"You know the station's been considering letting me anchor a new program. I can't afford any complications right now."
Five years together, and he always asked me to wait.
Wait for him to get hired full-time. Wait for his promotion. Wait for his raise. Wait until he was ready.
I had no idea when this endless waiting would ever have an end.
"Is the real reason you won't go public because of Vera?"
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. His gaze slid past mine.
"She's my ex-girlfriend, but that's over. I married you. I signed the papers."
"Stop overthinking this. I would never do anything to betray you."
Maybe guilt got the better of him, because at the next red light, he made an offer I'd never heard before.
"The station's annual gala is next Saturday. Come with me."
He had never once brought me into his social circle.
"As what?"
He let out a tired sigh.
"If anyone asks, just say you're a friend."
The disappointment sank through me like a stone. I closed my eyes and couldn't bring myself to say another word.
Maybe because I so rarely lost my temper in five years, Ferdinand spent the next few days bending over backward.