Matthew slowly released her. He didn't say a word. Instead, he took something from the glove compartment, opened the door and got out of the car.

Erica saw him walk to the front of the car. Then she saw him touch his mouth. A Lighter roared to Life, and soon there was a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took a drag and let a cloud of smoke out of his mouth

Matthew was smoking!

Matthew smoked? Erica was surprised. She had never smelled tobacco on him before. She had never seen him smoke.

Tonight was the first time Erica had ever seen Matthew smoke.

And, he looked absolutely sexy doing it. She was smitten all over again. Erica quietly took out her phone and opened the camera app, and brought Matthew into the frame. She zoomed in so she could see him better.

Before she could snap a pic, she met Matthew's eyes through the view screen.

So, he caught her trying to get a pic of the perfect moment.

Erica didn't stop, though. She pressed the button, and the camera took several pics in rapid-fire succession. She had it in burst mode, just in case.

It was not illegal for her to take pictures of her husband.

Erica was used to men smoking. After all, her father was a heavy smoker.

However, Wesley almost never smoked at home or in front of the family.

He usually smoked a few cigarettes when he was outside, if he was annoyed, or had nothing better to do.

But Wesley never reeked of cigarettes. Maybe it was because he smoked high-quality cigarettes, or because he didn't smoke too much. More likely it was because he carried disposable wipes to wash his hands with, and breath mints to mask the smell on his breath.

But it still settled on his face, clothes, and hair. So you could tell the man smoked. But it was not too heavy to be repulsive and not too light to be missed.

After a while, Matthew walked around the car to the passenger seat and reached out his hand to Erica.

Looking at his large hand, Erica was a little confused.

"What?"

“Your phone," he demanded.

‘What's he playing at? Is he going to delete the photos?‘ she thought.

Erica held her phone.

"No. And why should I give it to you? I asked to look at your phone twice, but you refused to let me see it. So you can't see mine."

Matthew didn't push the issue. He put his hands back into his pockets and decided to change the topic. He wanted to address some of the stress dividing them.

“Tessie and Lenora deserve what they get. I'm not giving in on that.”

He couldn't let her have her own way on this, or she'd run into problems later.