“Nope,” Amanda said, pinching her face in disgust. “Do not need to know that.”

“I miss the sex.” Gretchen folded her arms on the table and laid her head down. “It was so good.”

“You almost died a month ago, and you’re going on about how you miss sex right now?”

Gretchen peeked at Amanda with one eye. “What better time to think about what makes you feel alive?”

Chapter Twenty

32 days, 21 hours, 30 minutes

Gretchen barely slept after Jax replied to her invitation. Sure, the reply was a simple okay, but that didn’t stop her nerves from nearly fizzling out. She thought of the perfect meal, the perfect words, and the perfect way to present the crazy idea of trying to mend their broken marriage. Gretchen’s head injury must’ve made her a little insane, because she actually believed this could work. She had years of history with Jax—they were family. Nothing was stronger than that.

Amanda excitedly agreed to take Caleb for the night. Gretchen wasn’t sure if her excitement came from having a sleepover with her nephew or from knowing she was taking Amanda’s advice. For once.

She set the table. The delivery guy had brought their dinner five minutes earlier, and Gretchen scrambled to put the Thai food into more presentable serving dishes. Everything had to be perfect. She couldn’t risk a distraction. She checked the time and knew Jax would be home any minute. She smoothed her palms down her fitted T-shirt and knew the pale pink color made her dark complexion pop. She applied light makeup and felt mildly silly when she struggled. It had been about four weeks since she’d worn makeup, since she’d looked like her everyday self. She even paid extra attention to her hair, using a small amount of product to gather her puffy mess into defined curls. She felt attractive, and if she still knew Jax as well as she used to, Jax would most definitely agree.

Gretchen sat at the kitchen table and waited. And waited. And continued to wait. Five thirty turned to six and before she knew it, she had been waiting for an hour. She checked her phone constantly, hoping to hear from Jax. She should’ve messaged her, but she felt like she was on thin ice. She wanted to do anything in her power to repair their marriage, not drive Jax farther away. But was expecting respect really that wrong?

She picked up her phone and typed out an innocent message, keeping the words light and telling Jax her food was getting cold. No answer came. She sent another message twenty minutes later, just asking Jax if she planned on coming home. Gretchen was happy to see Jax was typing a response.

Not until late. Sorry.