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The room went deadly silent. My father’s eyes widened, but he said nothing.
“Oh.” My mother smiled pleasantly. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me, maybe your mistress will. Sandy, can you come up here, too?”
Gasps sounded, followed by a hushed murmur.
“Is Sandy still here?” my mom asked. “The blond from Carl’s office?”
All eyes landed on Sandy, who ducked, letting her hair curtain her face as she ran from the room.
“Well,” my mom said, still sounding like she was having the best time ever. “We won’t be celebrating an anniversary tonight, but the caterers have already been paid for and there will be music until eleven. Please feel free to stay and enjoy yourself. The crepes are amazing. I did a lot of taste tests with the caterer to get them just right.” She put the microphone back in its stand and leaned down to speak in it again. “Also, to the miserable, lying, piece of shit excuse for a man by my side, I’m divorcing you. Go to hell, Carl.”
There was scattered applause as she left the stage. She smiled and strode back through the center of the room like a queen, stopping by Sariah and me.
“We can go now.”
She started walking toward the door with Sariah and I following behind.
“I love your mom,” Sariah murmured.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sariah
* * *
It was a long night. We took Nita home and I helped her pack a couple of suitcases while Nash got her a seat on our flight home to St. Louis in the morning. She would be going with us and staying with Nash for a few weeks while she cleared her head and the dust settled. She was heartbroken but still in the pissed-off phase, so there hadn’t been much in the way of tears yet. Nash booked her a room at the Marriott by the airport so it would be easy to pick her up in the morning and then we bought her dinner and talked.
By the time we got back to our hotel, it was nearly one in the morning and Nash looked exhausted. I slid an arm around his waist as we rode up in the elevator, gently rubbing my palm up and down his torso in what I hoped was a soothing motion. He didn’t react, other than to drop his chin to his chest, and my heart broke a little for him.
We walked as far as my door, since his was down the hall a little, and he finally looked at me. “Thank you. For tonight. I don’t know if I could have gotten through this without you.”
“I’m so proud of you,” I whispered. “You did the right thing. For yourself and for your mom. I know it feels shitty now, but in the long run, she’ll be better off.”
“I know. It was just so fucking hard.”
“But look at how she handled it. I mean, getting up there on that stage? Outing him in front of everyone? It was brutal and badass and cathartic. You get your strength from your mother. You know that, don’t you?”
“I didn’t,” he said quietly. “But I guess I do now.”
I waved my key over the lock and the little green light flashed, indicating I could open the door. I hesitated for a fraction of a second before looking up at him. “Do you want to come in?”
His eyes met mine with a silent question.
I couldn’t answer him just yet, so I tugged his hand instead, pulling him inside.
He’d long since lost his jacket but the way he looked in his dress shirt, with several buttons open at the throat, made me want to lick a trail there. He was impossibly attractive, and after what we’d been through tonight, I wanted to lose myself in him. And allow him to lose himself in me. But there had to be a conversation first.
I kicked off my heels and then turned my back to him. “Can you unzip me?”
His eyes widened as he stepped forward. “Sariah, if this is some twisted way of teasing me…”
“Not tonight,” I said quietly. “Not after what we just went through.”
He nodded and I felt the zipper slide down.
“Do you want to touch me?”
I wasn’t sure if I heard or felt his gasp of surprise, but then he shocked me by saying, “No. Not if this is a pity thing.”
I let the dress drop to my hips and slowly turned. I wore nothing but thong panties and I slowly shimmied the rest of the way out of the dress.
“Shirt,” I said in a firm voice.
“Sariah, what—”
“Shirt.” I spoke louder, raising my hands to my breasts and slowly squeezing.
“Aw, fuck, Sariah.”
“Do you want to work this thing out between us?”
I’d never seen anyone unbutton and discard a shirt faster than he did.
“Pants.”
I had him remove the rest of his clothes, except his boxers, one piece at a time until we were standing there in our underwear. I’d seen him naked before, but this was different. Tonight would be different, depending on the direction the conversation we were about to have went.
