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My eyes widened, shocked at the audacity. “Drinks? Seriously?”
At least she had the shame to look a little chagrined. Her cheeks turned deep pink, which honestly just improved her look, annoying me even more.
She leaned forward. “I’d like to talk to you. Just the two of us.”
I glanced over at Andy. He focused on Brad, but his ears perked in our direction. I caught his eyes for a moment before he straightened, turning toward Brad.
“Oh no,” I said through clenched teeth and a forced smile. “It looks like the server took the drink menu. Want to join me at the bar?”
I had no intention of spending another night in Concord just to talk to Payton. I didn’t particularly want to spend the night, but the mountain roads back to Franklin Notch weren’t exactly hospitable in the daytime, let alone in the dark. Besides, my night vision bordered on horrendous.
Her lips bloomed in a pleased smile as she bounced out of her seat. “Great.”
I stood, touching Andy’s shoulder before I left, letting him know I’d be back. Probably unnecessary, considering he’d been listening to our conversation, but I wanted to keep up the appearance we were doting newlyweds.
Payton and I squeezed our way to the small bar ensconced in the corner with a handful of stools, which, considering the dress code, would have been an uncomfortable way to eat fifty-dollar entrees, anyway.
I waved down the bartender and ordered a glass of wine before turning to Payton. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
“I need to apologize.”
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but I hadn’t expected her to apologize. People like Payton didn’t apologize, not outright, anyway. They made excuses, they blamed, they felt bad about the situation, not what they did.
“An apology?” I stuttered.
“I was an ass and I threw myself at your husband. I have a lot of excuses for why I thought that was okay, but it wasn’t. He promptly explained as much. I’m so sorry.”
My strange possessiveness over Andy tamped down my knee-jerk reaction to forgive her immediately. Instead of channeling that possessiveness into telling her to leave me alone, I decided to get some answers instead.
“What exactly happened?”
Her eyes grew wide as she tilted her head. “He didn’t tell you?”
“He did. I want to know if you have the same story he does.”
She inhaled deeply, her chest rising as her face turned pale. “Are you sure you want all of it? Because I’ve got to admit, I’m pretty embarrassed.”
I shrugged. “If you really want to apologize, I need to hear your version of events.”
I didn’t have any real expectations of what she’d say. I assumed Andy’s version of events would be close to the truth, though maybe not all. But Payton corroborated everything he’d said, down to the lipstick stains.
At least he hadn’t lied.
“And the text?” I asked. “Can we not tell Nora?”
She knocked back the rest of the glass of wine at her elbow and took a deep breath. “Despite my recent actions, Andrew’s special to me. He’s a good friend and I don’t have many of those. I don’t want to lose him.”
“Then, why not tell me?”
She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head. “Is that not obvious? Because he loves you. Because if you told him to stop hanging out with me, he’d do it without thinking twice.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“I didn’t want to chance it,” she said with a shrug. “Besides, even when I first met you, I hoped we’d be friends.”
“So you tried to kiss my husband?”
Her lips twisted and her gaze flitted back to the table. Other than Andy watching us from across the room, none of them noticed our conversation.
