Chapter 42

On Friday afternoon, Anna inserted the key into the lock of her former Montebello residence and strolled inside with a cardboard box in tow. The home smelled chilly and abandoned, as if no one had lived there in a long time. As expected, given that David had been away for the holidays, and she had only made a few brief visits.

She discarded her jacket and made one more circuit of the empty rooms. After tossing and turning in the king-size bed all night thinking about David, she made up her mind on Tuesday morning. Anna had taken a good, long look in the mirror, and she wasn't happy with what she saw. She had married for the promise of a child and excellent sex but had avoided deeper commitment. She'd been so determined not to become involved with David on anything other than a surface level that she hadn't even realized it was his birthday. She felt bad since she knew she should have asked him when it was.

When had she become so terrified of emotional involvement? She was able to trac