AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lizzie drove away without a second glance. “I’ll take care of it later.”
Kate wasn’t sure what the law was about drinking as a passenger but took another sip of her “coffee” anyway. An afternoon off would be good. She needed to figure out what she was going to say to Adam and how they could work out the logistics of finishing the deal without speaking.
“I knew I shouldn’t have gotten involved with a client.”
“Yeah, that was probably a bad idea,” Lizzie said without a hint of guilt.
“What?” Kate screeched. “You’re the one who was all for it.Youtalked me into it. ‘Have a fling,’ you said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ you said. Now you’re saying it was a bad idea?”
“I’m pretty sure I mentioned the risks.”
“Noooo.Imentioned risks, and you poo-pooed them.”
“Oh, well, I should have. Flings are risky. Especially with someone you have an ongoing relationship with.”
“Lizzie!”
“In retrospect, you may have had a valid point. But he’s so hot, and you said yourself the sex was phenomenal. You would have missed out on that.”
“All he’s done is ruin me for anyone else. How am I supposed to settle for ‘regular’ sex now? I never should have trusted him.”
“Men suck. Well, sometimes. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”
“Well, I’m determined to. I’m done with men, Lizzie. This time I mean it.”
“Don’t give up yet,” Lizzie said, pulling into Kate’s driveway. “I’ll go get your stuff and bring it back. He’s probably left the office by now.”
“Okay.”
Lizzie and Emma returned about thirty minutes later with all her things, including her car. “We’d stay, but I have to get to the bar and Emma just had a minute to drive your car back here. Don’t forget, there’s a storm coming in tonight. Not till later, but I wouldn’t plan to go anywhere and get ready to lose power. Just in case.”
“Good thing you said something,” Kate said. “I’ve been avoiding the news and didn’t know about a storm. It’s so nice out now, I was actually thinking about going out on the lake.”
“You have time for that,” Emma said. “Storm’s not supposed to come until later tonight.”
“Just be careful out there. And don’t go out if you drink anymore,” Lizzie warned.
“I’ve had more to drink in the last week than I have the whole previous year. This won’t turn me into an alcoholic, will it?”
“Course not,” Lizzie said. “You’ll be fine. No one dies from a broken heart.”
“I guess, but it hurts,” Kate said.
“I know, sweetie,” Emma said. “Just give it some time.” They each gave her a hug and left, promising everything would be okay.
An hour later, Kate was working from her home office, reviewing one of Molly’s contracts, when her phone vibrated with a text from Lucy.
Have you seen the online version ofThe Sun? The Sun Journalwas New Bern’s local newspaper.
Kate opened a new internet window and searched for the newspaper’s website. The top headline warned of the upcoming storm, and right below that, was an article titled “New Bern Mayor Vindicated—Opponent Bows out in Shame.”
She heaved a sigh of relief and started reading. The article began by repeating the accusations Chuck had made at the debate and then went on to explain what the mayor had meant when he’d claimed a reasonable explanation.
It all had to do with her dad’s friend Burt and his desire to keep a cancer diagnosis secret. As she continued, it got into how Chuck had discovered the information. “Chuck asked his girlfriend’s son to get close to one of the mayor’s daughters and use her to find out disparaging information,” she read aloud. “Bastard.”
That was all she could take. Without finishing the article, she minimized the browser window and stared out her own, actual window.
She was glad everything had worked out for her father. It was unbearable to think she was the cause of any problems with his campaign. She felt sorry for Burt and his wife too. Realizing many people had problems bigger than hers moved things into perspective. At least no one in her family was dying of cancer.
