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He sips his wine and gazes at me, like he can’t quite believe we’re here, and after our misunderstanding over his marital status, I’m still struggling a little with that myself. To be honest, I’m also intrigued. He said he found his wife with another man, but other than that, I know nothing about his marriage, or – more to the point – his divorce… and I feel I need to. I put down my fork, holding on to my wineglass as I look across the table at him.
“Do you mind if I ask about your divorce?”
He copies my actions, although he lifts his glass and swallows a long sip of wine. “Not at all. What do you want to know?”
“You said your wife cheated on you…”
He nods his head. “She did. More than once.”
“Was she mad? Who in their right mind would cheat on you once, let alone…” I stop talking, wondering if the few sips of wine I’ve had have already gone to my head. “Sorry,” I mumble.
“Why are you apologizing?” Tanner says, putting down his glass. “Didn’t you mean what you said?”
“Yes, I did. Every word.”
He smiles, reaching around the glasses to take my hand. “Then don’t apologize.”
I nod my head and he gives my hand a squeeze before releasing it, so we can eat. “The… the cheating,” I say between mouthfuls. “Did it happen after you had Nash?”
“It could have been going on before, but as far as I’m aware, it all started when he was little. The first guy I know about for sure was Mitch Bradshaw.”
Bradshaw…? The name is familiar and I rack my brain, trying to recall where I’ve heard it.
“Oh… Are you saying you caught your wife in bed with Addison’s real father?” I already thought that family’s story was complicated, but this takes it to another level.
He shakes his head. “Sabrina’s affair with Mitch was something I became aware of, not something I actually witnessed, and it happened before he married Laurel.”
“Is that Addison’s mom?”
“Yeah. As far as I’m aware, she knows nothing about what happened between Mitch and Sabrina, and I wouldn’t want her to find out about it.”
“I’m not gonna say a word.”
He smiles. “Good.”
“If you didn’t catch them together, how did you find out about them?”
“Sabrina’s an interior designer, and Mitch Bradshaw had just moved back here…”
“From where?” I ask, cutting into another piece of ravioli. The sauce is divine, and I add some to my fork.
“From Canada,” Tanner says. “He’d been playing pro football up there for years, but had retired and decided to come home.”
“I see. So he was a native of Hart’s Creek?”
“He sure was, and when he came back, he bought himself a house, which he wanted remodeled.”
“And let me guess? He asked your wife to do that for him?”
“He did. It was an extensive project, and worth a lot of money, which Sabrina made a point of telling me at every opportunity. I was working in the store by then, and the drop in my income was noticeable. She never let me forget it.” He sips at his wine again.
“Did you mind that?”
“Which? The drop in income? Or being reminded of it all the time?”
“Both, I guess.”
“I couldn’t have cared less about the money, but I wasn’t too keen on Sabrina making me feel inadequate whenever she got the chance.”
