The Substitute Wife

Chapter 8

Emma

It had been a few weeks since our intimate conversation. Jack and I had both kept it professional since, which had been fairly easy because I honestly wasn’t seeing much of him. Word had gotten out that he was practicing at Northwestern Memorial and his surgery schedule had filled up. I guess when you’re a neurosurgeon at the top of your field, people from all over the country fly in.

I yawned. Because Jack had started more surgeries, my hours with Sophie started earlier. On surgery days, I was at the main house by 5am. Like today. Jack normally avoided scheduling Friday surgeries, but today was an exception.

“Morning,” Jack nodded with a smile as I let myself in the back door, finding him in the kitchen. I yawned and sleepily waved. How did he always look so awake? He was in scrubs, his hair still damp from a shower. Whereas I was still in my pajamas. I’m sure my hair was a mess. On days like this, I usually let myself fall back asleep on the couch and then showered in the guest bath before I got Sophie up for the day.

“Here,” he pressed a hot cup of coffee into my hands with a small smile. Our fingers brushing sent an involuntary chill down my body. “Depending on how the surgery goes this morning, I think I’ll be able to meet you and Sophie at pick up and then you can take off early if you’d like. I know the past two weeks have been a little hectic.”

I nodded and held up a hand for him to pause while I took a long drink of coffee. Closing my eyes I savored it.

“You’re not a morning person, are you?” Jack chuckled.

“I’m a seven a.m. morning person,” I replied, my eyes still closed and my voice still thick with sleep.

“Hmmm,” I opened my eyes and I caught Jack studying me.

“What?”

“You’re far too sexy when you’re sleepy,” he replied before walking out of the room. Good thing too because my face had flushed hot.

I was equally annoyed and turned on. Who the heck did he think he was? And also, it had been a really long time since anyone had said anything remotely like that to me. It felt good.

–

It was a perfect fall day as I walked to school to pick up Sophie. The air was crisp and the leaves were just starting to change. I liked the moments to myself on this walk. It was a nice reset in my day. After this morning's conversation with Jack, the day had been uneventful. Sophie had been in a good mood this morning, and Jack hadn’t been around enough after that initial kitchen interaction to set me on edge.

A little early, I leaned against the school's front gate scanning the small crowd of parents gathering near the entrance. Some were deep in conversation, others distracted by their phones. I noticed a few familiar faces—the usual moms in their perfectly coordinated athleisure, sipping their iced lattes. This was just another social hour.

“Emma,” a voice called from behind me. I turned to see Jack striding toward me, his scrubs now replaced with dark slacks and a dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His tie was slightly loosened, giving him a rakish, just-finished-a-surgery-and-still-look-perfect vibe.

“You made it,” I said, a little surprised. “How’d the surgery go?”

“It went smoothly,” he replied.

Before I could respond, a woman in a tailored blazer and designer heels stepped toward us. Julia Kensington. A fellow school mom with a son in Sophie’s class, she was known for her sharp wit and sharper stilettos.

“Dr. Greene,” she purred, her smile just a little too bright as she ignored me completely. “I heard you were practicing at Northwestern now. I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Julia. My husband is on the board at the hospital.”

Jack’s expression didn’t change. “That so? Nice to meet you.”

Julia tilted her head, running a hand through her sleek hair. “We should talk sometime. Maybe over dinner?”

I scoffed before I could stop myself, and her eyes flicked toward me, as if just realizing I was standing there. “Oh, hello,” she said, her smile tightening. “Emma is it? Still playing house?”

Jack stiffened beside me, his jaw tightening. “Emma’s not—”

“It’s nice seeing you, Julia,” I cut in, flashing her my fakest smile before turning back to Jack. “I’ll get Sophie.”

Without waiting for a response, I walked toward the school doors, feeling his eyes on me the whole way. Sophie practically launched herself into my arms less than a minute later as she barreled out the front door. “Daddy’s here?” she asked excitedly.

I nodded. “He’s waiting by the gate.”

She beamed and grabbed my hand, tugging me behind her. Jack was still standing where I’d left him, Julia now gone, thankfully. As soon as Sophie saw him, she let go of my hand and ran straight into his arms. He lifted her effortlessly, a genuine smile lighting up his face. I folded my arms, watching them.

Jack glanced at me over Sophie’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“Fine,” I said, a little too quickly. His brows lifted slightly, but he didn’t push.

Walking home, I caught him looking at me again, something unreadable in his gaze. Something that made my stomach flip, even as I reminded myself that I had no right to feel anything about Julia’s flirtation. But damn if it didn’t bother me anyway.

True to his word, Jack had ended his day early and I was off the clock. I took advantage of the extra time to take a late afternoon cat nap.

Waking up feeling refreshed an hour later, I decided I needed to let off some steam tonight. It had been a grueling few weeks, and if I didn’t get out of the house soon, I was going to lose my mind. I sent a quick text to my friend Maya about meeting at a trendy bar downtown. She agreed and I took my time getting ready. I wanted to feel sexy, not like “the nanny”.

“Damn, girl! You look fine!” Maya squealed when I met her at the bar. I smiled widely. I did feel fine with my hair and make up done. The heels, tight jeans, and low cut black shirt with a push up bra didn’t hurt either.

The bar was packed, music pulsing through the air, bodies swaying on the dance floor. I let myself sink into the energy, the thrum of the bass easing the tension from my body. Two drinks in, I felt looser, lighter. Maya had disappeared into a conversation with some guy next to us, and I was content nursing my cocktail at the bar when a deep voice spoke next to me.

“Hi, do I know you?”

I turned, to find an impossibly sexy man leaning against the bar with a smirk. He was effortlessly charming, dressed in a button-down with the sleeves rolled up (did every sexy man roll their sleeves?), revealing forearms that belonged on the cover of a men’s magazine.

“Hi,” I said, unable to hide my surprise. “I don’t think so?”

“I’m Max,” he said, extending his hand to shake mine.

“Emma,”

“Nice to meet you, Emma. Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure,” I smiled back.