The Marriage Solution

THE MARRIAGE SOLUTION STEPHANIE ROSE The Marriage Solution Copyright © 2023 by Stephanie Rose All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted on any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locals is entirely coincidental. Except the original material written by the author, all songs, song titles, and lyrics contained in the book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders. Cover Design: Najla Qamber Designs Cover Photo: © Shutterstock Editing: Lisa Hollett—Silently Correcting Your Grammar Proofreading: Jodi Duggan ISBN: 979-8-88643-927-4 (ebook) ISBN: 979-8-88643-928-1 (paperback) 052923 CONTENTS Message From The Author 1. Landon 2. Julie 3. Landon 4. Julie 5. Landon 6. Julie 7. Landon 8. Julie 9. Landon 10. Julie 11. Landon 12. Landon 13. Julie 14. Julie 15. Julie 16. Landon 17. Julie 18. Julie 19. Landon 20. Julie 21. Landon 22. Landon 23. Julie 24. Landon 25. Landon 26. Julie 27. Landon 28. Julie 29. Julie Epilogue What to read next? Author’s Note Acknowledgments About the Author Books by Stephanie For my alpha readers: Jodi, Rachel, and Lauren. Thanks for pulling me back when I fell off the rails in the first draft and helping me make Landon and Julie all they were meant to be. And for believing in me enough to give it to me straight, while not letting me give up hope. For Jeannine: whose patience and great ideas saved my laptop from a fourteen-story demise off my terrace one sad afternoon. You’re the real deal, lady. For all the lupus warriors out there: Julie’s life may change, but she still gets big love and dreams. Grab your spoons, and don’t settle for anything less. MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR Julie’s symptoms are based on my personal experience and that of a sensitivity reader who has a close family member with lupus. This book isn’t meant to be read as a medical journal, and, as with all conditions—but especially autoimmune illnesses—the symptoms and treatments can cover a vast range. For more information, please contact The Lupus Foundation at www.lupus.org 1 LANDON “Please let me know if you need anything else during your stay. Welcome to the Bellagio,” the hotel clerk said, her voice dipping to a soft purr as she handed me my keycard. She was young and pretty, I guessed mid-twenties at the most. “First time?” “Thank you, and no, I’ve been here before.” I smiled and grabbed the card. “Then you’ve seen the sights. The gardens and fountains are beautiful.” I glanced behind me when I heard the click of someone’s tongue against their teeth. Three guests leveled us both with the same impatient glare, and I didn’t blame them. The clerk was cute, but I was with friends this weekend and I needed to step out of the way before her extra hospitality caused a lobby riot. “They are, but thanks for the tip.” I lifted my duffle bag and rolled my suitcase to the elevators. “Weren’t you supposed to beat me here?” I smiled at the familiar voice drifting over my shoulder. “Julie!” I dropped my bags and lifted her up by the waist to twirl her around. “It’s so fucking good to see you,” I said as she squealed in my ear. “You too.” She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners as they met mine. I searched her face, trying to both register every detail and not be too obvious about it. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She pressed her hands to her cheeks, peering up at me with a deep crease in her brow. Julie and I had been best friends since college, and always stayed close despite the miles between us. This was the longest I’d gone without seeing her face since I’d known her. She looked the same as she had six months ago. Her cheeks were maybe a little fuller than they had been back in January, but she was still gorgeous. We usually FaceTimed a few times per week when our schedules permitted, but for the past few months, she’d refused anything other than phone calls. I tried to make the trip up north every other month to see my father and always made time for Julie, but since my promotion to partner, I hadn’t seen anyone. “I missed your face since you’ve hidden it from me for all these months.” I brushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead. “I thought maybe you’d grown a third eye or something.” She glowered at me, but I caught a flicker of something across her face, like maybe she really was hiding something that I couldn’t see. Her chestnut hair was shorter than I was used to, brushing the tops of her shoulders instead of falling down her back, but her brown eyes were still bright. “Is something wrong? Nate isn’t giving you any trouble about the house, is he?” “No, nothing like that.” She shrugged. “He was amiable about the house, and he didn’t want to stay in the Bronx anyway. I was the one who wanted to stay in the neighborhood and didn’t want to leave. He never even asked for his share of the down payment.” “That was the least he could do. I wish you would have just let me kick his ass.” She shook her head, pursing her lips at me. “Kicking his ass wouldn’t have helped anything.” “But it would have felt good. He never deserved you, Jules.” “It wouldn’t have been a fair fight.” Her lips twisted in a smirk. “Especially with all this new muscle,” she said, squeezing my biceps. “There’s a new gym in