Making Me Sane (Sanity Book 2) (29 page)

“Will you shut up for a minute?” I interrupt. Her mouth instantly closes. “I love it. Thank you.” I lean down to kiss her.

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

She grins. “Open the box.”

I tug on the lid, ripping the tape, and open the box. On top of the styrofoam is an envelope. I grab it and glance at a still-grinning Brittany. “Another present?” I ask.

She nods. “Open it.”

The envelope isn’t sealed, so all I have to do is lift the flap. I pull out a piece of paper and open it. My eyes quickly scan the sheet. “You...how did you do this? Is this for real?” Wow. I can’t even believe it.

“Yes, it’s for real. I figured two months is far enough out to get everything situated with work. You’ve always wanted to go, and I wanted to be the one to make it happen.”

“We’re going to Italy?”

“Yes,” she answers.

“Are you okay with being late for work?”

She frowns. “I don’t like being late, Trace. You know this.”

I drop the paper back in the box, drop my towel, and reach for her shirt. “Not even for me? On my birthday? So I can say thanks for the awesome presents?”

She sighs when I kiss her neck. She grabs my arms and pulls me closer, wordlessly giving me the okay. Best. Birthday. Ever.

“P
ut all your laundry in the basket before you leave,” I holler the next week as I open the door to leave for work. I’m washing laundry when I get home and Trace has a knack for not putting his laundry in the freaking basket. He kills me sometimes because his kitchen has to be spotless, and he likes for everything to be put away, but heaven forbid he put his dirty clothes away.

“I will,” he shouts back.

With that I leave for work. Today is going to be a busy day. We’re finalizing details on the project I’ve been working on. My new teammate, Tim, is great and nowhere near as creepy as he who shall not be named. Then I’m off to lunch with Rebecca, who said it was urgent and necessary, before heading to my regular session with Mrs. Potter. I’ve been trying to push off lunch with Rebecca, just because if it’s going to be like last time where she talks the entire time about herself, I don’t want to deal with it. But she swears she
needs
to meet with me, so I’m going.

Work is busy and the time flies by. Melissa stops by my desk.

“Lunch?”

“Sorry, I have to meet with a friend from college. Want to go tomorrow?”

She sighs like I’m inconveniencing her and I smile. “Yeah, I guess that will work.”

“It’ll have to.”

“Are we still on for a girls’ night for your birthday? Trace doesn’t have any plans for you?”

I shake my head. “He said if that’s what I wanted to do, he didn’t care. He’s taking me out for lunch and he’ll give me my presents once I come home from hanging out with you.”

“Kinda odd that he doesn’t want to have you all to himself after what you did for his birthday. Were you inviting your friend from college for our girls’ night?”

“Should I? I don’t think you two will mesh,” I say, ignoring what she said about Trace.

“Then, yeah. Keep her out of it.”

I laugh. “Will do. See you later.” I grab my purse, clock out, and leave to meet Rebecca. I’m assuming she’s having problems with Dustin again. That’s usually what an urgent meeting with her is about. She beats me to the restaurant, and I spot her easily. The waitress comes to take my drink order and when she walks away, I ask, “So, what’s going on?”

“Trace is cheating on you,” she blurts out.

“What? No, he’s not.” When would he have time to cheat on me? If he’s not at work, he’s with me. Anger starts to swell within me. Is she making things up to get me to break up with him?

“I saw him Monday when I was on my lunch break. He was coming out of the restaurant with another woman. They were laughing and obviously seemed to know one another. I thought you should know.”

I stare at her. She is making assumptions based on what she saw. Trace wouldn’t do that to me. It was probably a co-worker. He went out with old Mrs. Rumley when he was working at the university. It could be the same thing. However, Trace usually mentions if he had lunch with someone when he’s talking about his day. He didn’t mention eating with anyone earlier this week.

“You don’t believe me,” Rebecca states.

“No, I don’t believe Trace would cheat on me. It could’ve been a co-worker.”

“She was pretty. Really pretty. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want Dustin going out with a hot girl, co-worker or not.”

Yeah, but Trace has never cheated on me like Dustin has on her before.
I don’t say that, though. “I trust Trace. He wouldn’t do that to me. Not to mention, the only time he would even see someone else is on his lunch break because he comes straight home after work. I don’t know who you saw, but it wasn’t a girl on the side that he’s seeing.”

“Are you going to ask him about it?”

“No,” I answer curtly. “Because he’s given me zero reason not to trust him and I’m not going to stir up shit in my relationship because you think he’s cheating on me. For all I know, you didn’t even see him with someone and you’re making it up. After how you tried to set Quinn and me back up because you think I’m stupid to go back to be with Trace, who knows.”

Her jaw drops. “You think I’m lying?”

“I don’t know. My point is Trace isn’t cheating on me.”

“I’m trying to be a good friend by telling you what I saw!”

“And I’m telling you that he wouldn’t do that to me!”

Now, I’ve pissed her off. “Why? Because you’re too good to be cheated on?”

I lean forward and quietly say, “No. But just because Dustin’s cheated on you doesn’t mean that my boyfriend will do the same to me.”

Her eyes widen and her jaw is still hanging. She looks horrified, as if I just slapped her. “I can’t believe you just said that to me.”

“Why? It’s true. I’ve told you that I don’t care for Dustin or how he’s treated you, but you’re still with him and I respect your choice to do that. Not all guys are jerks or cheaters. Trace isn’t anything like Dustin and he wouldn’t cheat on me.”

She folds her arms over her chest. “At least Dustin has never walked out on me because I was too crazy for him to handle.”

I press my lips together and narrow my eyes at her. “I’m not doing this.” I grab my purse, get up, and leave. I can’t believe her! It’s one thing to share her concerns, but it’s another thing to truly believe he’s a cheater when she has no reason to and then throw jabs at me like that. No longer hungry, I head on over to Mrs. Potter’s office and hang out in the waiting room, fuming, until it’s time for my appointment.

“What’s bothering you today?” she asks as usual.

I don’t even pretend this time. I recount my entire meeting with Rebecca. “The nerve she has to say Trace left me because I’m crazy! I’m not crazy! Sure, I have some mental health issues, but that does
not
make me crazy. It pisses me off that she would even say that. I mean, come on! The last thing I wanted to do was bring up how he’s cheated on her, but I wanted to get it through to her that Trace wouldn’t do that to me! No, I didn’t know he had lunch with a woman, but that doesn’t mean anything, if he even had lunch with some woman to start with. She could be lying. I don’t know anymore after how she tried to set Quinn and me up again.”

“Are you going to mention any of this to Trace?”

“No. I trust him and I don’t want him to think I don’t by asking him about it when really, Rebecca is the one who doesn’t trust him. I don’t want to rock that boat, especially when I think she’s full of shit.”

Mrs. Potter smiles at me, but I’m not sure why.

“What?” I ask.

“I’m not going to lie to you, when you first told me about telling Trace you trusted him, I wondered if you were really there yet or not. After this, I believe you.”

I roll my eyes at her. “I have no reason to lie in therapy.”

“And yet you do on occasion when it’s something you don’t want to talk about as a means of prolonging the inevitable.” She’s still smiling, so I know she’s teasing. “Anything else you want to discuss on the topic or are we ready to move on to your birthday?”

“We can move on. I don’t want talk about it any more and work myself up.”

“What are your birthday plans, and how did Trace’s birthday go, since I haven’t seen you since then?”

“It went great. He loved his presents and we went out with Ben and Melissa. For my birthday, he’s taking me out to lunch and then I’m going out with Melissa for girl time. I’m excited.”

Mrs. Potter tilts her head. “This is your first birthday with Trace and y’all are only going out to lunch?”

“Yeah, but we spent his birthday together. Besides, he suggested it since I was so stressed last week. We’re getting our nails done, facials, and massages.”

She nods and we talk about work and other little things that have been causing me some anxiety. My current meds are really good. Every day I’m thankful that I didn’t need to test out a few before I found one that would work. By the time I leave and head back to work, my chest feels light and the incident with Rebecca is far from my mind.

However, for possibly the first time ever, I beat Trace home. I do like I said I would and get a load of laundry started. It irks me when I realize Trace never put his laundry in the basket like I told him to do. He’s not even here for me to bitch at him for it.

“Trace is cheating on you.”

Is that why he’s home late?

No. Something is just causing him to be late. God, I wish Rebecca never said anything to me. I don’t need that stupid thought appearing in my head. I’m in the laundry room when Trace gets home. His current smile falls when he sees me.

“Shit. I forgot; I took too long in the shower and was rushing out of here. I’m sorry.” He kisses me softly on the lips. “Will fried pickles make up for it? I stopped to pick up dinner on the way home. Ben held me up,” he explains.

“Yes, fried pickles make up for it. Thanks.” I follow him into the kitchen.

“How was lunch with Rebecca? That bad?”

Then, I realize I’m frowning. “We’re not discussing it, and I’m not talking to her anymore. I got it all out at therapy, so let’s drop it.”

“Which tells me how therapy was.”

I grab us drinks while he pulls our food out of the bags. “Yes, therapy was a venting session. How was your day?”

“Long. A bit on the shitty side. Found out one of my clients was admitted to the hospital.”

“I’m sorry. They going to be okay?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, but it just sucks that they’re there. Always makes me wonder if I missed something, or didn’t do enough.”

“You’re great at what you do, and I can say that because I know.”

His lips lift into a smile. “Thanks, Britt.” He releases a breath and changes the subject. “Excited about your birthday?”

“Yes. Do you know what will make me more excited?”

Trace leans forward. “What?”

“If you’d put your damn laundry in the basket.”

He laughs. “No, no, no.” He grabs my hand and pulls me into his lap. “You said I was forgiven. Don’t try and be mad all over again.”

“Too late,” I lie. “I’m pissed again.”

He frowns and mentally, I pat myself on the back for sounding pissed. “Britt, I,” he begins, about to go on an apology kick.

I stop him with a kiss. “Remember what you said a while back? Something about angry makeup sex?”

Trace smiles against my lips. “This is why I love you.”

“I’d believe you if you could put your laundry away.”

“I’d believe you if you could,” he pauses, thinking it over, “cook dinner once in a while.”

I laugh. “Don’t even do that.”

“Do what?”

“Act like there’s not something I do that irks you.”

“There’s not.”

“Trace.”

“There’s not!” he exclaims. “I love everything about you. I love living with you. I love that you irk me.”

“So I do do something that irks you.”

“Yes, but I think my bad laundry habits irk you more.”

“Tell me what I do,” I demand.

“No, then you’ll stop. I probably won’t stop my laundry habit, and I don’t want you to stop your habit. I like us the way we are.”