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I still couldn’t wrap my head around Payton’s confession. Sure, we’d kissed, but the one-off kiss that had been an accident to me had been a taste of something more for her. When Payton found out about the marriage, she thought I’d done it for her. For us.
Of course, that was the drunken version of what Payton thought. One she’d tearfully recited on a couch at three in the morning, expensive makeup staying firmly in place even though her face grew puffy and eyes bloodshot. Even though I’d done nothing to encourage her, I couldn’t quell the guilt that I hadn’t been clearer when we first kissed.
“Sometimes you just fall for someone and start doing crazy shit.”
Didn’t I know?
I took an old, seldom-used dirt road to bypass the more popular tourist routes up the mountain and pulled up to Len’s only twenty minutes late. Slightly late, rather than egregiously and disrespectfully late.
I shot one last look at the dry cleaning and pushed out of the car, hoping I could get Nora far enough away from her family to explain why I hadn’t told her earlier.
“About time.” Cal opened the door for me with a grin. “We were beginning to think you took off.”
I gave him a forced smile. “No. Just lost track of time at work. Sorry about that.”
I walked over to Nora sitting on the couch beside Bunny and kissed her forehead. “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Not happening,” Len interrupted, the frown on his face not the typical Len-frown, but a more annoyed one. Sort of terrifying, actually. “Millie’s had dinner ready for,” he dramatically checked his watch. “Twenty minutes now. We’re eating.”
“Sorry, Millie,” I apologized.
She waved me off before the words were even out of my mouth. “Not a problem. Len just had an early lunch and is hangry. We can wait a few minutes.”
“Absolutely not,” Len growled. “Talk after dinner.”
I took my seat between Nora and Bunny. Len sat at the head of the table, with Millie and Cal on the opposite side. Millie served a delicious focaccia and marinara sauce over noodles and meatballs. The conversation at the table moved to Cal’s latest trip to Virginia and onto Len’s newest exhibit, this one in London.
“His agent even said the gallery would fly us out,” Millie said, brown eyes wide and sparkling excitedly.
“Yeah, if I agree to attend an exhibition with some VIPs.” Len spat out the offer as if they’d asked for his right arm.
“For three hours.” Millie picked up her wineglass and took a sip. “Three hours, and we’d get a free trip to Europe!”
“Three hours too long. I’m telling you, Mil, I’m happy to fly you to London to see the dumb exhibit. I just don’t want to be showcased.”
She wiped the frown off her face with a sly smile. “If you pay, do we even need to go to the exhibit?”
Len rolled his eyes. “Oh, I see how it is.”
“I’ve already seen it all. Sure, it was in a crappy warehouse, not a huge, fancy art gallery,” she laughed.
Millie advocated for letting the gallery pay until our plates sat empty and the last of the wine was gone. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, checking the time.
8:30. Another half hour before we’d leave, and I could talk to Nora unencumbered.
I set the phone beside my plate as Cal and Len cleared the dishes.
“So, Andy, are you home for good?” Bunny asked.
I nodded. “I’ve got to make some trips to the two new gyms, but yeah, I shouldn’t have to leave the state for a while.”
“Good. It’s not good for a marriage to spend too much time apart,” she said pointedly.
“Listen to her, Andy,” Cal chimed in. “She’s had seven of them.”
I looked over at Nora, giving her a grin. Between us, my phone buzzed on the table as it chimed.
PAYTON
