Camryn helps herself to one of the bar stools at the breakfast bar. “Because.” She flips her long chestnut-colored hair over one shoulder. “I’ve seen how good you guys can be together. In just a couple short months, you were the cause of so many positive changes in her. She worked less, she laughed more. She wasn’t just all about the grind.”

I nod, hanging on her every word.

“She had pleasure in her life too—something that put a smile on her face, and that something was you.”

A smug grin uncurls on my mouth. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“But.” She purses her lips like she’s tasted a lemon. “You did fuck up royally.”

My grin fades to nothing. “I did.”

“Epically. Like, completely fucked up beyond anything that’s normal.”

Okay, Jesus, I get it. I interrupt her before she can rub any more salt in the wound. “And that’s why I’ve invited you guys here today. We’ll start as soon as Sterling gets here.”

The buzzer sounds, signaling his arrival.

“Speak of the devil,” I mutter and head to the intercom to buzz him in.

Sterling grins and claps his hand on my shoulder when he arrives. “Ready to get your girl back?”

“Hell yes.”

My posture relaxes, and I lead him into the dining room. Having the support of my best friend means the world to me, and gives me the tiniest bit of hope that maybe this is possible. Sterling’s always been the voice of reason, after all. If he believes in me, maybe I really can pull this off.

I gesture for Sterling to take a seat. He does, next to Camryn at the counter. They watch me with wary expressions. I stand next to the easel with the new flip charts and markers I purchased just for the occasion. The dining table is scattered with poster board, sticky notes, and extra markers. I only hope we’ll be able to figure out a workable plan today. Never in my life have I wanted something as badly as I want to fix my relationship with Olivia. To bring us back to the happy place we used to be.

Growing up, I always envied what my parents had. Sure, I’ve spent years playing the field and indulging in meaningless conquests, but I’ve always known deep down that I was a one-woman kind of guy and I’d eventually want to settle down. To attain that kind of comfortable familiarity that comes with monogamy and commitment. And now, just when I’ve gotten a taste of how good that can be—it’s been savagely ripped away from me by my own stupid actions.

I clear my throat. “First, thank you both for being here today. It means a lot.”

Sterling nods for me to go on. Camryn looks a little skeptical but stays quiet, waiting for me to continue.

“As Camryn pointed out earlier, yes, I have fucked up royally. And I don’t intend to make any excuses for my behavior. I only want to tell you that I was a desperate man, at the end of my rope. And that I love Olivia . . . and probably always have.”

Camryn’s expression softens and she leans back in her seat, placing her hands in her lap.

“I’ve brought you both here today to help me create a strategy for winning back my wife.”

I repeat the words I practiced in the shower this morning, pausing to write Operation: Get Olivia Back on the flip-chart paper taped to the easel.

I hear Camryn snicker and look over at my captive audience. Sterling is gazing at me, his mouth open like I’ve lost my damn mind.

“What?” I ask, feeling defensive. I’ve barely begun, and they’re giggling at me behind their hands like children.

“Olivia has rubbed off on you.” Camryn chuckles. “The old Noah would have winged it.”

I consider her words for a moment. Just as I open my mouth to ask if that’s such a terrible thing, Sterling interrupts.

“And the old Noah would have had pizza and beer.”

At that, Camryn perks up. “Oh, pizza sounds great. I haven’t had lunch yet.”

I fish my cell phone from my pocket and toss it to Sterling. “Fine, order pizza. And there’s beer in the fridge. But we’re going to work through this, and you’re going to help me figure it out.”

Camryn salutes me while Sterling presses the phone to his ear to order two large pies.

It’s been five minutes and my strategy meeting is already fucking derailed.

• • •

Paper plates with pizza crusts litter the coffee table, along with a few half-empty bottles of beer. The poster board I bought has turned into a mess of scribbles, after Sterling challenged Camryn to a game of hangman and then tic-tac-toe.

The easel holds a large drawing of a penis, which Camryn assured me with a sober expression was the key to getting Olivia back. Right now, they’re laughing and adding words like vulva and scrotum to the mess.

I want to slap both of them.

All their suggestions were silly and unhelpful. This entire afternoon has been a huge waste of time, and now I only have an hour before Olivia’s due to arrive home.

“Okay. That’s enough.” I grab the Sharpies from their hands. “If you’re not going to take this seriously, then get out. Both of you.”

Camryn rises to her feet and yawns. “Sounds fine to me. I’m going home . . . I need a nap.”

Sterling pats me on the back—in sympathy or to mock my efforts today, I’m not sure. “You’ll think of something, buddy. I know it.”

“Thanks,” I reply, unconvinced.

I usher them out the door, then systematically make my way through the apartment, wadding up the used papers and collecting the markers. I stuff the remnants of our lunch into the trash and then collapse on our bed, grabbing her pillow and holding on to it, her scent all around me. I stare blankly up at the ceiling.