make her life a living hell.”
“You got married just because of her parents?” I asked. “That doesn’t seem like a good enough reason.”
“Yeah, I see why you’d think that,” he said. “But she was in a really tough spot at the time, and I didn’t want to leave her hanging. If I didn’t do it, her parents would have stopped talking to her, and she just couldn’t handle that at the time.”
“They don’t sound like very good parents,” I said.
“No,” Hunter agreed. “They’re pretty terrible. Actually, she’s doing a lot better now and has cut ties with them herself.”
“Well, that’s good I guess,” I said. “But then why are you still married?”
“At this point it’s just because we haven’t gone through the legal hoops,” Hunter told me. “We will though. I could do it tomorrow, if you wanted.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” I asked, still suspicious. “And why are you always going off to San Diego and not telling me why?”
“I’m sorry, Anna, I just—” He paused, considering what to say next. “I just didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want to mess things up between us. And, I swear, there is absolutely nothing going on between me and Jackie, and there hasn’t been for a long time.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Anna,” he pleaded, “think about it. If I had a wife, a real relationship with her, that is, would I be inviting you to come to my fight tomorrow? Or would I have kissed you at my last fight, in front of all those people and all those television cameras?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said, and saw immediately that what he said was true. Of course he wouldn’t do that if he had some wife at home. And if she was his real wife, she would have been at the match too.
“I’m sure you’ve been very upset,” Hunter said, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m really sorry you saw that tape. I’m sure that was terrible.”
He was right. Watching that tape was horrible, and I didn’t ever want to think about it. Of course I knew that Hunter had had sex with other people during the time we spent apart, but I didn’t want to have to see it.
“Let’s not talk about the tape please,” I said. “I’d really just like to forget the whole thing.”
“I’m sorry, Anna,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, and you had to find out like this.”
“It’s all right,” I told him. “I guess I see why you didn’t mention it, if you don’t even have a relationship anymore.”
“I swear to you that we don’t,” he said.
“But, Hunter, how did Nate get his hands on that tape?” I asked. “Where was it? Could your wife be trying to get back at you?”
“No, definitely not,” he said. “It was at my place.”
“Does he know where you live?” I asked.
“I guess it wouldn’t be hard for him to find out,” Hunter said. “I’m in the white pages.”
“And you think he broke into your house?”
“That part I can’t quite figure out,” Hunter said. “I have a pretty good security system. But I guess he must have gotten through somehow.”
“That’s pretty creepy,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said, “it is. But I don’t think he’ll do anything other than try to mess around with my stuff. He’s too much of a coward.”
“All right,” I told him. “Let’s go to bed. It’s late. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“OK,” he said. “Do you still want to come be part of my cheering section at the finals tomorrow?”
“I do,” I said. “For sure.”
Chapter Twenty
Hunter
I wanted to tell Anna about Jane, I really did. And I knew I had the almost perfect opportunity to tell her when she found out about Jackie. But that’s just the thing. It was almost perfect. But definitely not how I wanted to have that conversation. It wasn’t supposed to start with that bastard Nathaniel telling her about Jackie, that’s for sure. And it definitely wasn’t supposed to start with her
“You got married just because of her parents?” I asked. “That doesn’t seem like a good enough reason.”
“Yeah, I see why you’d think that,” he said. “But she was in a really tough spot at the time, and I didn’t want to leave her hanging. If I didn’t do it, her parents would have stopped talking to her, and she just couldn’t handle that at the time.”
“They don’t sound like very good parents,” I said.
“No,” Hunter agreed. “They’re pretty terrible. Actually, she’s doing a lot better now and has cut ties with them herself.”
“Well, that’s good I guess,” I said. “But then why are you still married?”
“At this point it’s just because we haven’t gone through the legal hoops,” Hunter told me. “We will though. I could do it tomorrow, if you wanted.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” I asked, still suspicious. “And why are you always going off to San Diego and not telling me why?”
“I’m sorry, Anna, I just—” He paused, considering what to say next. “I just didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want to mess things up between us. And, I swear, there is absolutely nothing going on between me and Jackie, and there hasn’t been for a long time.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Anna,” he pleaded, “think about it. If I had a wife, a real relationship with her, that is, would I be inviting you to come to my fight tomorrow? Or would I have kissed you at my last fight, in front of all those people and all those television cameras?”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said, and saw immediately that what he said was true. Of course he wouldn’t do that if he had some wife at home. And if she was his real wife, she would have been at the match too.
“I’m sure you’ve been very upset,” Hunter said, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m really sorry you saw that tape. I’m sure that was terrible.”
He was right. Watching that tape was horrible, and I didn’t ever want to think about it. Of course I knew that Hunter had had sex with other people during the time we spent apart, but I didn’t want to have to see it.
“Let’s not talk about the tape please,” I said. “I’d really just like to forget the whole thing.”
“I’m sorry, Anna,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, and you had to find out like this.”
“It’s all right,” I told him. “I guess I see why you didn’t mention it, if you don’t even have a relationship anymore.”
“I swear to you that we don’t,” he said.
“But, Hunter, how did Nate get his hands on that tape?” I asked. “Where was it? Could your wife be trying to get back at you?”
“No, definitely not,” he said. “It was at my place.”
“Does he know where you live?” I asked.
“I guess it wouldn’t be hard for him to find out,” Hunter said. “I’m in the white pages.”
“And you think he broke into your house?”
“That part I can’t quite figure out,” Hunter said. “I have a pretty good security system. But I guess he must have gotten through somehow.”
“That’s pretty creepy,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said, “it is. But I don’t think he’ll do anything other than try to mess around with my stuff. He’s too much of a coward.”
“All right,” I told him. “Let’s go to bed. It’s late. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“OK,” he said. “Do you still want to come be part of my cheering section at the finals tomorrow?”
“I do,” I said. “For sure.”
Chapter Twenty
Hunter
I wanted to tell Anna about Jane, I really did. And I knew I had the almost perfect opportunity to tell her when she found out about Jackie. But that’s just the thing. It was almost perfect. But definitely not how I wanted to have that conversation. It wasn’t supposed to start with that bastard Nathaniel telling her about Jackie, that’s for sure. And it definitely wasn’t supposed to start with her
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