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“That was on purpose,” Lia said. “I’m always trying to give the illusion that everything is wonderful. But it’s actually exhausting.”
“So why does Malcolm want to kill you? Is he…abusive?” The man had been slightly standoffish and high and mighty, but he hadn’t seemed dangerous.
Lia shook her head. “No. I didn’t mean it like that. He’s just as fed up with me as the rest of you.” She hesitated. “We’ve had our issues over the last few years, and they’ve driven a wedge between us.”
“You both work long hours; that has to take a toll on a marriage,” Sarah said.
“It’s worse than that.” She paused. “I kissed my boss about a year ago.”
Sarah’s mouth dropped.
“It was after a big court case win; we were all out celebrating…Malcolm and I had been arguing about starting a family, about where my career was heading, about everything, it seemed. And one thing led to another. It just happened. Nothing more—just one kiss. He can’t forgive me. I can’t forgive myself. My marriage was definitely heading south. That’s why I planned this reunion. A last attempt to save it.”
“Do you think it worked?” Sarah asked, feeling sympathetic toward Lia for the first time now that the facade, the mask Lia always hid behind, was gone.
“Maybe. Malcolm actually smiled at me…like a real smile. The first one I’ve seen in a long time. That’s a start.”
They sat in silence for a long moment until Sarah said, “Hey, we could be stuck here a while. Wine?”
“Wine opener?”
Reaching above their heads, Sarah felt along the edge of a deep stone cutout in the wall and retrieved one. “Grandma left one here for wine cellar tastings she used to hold years ago.”
“Your grandma was a genius.”
Sarah looked at her hands. “That’s why it will be tough to sell the B&B.”
“Then why don’t you keep it?” Lia asked.
“I don’t think I’m cut out to run a B&B. This whole thing is so far outside my comfort zone.” And could she really stay in Blue Moon Bay now without being with Wes? Staying in town, seeing him and Marissa, and not being part of their lives would be torture. But without a job to return to the city for, maybe staying was the right thing. She certainly felt more connected to her hometown now more than ever.
“What about you and Wes?”
The million-dollar question. “We’re friends.” Or they were.
“Look, this is the cellar of truth, so stop lying to me and yourself. You’ve loved him since we were kids.”
“Fine. I loved him. I still love him. I walked out of the most important pitch meeting of my career because I love him and Marissa, but that doesn’t matter because he doesn’t feel the same way.”
Lia frowned, her head spinning toward her. “Wait. You left the meeting? The one you were preparing for for months?”
Sarah nodded. “Yep. Marissa invited me to the camp’s parents’ day, and there was a scheduling conflict. I basically quit…or I was fired. I don’t know.” The logistics didn’t really matter. She no longer had a job.
“Does Wes know that?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I realized the job no longer made me happy anyway.”
“So what happened?”
Sarah launched into the details of the hacked app and her own failings to keep Marissa protected online.
But Lia shook her head. “That could have happened to any of us. No one’s perfect when it comes to parenting.” She scoffed. “I think you need to talk to him. I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time, and he needs to get out of his own way and give himself another chance at love.”
“No, he’s right. He has to think about Marissa.”
“Marissa adores you. You’d be really good for her. For both of them.”
“You mean all that?” Sarah asked. Lia knew Wes and Marissa so well…if she thought Sarah would be a good fit for the family…then maybe there was some truth to it. But it was hard to get her hopes up when she had no idea where they stood now.
