His Other Wife Read Online Free Page B

she’d made to God and to herself, after all the promises Eric had broken, she read this man’s name and her heart beat faster.
    “I’ve got to take this.”
    Hilary slid sideways out of the booth. I’m sorry , she mouthed as Kim moved out of her way. She wove past the line at the cash register and shoved the door open with her shoulder.
     “Hello,” she said, keeping her voice measured as the cell bobbled against her ear. But even though she tried, she couldn’t
     totally erase the familiarity she’d once used with him. “Eric? What’s wrong?”
    Maybe it had been the way she’d opened her heart to her friend Julie that had made Hilary lower her defenses. She wasn’t exactly
     sure why she felt more vulnerable than usual. But when she heard the woman’s voice on the other end, Hilary felt like someone
     had wrung the air from her lungs.
    “Hilary. Hilary? Are you there? It’s me. Pam.”
    Pamela.
    Eric’s other wife.
    “I’m stuck on these travel arrangements, Hilary. Do you have a minute to help me?”
    Oh, Father, help me. Not for her I don’t.
    “I hope you don’t mind me calling.”
    “Pam.” After that, Hilary stayed silent, letting the silence answer for her. She wasn’t going to lie.
    “For Seth’s graduation I’m interested in finding a hotel close to your place. It’s hard to tell about these from the Internet.
     Could you tell me which is best?”
    “You want my opinion about a hotel?” Hilary asked, incredulous.
    “Eric told me about one. What’s it called, the Omni? I’m worried that if I don’t make a reservation now, everything will be
     full.”
    “The Omni,” Hilary repeated. And then, pointedly, “I’m surprised you don’t already have information on Chicago hotels. I know
     you’ve stayed here before.”
    If Pam recognized this as a jab, she ignored it. “You know how it is. Everything looks great in the pictures. I’ve read all
     the TripAdvisor reviews and the posted rates. But there may be better rates if someone phones directly.”
    “Eric isn’t staying with his family this time?” The elder Wynns lived an hour-and-a-half commute to the north. Of course Eric
     would want to be close to graduation activities. “You’re making the reservation for Eric?”
    “For Eric. And for me, too. We’re both coming.”
    “Oh. I see.” Hilary hoped Pam didn’t hear the catch in her voice, but there wasn’t much chance of that. “I’ll need to get
     back to you. Would that be okay? I’m having coffee with friends.” How mundane a date at Spilling the Beans sounded compared
     to the impressive things Pam must be doing today, pursuing her career as an interior decorator. The last time they’d talked,
     Eric had told Hilary how Pam was designing an office for Liam Neeson.
    “I’ll send you a list via e-mail. You can look it over and phone with the information later,” Pam said. “Or maybe you could
     find out if any of these places offer a local discount. I’ll bet we could get a cheaper price if we used your local address.
     You could make the reservations yourself.”
    “Oh, I see.”
    “If it worked that way, you could call me with the confirmation number. Would you mind that?”
    The words popped out of Hilary’s mouth before she could stop them: “Why would you want to come? You aren’t Seth’s mother.” This was always how she got into trouble. All this time she’d been picturing Eric
     coming alone for Seth’s graduation, the three of them spending a few hours together, she and Eric sending their son off as
     best as they could, considering. The three of them pretending to be the family that they weren’t anymore.
    “We’ll need two rooms for three nights.” As easily as Hilary had ignored her question it seemed that Pam also ignored Hilary’s.
     “We’ll arrive the afternoon of the thirty-first.”
    “Two rooms?” When Eric and Hilary had spent their anniversary there, they’d saved for months to be able to afford it.
    “We’re