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No, Andy would have told me that, especially if it interfered with the idea that we were a couple.
A close colleague. As simple as that. One who maybe thought he would have mentioned their relationship and found herself shocked, realizing they weren’t that close.
“There’s some history between our families. When we started seeing each other, I told Andy I wanted to stay quiet, since I thought the relationship was more casual. But…” I shrugged.
“Andy?” she said his name experimentally. “Interesting.”
“Well, Nora here is an absolute doll,” Angela interjected cheerfully. “You’ll get along famously once you get to know each other. My stepdaughter works in IT. Her company is going public in just a few months, so I’m sure if Andrew tried to contact her, she simply found herself too busy.”
Payton’s nose twitched. Andy hadn’t called her, and that fact ate at her.
“It was all a bit of a whirlwind. Andy’s mother didn’t even make it to the ceremony, being in Italy and all,” I said sympathetically.
She gave me a wan smile, sitting in the chair on the other side of Angela. “I imagine it must have been.” She shook her head, placing the earlier warm smile back in place. “Tell me about the wedding. I’m sure it was lovely.”
By the time we separated for massages, I felt confident I’d simply taken Payton off guard, and that was it. Sure, she wasn’t as friendly as her stepmother, but she was polite. Besides, after a full day of facials, manicures, pedicures, oxygen, light therapy, and a ninety-minute massage that left my body some combination of relaxed and sore, I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to question Payton and Andy’s relationship any further.
“Whenever you’re ready, you can get dressed and meet me outside.” The masseuse whispered, shutting off the gentle bells playing on a speaker before she left the room.
I peeled myself off the table, wrapping the white sheet around my body, and stood on wobbly legs. I needed a nap.
I tugged on my clothes and signed a bill that cost more than my rent, assigning the charge to the room. I still didn’t feel entirely settled with Andy paying for what amounted to a mini-vacation inside an already sumptuous escape from Franklin Notch.
With a bottle of water in one hand and the demand that I stay hydrated, I strolled back up to my room. Housekeeping had tidied Andy’s couch and cleared the dishes from breakfast, leaving the room sparkling once more. I kicked off my flip-flops and walked into the bedroom, ready to collapse.
Only to find that Andy had already collapsed into my bed.
I hedged at the entrance to the bedroom. His meetings must have wrapped up early. He’d removed his blue jacket and tie and dragged the throw blanket he’d been using on the couch into the bed, pulling it tight over his shoulders. He had unbuttoned the top of his white button-down shirt, revealing a faint smatter of blonde hair.
Icouldnap on the couch. I didn’t need a blanket, and it wasn’t as though I had much time before dinner. But even as I turned to head back toward the couch, I didn’twantto sleep there.
Technically, Andy was in my bed, and there was plenty of room for two.
I tiptoed around the foot of the bed and crawled in, gently pulling up the covers and sliding in beside him. Even an arm’s length away, I could smell his subtle cologne and feel the heat radiating off his body. I pushed back the urge to shimmy closer, forcing my eyes closed and letting Andy’s gentle breathing lull me to sleep.
CHAPTER13
Andy
Honeysuckle tickled my nose.I burrowed closer to the source of the scent. In my sleep-addled brain, I drifted between reality and dreams, pretending the smell of Nora that clung to the pillows was actually her, warm and soft beside me.
Only once I had her hair in my mouth did I realize I wasn’t dreaming. I opened my eyes and found Nora very much in bed with me, curled beneath the covers, her eyes closed and body slowly rising and lowering in deep sleep.
I eased my wrist out from under the blanket, checking the time and finding that I had another half hour before I had to meet Brad for dinner. Plenty of time to lie here a while longer. Or, it would have been, had the phone in my pocket not been buzzing.
With more than a little regret, I slipped out of bed and padded into the living room, closing the bedroom door softly behind me.
Payton.
“Hey,” I answered softly, glancing back at the closed door.
“Hey, Andy,” she drawled out my name like a taunt.
I took a deep breath. “Welcome back to New York.”
“And what a welcome it’s turning out to be.” Something like amusement soaked her every word, and I couldn’t suppress a smile. “Andrew, I’m afraid to tell you this, but there’s a woman wandering around the city claiming to be your wife.”
I grimaced, already having anticipated the reason for the call. “I tried to call you last night to give you a heads up.”
