The Best of Everything by Kimberla Lawson Roby Read Free Book Online Page B

thing isthat this would be great experience for you, and while I know this is a touchy subject, it wouldn’t hurt for us to have the extra income. To be honest, it would be kind of nice.”
    Alicia didn’t like where the conversation seemed to be heading, so she continued eating and didn’t respond. Maybe, though, it was as she’d been thinking earlier—if she did take the job, she would have her own money to spend any way she chose. She could buy whatever she wanted, and there would be no reason for Phillip to become angry about it. He’d have not a thing to complain about, and their problems regarding money would be over for good.
    But she still didn’t want to talk about any of this in detail because she didn’t want to take a chance on them discussing the job, money, her spending, and then end up disagreeing and ultimately arguing. So she changed the subject entirely.
    “So, what’s up with Brad these days? And when is he finally going to ask Melanie to marry him? I had lunch with her this afternoon, and she was telling me something about how they want to make sure marriage is right for them. But if Brad loves her, then what is he waiting for?”
    “I’m not sure, but actually I don’t blame them for waiting because the last thing I’d want to see them do is rush into marriage before they’re both one hundred percent ready. It would be a big mistake for them to do so and then end up regretting it.”
    “I guess.”
    “They’re both very intelligent people, so when the time is right, they’ll move forward. Actually, if more people did that, the divorce rate would be a lot lower than it is.”
    Alicia wasn’t sure if what he’d just said was a hint to her or if he was just speaking generally. “Are you saying we should have waited?”
    “No. I mean, of course, when you get married as quickly as we did, there will always be certain things you won’t find outabout each other until after the fact, but for the most part we got to know each other pretty well right away. We knew what we liked about each other right from the start.”
    “But what about what we disliked?” Alicia had been thinking this question but hadn’t planned on saying it out loud.
    “I don’t think it was ever a matter of not knowing what we disliked as much as it was that we didn’t think the tiny things we disliked would ever cause us to have marital problems.”
    Alicia could feel a sense of resentment building inside her, and for some reason, she was having a hard time controlling it. “Well, Phillip, you knew I liked nice things when you met me, and you knew what I was used to. As a matter of fact, you even bought me quite a few expensive pieces of clothing yourself while we were dating. And what about this ring? The center diamond is two carats just by itself, let alone the other diamonds inside the mounting.”
    “You’re right. But the truth is, I always thought it was way too expensive, and the only reason I bought it was that I knew you wouldn’t be happy with anything less than that. Not that you don’t deserve the ring you have, because you deserve that and so much more, but, baby, we have a mortgage to pay, car payments, and utilities; we have to buy food and other necessities and still save for our future. But nonetheless, I should have talked to you before we got married and told you how I feel about saving money and how I don’t believe in overspending.”
    “We both should have shared how we feel, because even though I knew you didn’t like to do a lot of shopping and that you were always waiting for sales or comparing prices on everything you bought, I just figured that was your philosophy and I respected it. But not once did I even consider that you might expect me to live the same way. I never expected that you would want me to change who I’ve always been.”
    “Okay, let’s just stop. And how on earth did we end up on this subject, anyway?”
    Alicia wondered the same thing, but she knew it was