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I shook my head. “Don’t bother. I’m not hungry. I might just wander around for a bit, find some coffee.”
Andy nodded, fixing his tie and turning to face me. “You aren’t doing the spa thing today?”
“Here? I’ll be paying you back forever if I take spa trips.” I hedged the words with a laugh.
He dropped his hands from his tie, his forehead creasing. “Pay me back?”
“Yeah.” I waved a hand, feigning nonchalance. “Once I’m through school, obviously, I’m going to pay you back.”
I focused on anything but Andy: the orange accents on the wall, the tiny golden legs on the coffee table, the indent on the couch where Andy had slept.
“You’re not paying me back,” he answered tersely.
“Of course I am.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal.” He pulled on his jacket and sighed. “I’ve got to go. We’ll discuss this later, but the spa is a business expense. It’s part of the deal, so go. Please.”
I corkscrewed my lips. I hadn’t touched the credit card on the side table back in Franklin Notch and I’d reduced expenses where I could, but Andy didn’t live a frugal lifestyle.
Worse, he had a point. He’d asked me on this trip to charm his investors and their spouses. I couldn’t exactly do that from our hotel room.
“Fine. Only because you asked.”
“Thank you.” He crossed the room and brushed his lips over the top of my head, sending a flush of heat through me. “Have fun. I’ll send up breakfast on my way out.”
He strode out of the room before I could argue. I pushed myself out of the chair, shaking off the warmth in my chest.
* * *
“Nora, I’m so glad you could join us!” Angela greeted me with a kiss on each cheek, her manicured hands brushing my shoulders. She wore a gauzy white dress and fuchsia heels, making me feel dowdy in my gray linen pants, white shirt, and flip-flops.
I greeted Tiffany, Jack, and Shannon and followed Angela into the spa. Thankfully, the hotel suite had prepared me for the luxury that Andy and his colleagues expected. My only experience in spas prior to this trip had been a salt cave with a twenty-dollar entry free that hadn’t exactly screamedluxury.
We settled into massage chairs, beginning the day with manicures and pedicures. While this didn’t feel like part of the deal Andy and I had struck, but I made an effort to be as charming as possible with a compress over my eyes and during a leg massage that made me want to melt into the leather chair.
“Sorry I’m late!” An unfamiliar voice jolted me from the nap I’d nearly slipped into. “Missed my layover in Detroit and almost had to book a private plane just to get here.”
I moved the compress and took in the woman in front of me. She looked a year or two older than me, with rich brown hair, expensive clothes, and plush soft lips that toed the line of being natural or the result of fillers. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled invitingly.
“Oh, you must be Jason’s date. I’m Payton, Brad’s daughter.” She held out a hand.
“Oops, nope, I’m Jason’s date. Tiffany! Nice to meet you!” Tiffany shook off the nail stylist, offering a half-painted hand.
Payton took it, carefully avoiding the wet nail polish with her eyes trained on me. “Then, you are?”
“Nora,” I said with a cautious smile. “I’m Andy, uh, Andrew’s wife.”
She frowned, tilting her head before her eyes flitted to her stepmother.
“They got married this week. Wednesday, in fact,” Angela confirmed.
Payton nodded, but her eyes remained guarded. “Well, congratulations. I had no idea.” She said the words as if she should have heard about me. I wondered what her relationship with Andy was. “So, how long have you been dating?”
I smiled, shifting my eyes down to the soapy pool of water at my feet. “A little over a year.”
“Wow. Andrew hadn’t mentioned…” Her face fought against a deepening frown.
He hadn’t mentioned Payton either, but I’d gotten the distinct impression during dinner the first night that he should have. I’d gently probed him for more information about his mentor’s daughter, but he clammed up, changing the subject. Maybe she was just a friend. Or more likely, an ex.
