The day was quickly sliding from bad to real bad.

“Perfect,” she muttered under her breath. She sent up another quick plea for patience in dealing with the man she’d married during her sophomore year in college. It had been a rash, hasty decision, one she’d come to regret. If not for their only child, the now “out of cell range” Melissa, the entire marriage could be considered a colossal mistake.

She just hadn’t had the guts, heart, time, or energy to end it.

Neither, it seemed, had he.

No divorce papers had been filed.

Yet.

“More fun to come,” she whispered under her breath as she grabbed the mail from the box. With her orange tabby nearly tripping her, Kristen made her way through the open door of the garage, past the lawnmower, ladders, and recycling tubs to the door leading to her kitchen, where, big as life, Ross was seated at the nook café table, sipping one of her light beers and reading the paper.

Just as he’d done thousands of times during their years together.

Wearing a white shirt with the top two buttons undone, his sleeves rolled up, his tie tossed casually over the back of a chair, he scanned the business section. His wallet and keys were on the table.

“Been here a while?” she asked as he looked up, his gray eyes, as always, assessing.

Her heart did a funny little glitch. Even after all the years, the fights, the differing paths of their lives, she still found him sexy. Her downfall.

“I thought I’d take Lissa to dinner. She hasn’t shown.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah.”

She was stunned. “Did you consider calling?”

“Yep.” He took a swallow of his beer and leaned back in his chair to stare at her. “Thought better of it.”

“Why?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I figured you might try to talk me out of it. Or, if I got your okay, then I’d have to go through the whole thing all over again. This seemed easier.”