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“Please.” She tossed a heart-shaped pillow at me. “The guy is so in love with you. You should have seen the way he was looking at you all night. He not only had stars in his eyes but all the celestial bodies. The man is smitten.”
“Smitten and in love are two entirely different things. And we hardly know each other.” I felt like I kept having to say that, even though it wasn’t really ringing true. But my realist side was clinging to it like a butt on a hot leather seat during a Florida summer.
“Izzy,” Charlotte sighed. “You can’t put a timeline on love. Sometimes, you just know.”
“Just like Graham and Amanda?” I said dryly.
“No, just like Drake and me, George and Daisy, Mom and Dad, and you and Patrick.”
I covered my face with the pillow she’d tossed my way. “Char,” I mumbled, “what if doesn’t work out?”
She hopped over to my bed and sat on the edge. “What if does?” She removed the pillow from my face and threw it to the side.
“It’s not just us we have to worry about. He has children.”
“Kids who obviously adore you.”
“Adoreis a strong word. They’re withholding judgment, which I don’t blame them for. Their mom really messed with their heads. I don’t want to add to their trauma.”
“That’s impossible. You are going to show those kiddos what it’s like to be part of a real family. What love truly is.”
“I hope so. Speaking of which, Bridgette wants me to take her dress shopping for the winter formal. I was thinking Jackson Hole would be the best place, but you know how I hate driving that pass. Patrick did offer to pick up Mom and Dad with me this weekend. We could take Bridgette, but I don’t want Mom to freak her out. What do you think?”
“Might as well introduce the girl to the crazy that is our mother sooner rather than later. There will be no stopping Mom from going gaga over Patrick’s kids. Don’t be surprised if she wants them to call herMimi. I think she’s actually bringing them their own ornaments like she makes for Jameson every year.”
“Of course she is.” I laughed. “I guess it’s good. I was hoping maybe we could all make decorations for their tree. Their poor family has really had a rough go. It’s so amazing that everything I read online about them was all a lie. It makes you wonder what is real anymore.” I waxed somber.
Charlotte pointed to my heart. “I think you know what’s real. You’re just scared. But listen to that thing I know is beating wildly in your chest. Be Amanda.” She thought she was hilarious.
“Oh, ha ha.” She was right, though. My heart was on overdrive. Patrick had me swooning.
“Come on. Even you’ve said you wanted a Graham who was willing to change his life for you. Wish granted.”
Yikes. “I guess I did say that.”
Charlotte popped off the bed. “Besides, Jameson will not be happy with you if he doesn’t get Rory for a cousin. He went on and on about him when he was talking to Drake tonight before bed.”
I smiled, thinking about how Rory played the hero tonight. He, too, had a lot to say about Jameson on the car ride home. All good things, of course. I liked that kid. “Hey, change of subject: Has Drake found out who talked to Dave in LA?”
“No,” Charlotte grumbled. “He has his lawyer on it. Drake is livid and wants answers yesterday. Hattie and her people swear they had nothing to do with the leak. I hope not. I really love her work.”
I did too. The flowers and bouquets were going to be stunning. “Don’t you think it’s weird no other reporters are skulking around? Do you think Dave has something to do with that?”
Charlotte thought for a second. “Maybe,” she swallowed hard.
“So, what’s his end game?” I shuddered, thinking it was probably nefarious.
Charlotte wrung her hands together. “I don’t know. I’ll have Drake look into the sleazeball’s dealings.”
“Good idea.”
Charlotte snuggled back under her covers. “Good night, Izzy. I love you.”
“Good night, Char. I love you too.” I turned off the table lamp next to the bed, grateful the door was cracked to let the hall light stream in. I knew it was ridiculous for a woman my age to be afraid of the dark, but now more than ever I was. Especially knowing that my life had been completely altered because of what a supposed friend did in the shadows. Even my own husband had betrayed me and left me in the dark. Dave definitely had some dealings going on in the black of night. That much I knew.
It made me wonder if I was being just as naive now, thinking Patrick’s light wouldn’t one day cast a shadow that would consume me. I mean, for all we knew, Amanda and Graham broke up after the credits rolled and they realized a long-distance relationship was too hard, especially with his daughters involved. Perhaps Graham went to the pub one night and got sloshed and had a major lapse in judgment that landed him in the bed of another woman. I cringed, knowing that was a scenario Jared had probably lived out. Would Patrick do the same to me?
My mind swirled in a downward spiral with these kinds of thoughts as sleep eluded me. It was why I hated the dark so much. Everything seemed drearier. Or maybe it was where the truth came out.
