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“Woah, did something catty just come out of your mouth? This really got under your skin, didn’t it?”
I didn’t want to admit how far the picture had gotten under my skin. For the last month, I’d been ping-ponging between emotional extremes. Andy confessing that he loved me should have calmed me down. Instead, it’d done the opposite.
I waited for the other shoe to drop. For something to catapult me out of the happy little world we’d built on a lie, for some form of comeuppance.
“He didn’t tell me. Didn’t even mention Payton was in town.”
“Does he normally tell you who he’s hanging out with?”
I recoiled at Thea’s perfectly logical point. “You’d think he would have mentioned it, since I know her.”
“So? How do you know there wasn’t a group of them there?”
I pointed to the phone. “She’s meticulous about tagging people, even at business dinners. It’s Andy. Only Andy.”
“Maybe she showed up last minute?”
“Or maybe he’s,” I lowered my voice, glancing around the crowded restaurant. “Sleepingwith both of us.”
“Did you discuss monogamy?”
“Why would we? This marriage was supposed to be a sham. We specifically didn’t discuss monogamy. We briefly discussed dating other people.”
At the time, I’d been fine with Andy pursuing a relationship. Not anymore.
“So progressive,” she laughed. “I stand by my earlier statement that maybe you should talk to him. I know, big ask, but considering he’s seen you naked, I think it’s the right move.”
“What makes life so difficult?” I groaned using my best Deborah Kerr impression.
Thea grinned anyway. “People, usually. But in this case, mostly you.”
The phone between us lit up, Andy’s name on the screen. Thea nudged it in my direction.
“Take it outside. I’ll order dinner.”
My chest fluttered. “So, just tell him what I saw?”
“He’s a good guy. Whatever that picture is, I think it’s more innocent than you’re giving him credit for.”
I frowned, grabbing the phone and standing. “Hey,” I said, forcing levity into my voice as I stood and wound out of the restaurant. “Give me a minute. I’m at the diner and it’s packed. Fish night, you know?”
Andy laughed, his voice deep and rich in a way that made me oddly homesick. “I’m sorry for missing fish night. I grabbed lunch from a vending machine between meetings and now I’m too lazy to go back out.”
“They probably have fish on the room service menu,” I teased. The anxiety about the pictures faded into the background as we fell into a comfortable conversation.
“Sounds dicey. I’m just going to raid the minibar and go to bed.”
“Since you were out late last night?” I hesitated, wondering if I shouldn’t just tell him I’d seen the picture.
“Yeah. I didn’t get back to the room until two.”
I held my breath, waiting for him to say the words.
“I went out with Payton.”
The confession loosened the grip around my chest.
“Dumb. I should know better than to get sucked into going on a social media run with Payton. She’s relentless and also told me to say hi. She was disappointed you weren’t with me.”
