Think
Again
By Isabel Lucero
Genre: Contemporary (Steamy) Romance
Release Date: June
27, 2016
He thinks I don't
know.
He thinks he's
getting away with it.
He thinks karma
won't come back to get him.
He needs to think
again.
Men think women are
vindictive, and maybe they're right. But when we get to the point of being
cold, calculating, and vindictive, it's because they pushed us there.
Not only is my
husband unaware that he's pushing me too far, he also doesn't realize that I
just met a man who's ready to catch me.
I think he's just
my new co-worker.
I think it's just
innocent flirting.
I think I'll be
able to keep my morals.
I need to think
again.
When she sits down
on the couch across from me, I go back to pretending to read my magazine. The
scent of her perfume invades my nostrils, and based on the strength of it, it
would appear she bathed herself in it. The scent is floral and sweet, smelling
like one of those Victoria Secret body sprays. I glance over my magazine at her
and notice she’s keeping her eye on the elevators. Waiting. Her thick, red hair
falls over her shoulders, covering up some of the major cleavage she’s sporting.
I place the
magazine back on the table and gather my purse, figuring it’s time to go. She
gives me a friendly smile as our eyes meet, and I return it with a quick, tight
grin before walking to the other side of the lobby where they sell refreshments.
I buy a bottle of water and a muffin, and while I’m waiting for the cashier to
give me my change, I look back at the redhead.
The elevator door
dings, and I watch as she stands and begins to walk in that direction, her hips
swaying with every step. A man comes strutting out, his bright blue tie is
loose around his neck, and his black suit jacket looks a little wrinkled. It
appears that the dirty blonde hair on his head has been pulled on, evidence of
a romp in the sack. Almost as if he can hear my thoughts, he runs his hands
through it, trying to get each hair in place.
The woman
approaches him, and he looks a little surprised to see her, but she smiles and
shimmies her body up next to him. He smirks down at her and says something that
makes her laugh fill the lobby.
“Here you go,” the
cashier says, grabbing my attention.
“Thanks,” I respond
distractedly, getting my change.
When I look back in
the direction of the couple, I find that they’re already stepping outside. I
put my change in my purse, take a few bites of my muffin before deciding I
don’t really want it after all. After tossing it in the trash and taking a few
sips of my water, I exit the hotel and take a deep breath of the fresh air. I
need to get home before it gets too late, so I hurry to my car and begin my
journey.
The drive from the
Embassy Suites to my house takes between fifteen and twenty minutes depending
on traffic. At the end of July in Anchorage, the weather is just about as
perfect as you can ask for. On some days it’s sixty-seven degrees, on others
it’s seventy-five. Believe me when I tell you, sixty anything degrees is
extremely warm in Alaska. When you hit negative temps in the winter, anything
above forty is pretty good.
Right now, even at
six-thirty at night, the sun is shining like it’s midday. It won’t begin to go
down until sometime between ten-thirty and eleven. Gotta love Alaska.
When I pull up to
my two-story home and into the garage, I’m not surprised to see that my husband
isn’t home yet. He’s always late coming home from work, telling me his job as
an architectural and engineering manager is never done. Aaron is constantly
having to finish up plans before certain deadlines, and when he comes home,
he’s usually back to work in his office soon after.
As soon as I enter
the house, I take off my shoes and leave them in the mudroom before walking
straight upstairs. The large and numerous windows in the house let in the
natural sunlight, and give you a beautiful view of mountains and trees in every
room.
My achy feet take
me to my dresser where I pull out something to change into. As I strip out of
my work clothes, I take a minute to look over my reflection in the mirror. My
blonde hair is tied up into a ponytail, and my nurse’s scrubs are the least
flattering things I can wear. Once everything is off, my green eyes look over
every inch of my body.
I like to think I’m
still in pretty good shape. I’m not curvy like the lady at the hotel, but I’m
happy with my body. I don’t have huge boobs or a lot of ass, but I think I’m
well-proportioned.
I often have to
tell myself I’m good enough, but you know, self-doubt always creeps in. I try
not to compare myself to other women. There were times where I’d see one woman
and think to myself, “Oh, I wish I had her toned legs.” Then another woman
would walk by and I’d think, “Oh, I’d love to have her boobs.” Now my thought
process is: Fuck it. I am who I am. There are still times when I think I’m not
good enough, but I’ll get to the why of that later.
I put on some yoga
pants and a tank top, opting to take a bubble bath later, and choosing to eat
dinner first. I’m not in the kitchen too long before I have a large bowl of
grilled chicken salad prepared. As I’m scooping the mixture onto make my plate,
I hear the garage door open.
Aaron strolls into
the kitchen a minute later and drops his briefcase on the island.
“Hey. Want some
food?” I ask him.
He eyes the bowl of
salad and makes a face. “No. I’m gonna grab a shower real quick.”
“Okay. How was
work?”
“Work was,” he
pauses and lets out a long sigh, “work.”
I give him a small
smile and nod.
I’ve been married
to Aaron for three years, but we’ve been together for nearly seven. I was just
twenty-one when we began dating, and he was twenty-five. Aaron was charming,
handsome, funny, and a romantic. He was so easy to fall for.
I was working at a
coffee shop while going to college, and he was one of my regulars. Every time
he came in, he flirted with me, and eventually began bringing me a single
flower with each visit. He didn’t ask me out right away, though.
Every day I anticipated
his visit, hoping that that day would be the day he’d ask me out. One of my
co-workers kept telling me to just ask him out, but my pride wouldn’t let me do
that. I thought I was giving him enough signals without throwing myself at him
completely.
Aaron looked like
he stepped straight out of a magazine every time he walked into the shop. His
perfect smile melted me, his dazzling hazel eyes hypnotized me, his blonde hair
was strategically in place, and he was always dressed immaculately.
After about a month
and a half, he finally asked me out. I fell hard and fast. We were the
happiest, most affectionate couple, and our friends gave us shit about it all
time. Sickeningly sweet is what they called us. My girlfriends were mad that at
such a young age, I was already “tied down” and not wanting to go out with them
anymore. I didn’t even care. I didn’t miss the single lifestyle. I had Aaron,
and we were happy.
Janna would always
tell me I should think twice about settling down so fast, and reminded me constantly
that I had only had one boyfriend before him. My co-worker, Mel, would always
try to convince me to stay single like her so we could go out together.
I figured they were
jealous. Everybody wanted an Aaron, if not Aaron himself, and I had him. I
wasn’t going to let my happily ever after slip through my fingers.
Perhaps, I should
have thought twice, because like the saying goes, all good things must come to
an end.
I walk around the
kitchen island and towards my husband. I remove his already loose, bright blue
tie, and then his wrinkled black suit jacket.
“I’ll put these in
the laundry room,” I tell him. “Bring me the rest after your shower.”
He gives me a hasty
kiss on my cheek. “Thanks.”
I watch him
disappear upstairs and I’m left alone with the smell of the redheaded woman’s
perfume on his clothes.
Isabel Lucero is
the author of the romantic suspense novel The Secrets That We Keep and the
bestselling erotic romance books Living in Sin, Unforgivable Sin, and Sins
& Mistrust; books one, two, and three in The Escort Series. She also
penned the crime drama, WAR.
She was born in a
small town in New Mexico and was lucky enough to escape and travel the world
thanks to her husband's career in the Air Force. She's been married for eleven
years to the love of her life and Jr. High School sweetheart. Together they
have two of the best and most beautiful kids in the world.
Isabel's love for
reading is anything but new, she's been reading since before she was a
teenager.
She’s a multi-genre
author, tackling genres such as romantic suspense, erotic romance, crime drama,
and contemporary romance.
She currently lives
overseas and is constantly coming up with new book ideas, so keep an eye open
for new stories coming your way. Isabel loves connecting with her readers and
fans of books in general. You can find her on her personal website, Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram.
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