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I stare at John, aghast, not wanting to say the words out loud.
Maddie has no such compunction. “Dad’s new wife had a fling with his lawyer? But Richard and Dad have been friends forever. Besides, he’s old!”
“So’s Dad,” I mutter under cover of the blender. As the smoothie whirls, so does my mind. I can’t help comparing Destiny’s relationship with my dad to me and Matt. Granted, she’s much younger than me, and Dad is much older. But is this my inevitable ending point as well? Marrying an older man, then running away when things get tough?
I have no illusions about myself. I might not be as self-absorbed and opportunistic as Destiny, but I’m no angel. I’ve had a number of short-term relationships. They all ended when my career became more important than our life together. What’s to stop that from happening again?
It’s time for me to face the facts. I’m falling in love with Matt Hertzsprung, but it can only end in tragedy. He’s had enough of that in his life. As soon as this mess is cleared up, I need to leave. Return to my Hollywood life and let him find someone who will love him the way he deserves to be loved.
I stop the blender, and the silence throbs in my ears. The idea of moving on leaves me empty and cold. But I know, deep in my freezing heart, that it’s the right thing to do. Before I do more damage. If I leave now, Matt will get over me in time and find a real, normal woman to fill his home with light and love. But the longing to stay—to be that woman—leaves me in shock.
As I pour the smoothie into glasses, Maddie and John discuss Dad’s situation, but I barely hear their conversation. My head hums in a tuneless whir, empty like the blender container. Like my empty life.
John takes one of the glasses. He sips, then nods at me. “Just like the pros.”
My lip curls. “I guess I have a fallback career if this whole acting thing doesn’t pan out.”
Maddie frowns, her glass halfway to her lips. “I thought you were doing pretty well? I see your face every time I flip through the channels on Dad’s TV.” She picks up a clicker and points it at the big screen on the wall.
I take the clicker before she can push the button. “I’m doing fine. The Romance Channel is a good, solid living. But I just wrapped filming on a big-screen project, and I’m a little nervous.”
She pats my hand. “Don’t worry. Older actresses are hot right now.” She sips her smoothie, missing my wince. “But John is right—you definitely can get a job at ‘Smooth ’n’ Easy’ or one of those other chains. This is good.”
Not bothering to respond to any of it, I turn to John. “What’s the deal with the law firm? Did Richard really betray Dad with Destiny? They’ve been friends since college.”
“No one should be surprised. Back in the day, Richard and Dad stole women from each other all the time.”
I shudder. I hate that phrase—as if women are possessions to be passed around. Without agency of their own. What’s the old saying? It takes two to tango. “Destiny could have said no.”
“She’s young.”
“Hey!” Maddie flips her long red hair over her shoulder. “I’m younger than Destiny, and I wouldn’t sleep with my new husband’s lawyer only a few months after the wedding. Not unless the husband gave me a really good reason for doing it.”
John strokes his chin. “What would you consider a good reason for cheating?” His tone is conversational—as if cheating on your spouse is perfectly acceptable if there’s a decent reason. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised—four of Dad’s previous marriages ended thanks to Dad cheating, and he always had an excuse. They were pretty pathetic in my opinion, but maybe Maddie and John bought into his conditional view of life-long vows.
“Oh, you know, the usual.” She ticks items off on her fingers. “If he cheats first. If he gets violent. If he cuts off my allowance. If—”
I jump in. “If you have a job, you don’t need to rely on a man to give you an allowance.”
She waves that off. “I don’t want to work!” She returns to her list. “If he moves to a new place I don’t like. If he gets a dog and lets it sleep on the bed. If he—”
I take the blender jar to the sink and fill it with water, trying to drown out Maddie’s increasingly deplorable justifications for infidelity. As I wash out the jar, I make a mental note to call my mother and thank her for giving me a strong moral grounding. Except for my annual visits to the Ranch, she kept me away from Dad and his fast and loose lifestyle. Maddie wasn’t so lucky.
“Do you think your husband having a stroke and forgetting who you are is a good reason to sleep with his lawyer?” Maddie asks as I turn off the water.
“Is that what happened?” I put the blender pieces in the drainer and swing around. “Did she take up with Richard because of Dad’s memory problem?”
John shrugs. “That might have been the last straw. Although I caught Destiny in a closet with Richard at the wedding.”
“What?!” Maddie and I yell together.
“Why didn’t you say something?” I ask.
He holds up both hands. “It was too late. The legal paperwork was signed, the wedding was over. And they were both drunk—but not so drunk they didn’t freak out when I caught them. Richard left—I saw to that. And I didn’t think Dad needed to know. Let’s face it—we all thought Destiny would go the way of Number Four, right?” Dad’s fourth wife only lasted a few weeks.
John waits until Maddie and I both nod to go on. “Dad must have thought that, too. I saw the prenup. I figured Destiny didn’t have a shot at lasting the year, which meant she’d walk away with nothing. What’s done is done. No reason to tell Dad about it at that point.”
“No point in telling me what?” Dad finally straggles into the room. He leans heavily on a walker, and only one side of his face moves when he talks. He wears dark slacks and a designer bowling shirt. His wig is slightly askew, and Justin hovers behind him, herding him toward a chair. Dad sits with a heavy thud. “Go away, Joseph. This is a family meeting.”
