She waved her hand. “Yeah, right. No one works the day after Christmas.” She was about to tell him that she knew everything, that she could see it was him and Sabrina plotting against her, but then she realized that would only tip him off. She had to pretend it was just about his unfaithfulness so that he wouldn’t know she was suspicious of him. “Listen to me, Simon. I wanted you out before all this happened, and I want you out even more now. I won’t live under the same roof with you any longer.”

His face turned red. “There’s no way I’m going to leave you and Annabelle alone while a killer is after you.”

“We have guards. And really, what have you done to protect us? We don’t need you here.”

He shook his head. “Kate, please. I love you. I’m sorry about yesterday. I’ve told Sabrina she can’t come to our house again. And I told you, I’ll give the ring back. You mean everything to me. You have to believe that.”

There was a time that she had. Before Sabrina came back into their lives, she’d have bet her last dollar that Simon would never look at another woman. Her friends were always joking that if they had a husband that looked like Simon, they’d never let him out of their sight, but he’d never given her a reason to feel jealous, always making her feel as though she was the center of his universe. In many ways, he’d reminded her of her own father and how attentive he was with Lily. Simon would send her flowers to the hospital for no special reason, just to let her know he was thinking of her. At parties, she’d often catch him looking at her across the room, his smile broadening when her eyes met his. Even after fifteen years of marriage, he managed to make her feel like he was seeing her for the first time.

Before Annabelle was born, they’d easily spent a good part of each Saturday making love. At the beach, they’d often head back to the house in the afternoon and lie next to each other on the cool sheets afterward. As the sun would set, the French doors were opened, to let the salty breeze waft over their naked bodies. Then they would shower together, dress, and walk on the sand, holding hands and laughing, just enjoying each other’s company. Even after Annabelle, they’d managed to get an evening out alone every few weeks, determined to keep their relationship a priority. But then Sabrina moved to Baltimore, asked him for a job, and everything changed. When he looked at Sabrina, Kate saw that same sparkle in his eyes, that same look of love that before then he’d reserved only for Kate.