they?â
âNo. Not exactly. Itâs justâ¦look, I donât see how this is going to work.â
âAll right. Make sure to leave your billing address with the receptionist out front.â She began to get up.
â Wait . Thatâs it? Youâre giving up on me already?â
âI think youâre the one whoâs giving up. But if youâd like to talk some more, you still have almost an hour left in the session.â
Damn. She was good.
He shoved a hand through his hair. âOkay, so, I had lunch with my third ex-wife the other day and she told me one of the reasons our marriage fell apart was because I couldnât express my feelings.â
She nodded. âGo on.â
âSo itâs important I donât do that again.â
âBecause youâre in a relationship right now.â
âThatâs right. And I really need it to work out this time.â
âI can understand that,â she said.
âItâs just that Kitty, thatâs myâ¦girlfriendâ¦her dad is getting remarried and while thatâs great, itâs sort of put me in the hot seat.â
âAh. Iâm beginning to see your dilemma.â
Okay. Maybe this wasnât going to be so bad after all. Dr. CarsonâJoannaâseemed pretty sympathetic.
âOur one year anniversary, which also happens to be her birthday, is coming up this weekend. I think sheâs expecting a big gesture, if you know what I mean. So I moved out temporarily. Just to get my head on straight.â
Joanna stared at him for a moment. âWhy donât we start by you telling me all about your first marriage?â
So he told her the whole story. How as a teenager, heâd rebelled against his dad, started smoking dope, and dropped out of high school. Heâd been working construction when he walked into a strip joint and ended up married to one of the dancers a couple of weeks later. âObviously, it was a huge mistake.â
âFor both of you?â
âWell, yeah.â
âWhat did you do after the divorce?â
âI cleaned up my act. Got my GED. Joined the army.â
She gave him the pleased therapist nod. Heâd only been here half an hour but he recognized it already. âSo, in some ways, you could say the failure behind that first marriage propelled you into another phase of your life.â
âI guess.â
Then they talked about his second wife, Sarah, who heâd met during his stint in the army when heâd been stationed overseas. Theyâd both been lonely, never a good reason to get married, but at least theyâd parted as friends.
âLetâs talk a little about what your third wife said to you the other day.â
âYou mean when she said I had trouble expressing my feelings?â
She nodded. âHow did that make you feel?â
He stifled a groan and settled back in his chair. Heâd been duped. This was going to be every bit as painful as heâd first imagined.
#
If youâd asked Kitty last week how sheâd be spending her afternoon off, shopping with her father would have never occurred to her. Yet here they were at the outdoor mall in Destin, doing just that. Theyâd picked up Dadâs wedding gearâa navy blue, light wool designer suit with a white shirt and paisley tieâalmost two hours ago. That had been the easy part of the trip. It was Wednesday afternoon and everything was ready for the big day. Except Kittyâs best man outfit.
She studied a mannequin wearing a black-and-white polka dot sundress. âI guess that would be too beachy, huh?â This was the fifth store theyâd hit so far and her dad was still being incredibly patient. In all her nearly thirty-six years, Kitty couldnât remember when heâd ever gone shopping with her.
âHow about this?â He held up a cream-colored sleeveless silk dress that might work,