“None of your business.”
Her comment had clearly startled him. The tick of silence gave her strength. She’d never been combative; it wasn’t in her nature. But that’s how upset she was—so wounded that she wasn’t acting herself, and she was glad he’d noticed.
“The property disclosure statement has to have both our signatures before the agent shows the house,” he said, his voice clipped. “We had to disclose anything wrong with the property. I took the liberty of listing out all the things.”
My hero.She gritted her teeth. Heaven forbid he’d have to do a little work. This was his mess after all. She tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear.
“I mentioned the loose shingles and the drip under the sink in the kitchen. Can you think of anything else?”
She took in a long breath of warm, briny air and fixated on the rolling waves at the shore. He didn’t need to call her for this. It could’ve easily been done with a text. He’d already listed everything that was wrong with the house—he knew that. Was he purposely trying to keep tabs on her? How dare he. He’d lost the right to know anything about what she was doing.
How had they come to this? He hadn’t even had the decency to sit down with her and tell her how he’d strayed so far from what they’d promised one another. What had become so irrevocably broken between them that she hadn’t been able to see it coming?
“No,” she replied. One word was all she could muster without her lips trembling from the absolute anger she felt toward him for wrecking their perfect life.
“Okay, can you sign it? I have to go. It should be in your email.”
“Sure.” She got off the phone and stretched her arms out to release the pinch in her shoulders. Then she opened her email, signed the form, and sent it off. With that one task, a deluge of wedding cancellation tasks came flooding back. She needed to call the florist, the photographer, the caterer, the bakery, the seamstress… Had Will called any of his side of the wedding party? Suddenly, it all locked in her chest like a boulder of panic.
“What didhewant?” Sienna asked when Emily went back inside.
“Real estate requirements,” she replied.
“I’m surprised he didn’t reach out to me to sell the house.” Sienna winked at Emily, evidently trying to lighten the atmosphere. “Who did he get anyway?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care, to be honest.”
“Have you let your landlord know so he’ll keep your apartment?”
“I need to, but I know he had another couple looking at it. I think they plan to move in.”
“Where are you going to live then?” Sienna asked, retrieving their drinks from the fridge and handing them to Blair and Emily.
The sun went behind a cloud, the room darkening in response.
“Honestly, I have no idea. I thought maybe I should go home and live with my parents in Virginia for a while, but I’ve signed my contract to teach next year, so I can’t really do that.”
Blair offered an empathetic frown. “You’re welcome to stay with me until you find somewhere.”
“Thank you. I’ll figure something out.” She didn’t want to be a burden.
A text pinged from Will that just said, “Thanks.” Emily cleared it from her screen. “Enough of this negativity.” She slipped her phone into her pocket.
“So, Sienna,” Blair said. “What are we doing today?”
Sienna grinned. “Something inside.” She lifted her head to the view through the large window. “The clouds are moving in. Just in case we get a shower, we’d better drive.”
Rain or shine, Emily was glad for their decision to leave their lives for a while. Whatever they were doing, it had to be better than what she had to face back home.
EIGHT
They headed for Sienna’s undisclosed location. On the way, they came to a stoplight next to a brand-new building.
“Wow, that’s some sexy construction,” Sienna said, sliding down her sunglasses and peering past Emily at the sleek structure that was nearly all glass and exposed beams.
A sign out front read, “Future home of The Low Tide Supper Club, a culinary evolution of Main Course.”
“That looks like it’s going to be fancy,” Emily said. “I’ll bet the musician will go there.”
