very last minute, there was no way he could be fully committed to this relationship.

The therapist’s eyebrows rose again. “That’s a very generous and mature thing to say, Mrs. Williams.”

Sherry forced a smile. “I try.”

Sherry slapped the alarm clock almost the same time it started going off, then rolled over, her arm searching for Nick. When her fingers touched only cold, wrinkled sheets, she couldn’t even muster up the energy to be surprised. And why should she? Despite his assurances that he loved her, that he wanted to work things out, his lifestyle hadn’t changed one bit. He still worked long hours at the hospital, and barely made time to see her.

In the month she’d spent back home with him, they’d attempted to have sex once. It had been disastrous. Nick’s attempts to pleasure her were halfhearted, and wherever his fingers touched she had gone cold. It never used to be like this—once upon a time Nick had been able to excite her with just a whispered word in her ear, or the slide of a finger down her arm. But now she only thought of Roberto when he touched her.

It didn’t help that the first time she’d done a really thorough cleaning of the place, she’d found several thongs and other feminine items that definitely didn’t belong to her.

Tossing back the covers, she rolled out of bed and headed for the shower, determined that today was going to be different. It has to be different, she thought as the hot spray hit her face, slapping her awake. Today is our anniversary, after all.

After going through her normal morning rituals, she spent the morning cleaning their apartment. Afterwards she rushed out to the market to buy wine and ingredients for tonight’s dinner. They hadn’t set any reservations since Nick was coming home late, but she was going to do something special for tonight’s dinner anyway.

She was nearly finished prepping the salmon when the phone rang. Checking the caller ID, she saw it was Nick.

“Hey baby. Happy Anniversary.”

“Hi.” Nick sounded somewhat distracted. “Happy Anniversary to you too. I’m just calling to let you know that they asked me to take another shift, so I won’t be home until early tomorrow morning.”

“Oh.” Sherry’s heart sank. “Didn’t you tell them it was our anniversary?” She’d asked her boss for this day off weeks ago—why hadn’t she made sure he’d done the same? Why had she expected him to remember?

“Of course I did,” Nick snapped, then paused as if he’d realized how rude he was being. “I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. But you know how hospitals can be. Saving lives always takes precedence over anything else.”

“I know.” Sherry sighed. “I’ll talk to you later.”

She stood there for a few moments after she’d hung up the phone, wondering if she should just cook the salmon and eat it all herself, or if she should save it for tomorrow and they could try again. Why was it that whenever she tried to do something nice for him, something always came up? In the past it had been the cheating, but they were in marriage counseling now, and he had promised to turn a new leaf over.

Roberto had always made time for her. He’d gone out of his way to set up dates, to take her out to places even when she had no intention of going. The man refused to take no for an answer, and instead of letting her walk away he’s simply found ways around her barriers.

An epiphany struck her then, and she grinned. That was just it! If she wanted to spend time with Nick, she was going to have to dictate the terms herself, just like Roberto did. She was going to have to go to him.

****

Sherry walked into St. Michael’s hospital, humming a cheery tune and cradling a wrapped bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in her arm. Boarding the elevator, she sent a smile and a wave to the receptionist on duty before heading to the Maternity Ward.

Stepping out of the elevator, she took a moment to look around. Nothing had changed. The walls were still pale pink, the nurses and doctors were still bustling around importantly, and the cries of newborns still filled the air. She followed those sounds to the infant care section, and pressed her hands to the glass as she watched the babies in their cradles.

A little boy locked his bright green eyes with hers, and she was forcibly reminded of Roberto—the child’s eyes were not only the same color, but they held a similar intensity. Shaking her head, she moved on to the reception desk.

“Hello.” Sherry smiled as she placed the bottle of wine on the table. “I’m here to see my husband, Nick Williams. Is he with a patient right now?”

“Uh… umm… no!” The nurse looked around frantically, and Sherry frowned at the hint of panic in the woman’s eyes. “He should be around somewhere, why don’t I get him…” she trailed off, her eyes fixed on something beyond Sherry’s shoulder.

Curious, Sherry turned around, and then realized the cause of the nurse’s behavior as she watched Nick and Nancy walk around the corner, hand in hand. Their uniforms were slightly disheveled, and Nancy’s normally pale cheeks were rosy with color, her eyes heavy with satisfaction. Sherry’s fingers curled tightly around the neck of the bottle of wine—she could practically smell the sex on them.

She opened her mouth, then shut it. Having no words to say, she quickly turned on her heel and walked out before they could see her.

God, she was such a fool.

****

“Where are you going?”

Sherry turned to see Nick standing in the doorway of their bedroom. He was still dressed in his hospital scrubs, which told Sherry that he must have just arrived home. He’d been gone all day again today, and she’d used the alone time to get her affairs in order.

“I’m going to the OS International party,” she told him, turning back to the mirror so she could finish fastening the obsidian choker around her neck that matched the earrings swinging at her lobes. She was wearing her black halter-top dress, unable to bring herself to wear any color tonight.

“That’s right.” Nick came up behind her, took the choker from her fingers and fastened it himself. Sherry decided to let it slide, even though she wanted to turn around and slap that little smile off his face. “I’m coming with you.”

Sherry blinked. “This is an upscale event, Nick. You can’t go in your scrubs.”

His hands fell away from her neck. “Don’t worry. I’ll be ready before you finish putting on your make-up.

Twenty minutes later, they both walked out, Nick dressed in a gray suit that neatly complimented his light skin tone and leant him the appearance of a sober and professional individual. Studying him out of the corner of her eye as he drove them to the Toronto branch, Sherry wondered why he didn’t look like the slime she knew him to be. Appearances really weren’t everything.

Should she tell him about the decision she’d made while he was at work today? Or should she wait until after the party?

They left their car in a nearby parking structure, then entered the tall skyscraper the Toronto branch had made its home in for many years and took the elevator to the top floor. When they exited the elevator, Sherry was greeted with hip-shaking party music and throngs of employees that she’d worked with for many years. Many people stopped her to say hello, polite smiles for her, and speculative looks for Nick. There wasn’t a single person in this building who didn’t know about Sherry’s falling out with her husband.

“Hello, Sherry,” a familiar voice, deep and rich and male, sounded from behind her, sending a shiver of awareness down her spine. She swung around to see Roberto standing in the middle of the crowd. He looked incredibly sexy in one of his trademark Italian suits, one hand tucked neatly away into the pocket of his slacks, the other cradling a flute of champagne. He smiled at her politely, but she wasn’t fooled by the pretense—the carnal look in his eyes had her pulse tripping and her cheeks flushing.