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Pivoting, holding a spring-form pan covered in foil pulled fresh from the refrigerator, Gretta shot him an excited look. “Maybe not now, but it’s comin’. Mark my words!”
At the long farm table they’d shared so many meals at, Vivian claimed a seat while Nash set out the plates and utensils and Gretta revealed the cake that looked as good, if not better, than any New York cheesecake Vivian had ever enjoyed.
“Careful you don’t slip,” Nash said as he sat down. “Seems you lost a few more marbles.”
Gretta reached out and slapped his arm. “Oh you! You should be ashamed of yourself, pickin’ on a helpless old lady.”
“Helpless, my ass!” Nash snorted. “You’re as wily as that damn coyote on TV.”
Gretta grinned at that. “Just one of the many great things I picked up from my momma. Another is being a fantastic matchmaker.”
Nash rolled his eyes and held out the plates, one by one, for Gretta to load a heaping slice of cake onto. “Now don’t start with this again. It was just a simple kiss, right, Vivian? Nobody’s marryin’ anybody.”
Vivian cut a piece of cake with her fork and shoved it into her mouth, deciding to stay out of the conversation. Nash seemed to be handling it just fine on his own. Besides, she was curious to hear his answers.
“You’ll see,” Gretta said confidently as if she could determine the future.
Dropping the subject, Nash turned his full attention on Vivian. “So tell us who that man was and what he was doing here. I assume he’s your husband.”
Vivian swallowed hard and took a moment to collect herself. “Well, first off, he’s not my husband anymore. The divorce was granted a few weeks ago.” Her admission raised their brows, but she continued. “As for why he just showed up on your doorstep? I have no idea. I don’t even know how he found me, let alonewhyhe even tried.”
A little white lie never hurt anyone, right? Come Monday morning, she planned to look into it and see if there was any truth to what he’d said, but no matter the outcome; in her heart of hearts, they were divorced. That’s what mattered. And if Andrew was telling the truth? The fix would be quick and simple. Nothing to worry about or stress over.
“Sounded to me like he was lookin’ for a second chance,” Nash surmised.
“Well, he’d better keep looking,” Vivian replied earnestly. She had zero intentions of ever revisiting that situation.
“Seems like you carried everything you own in this world with you into this house,” Nash went on. “You mean to say you haven’t given even a little thought toward going back to him?”
There he went again, seeing her as the stuck-up, money lover from the big city. Narrowing her eyes on him, Vivian said, “He could have all the money in the world. It wouldn’t make up for the fact that we’re completely incompatible. I’d rather be alone the rest of my life than to ever return to that life with him.”
“He prefers nuts in his fruitcake,” Gretta said as casually as if she’d just announced the sun was shining outside.
Nash appeared taken aback. “Um…what?”
“Nuts,” she repeated. “He’s prefers them.”
Vivian coughed into her hand to cover the laugher that bubbled past her lips. Gretta. She certainly had a way with words.
“He’s gay?” Nash asked, shocked.
“As queer as a three-dollar bill,” Gretta confirmed.
By now, Vivian couldn’t hold back her laughter. Her face red, she let it run free, claiming Nash’s attention, and the look on his face only made her laugh harder.
“How did you find out?”
“Caught him in the act,” Gretta filled him in. “‘Course, she didn’t wanna get too close, but some things don’t need a magnifying glass to be sure what’s goin’ on if you get what I mean.”
“They were… He was…” Nash gulped. “With another man?”
“In our bed,” Vivian confirmed, waving the tears from her eyes.
Nash’s wide eyes suggested he needed a moment to take in all of the new information. “Holy hell…” he murmured. “Is that why you’re all the way out here?”
Sobering at last, Vivian poked at her cake with the fork and nodded. “I had to get as far away from there as possible.”
“I would say so.”
