Tara plopped down in a chair opposite me, taking a long drag from her water bottle. Great. Girl time. Awesome.
“So, what are you doing today?” she asked.
“I’m off,” I said. “I work tomorrow.” Bad plan. Come up with something. Something she won’t want to do. Like cleaning out the attic. No, with my luck she’d enjoy cleaning out the attic and I’d be stuck actually cleaning out the attic.
“We should go to brunch,” she said.
It was still early, so my head lean was justified. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Brunch?” she said. “Don’t y’all do that here?”
“Um, maybe,” I said slowly. “I usually just call it eating early.”
She chuckled. “Then we should have an early lunch. At the diner.”
Bingo.
“I don’t know if Nick would be happy about that,” I said. “He’s kinda weird about being distracted at work.”
He loved being visited at work, but I didn’t think this would qualify. Plus—trapped in a car babysitting her? No. No. No. No thank you.
“Let him be distracted,” she said. “I want to get to know you.” Uh-huh. “We should go to the festival.”
There were maybe a hundred places I could think of off the top of my head that beat out that festival on places I’d like to go today. Like the chiropractor. And getting my oil changed.
“It’s really not that exciting,” I said. “Basic small town snoozefest. With honey.”
“I love honey.” Of course she did. “Do they make it locally?”
“Yep,” I said. “It’s a bee charming, honey farming town.”
She grinned and took another drink. “They should put that on their welcome sign.”
I chuckled. “I’ll hit up the mayor for it. Then again,” I added, twisting my lips. “He’s not real fond of me right now so maybe not.”
“Uh-oh, town drama?”
I bit my top lip. You could say that. “Nah, just—personal disagreement. We grew up together and probably know too much.”
“Ohhh, juicy?”
“No, he dated my best friend, and—” How and why was I talking so much? How was she drawing this shit out of me? “Anyway, small towns are bad about that. You can’t get dressed without everyone knowing the color of your underwear by noon.”
“Oh, I love that stuff,” she said. “I’m so drawn to books and shows about it. I grew up in downtown Dallas, so the only small town life I ever had was when Nick and I moved in together when Addison was a toddler.”
And it had begun.
“It’s not like the movies,” I said. “Pretty boring.” Now to take a play from her book. “So where did you and Nick live?”
“A little town north of Dallas,” she said. “It’s not little anymore, everything has exploded around there, but when we were there it was adorable.”
“You didn’t get married right away?” I asked. Yeah, I was digging. Sue me. “I mean, Nick told me y’all were young, but he never really got into the details.”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “We were still in high school, and my parents were a little less than thrilled, understandably.” She shook her head. “I would have died if Addison had come up pregnant at that age. I don’t know how my mom kept her cool.”
Money buys good therapists.
“So what about you?” she asked. “Ever been married? Before now, I mean?” she added with a grin.
“No,” I said. “Never been a big believer in it.”
“Really?”
“My dad skipped out when I was little,” I said, wondering if there was any duct tape in the house. I needed it over my mouth. “And I watched my mother just bleed grief for a year. She was so hopelessly in love with someone who was never coming back, she—” I couldn’t go into that detail again. “She died before I was eight.”
Tara’s eyes got huge. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head. “No need to be. I had a great life with my aunt. That’s why it’s so important to me to save her house.”
“Wow, that’s so much like Nick’s story.”
Ding ding! That got my attention.
“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to be vague, not wanting her to know that we hadn’t actually delved into personal pasts that much. Outside of her, anyway.
“His brother Leo raising him after their parents died,” she said. “And then just taking off and disappearing one day. He had major trust issues for years. Still does,” she added, looking away.
Nick walked through the patio door, not in a towel, thank God, or I might have yanked it off him and strangled him with it. He had on his work white T-shirt and jeans, his hair finger combed and spiky. His expression a little leery on what we might have been chatting about all this time. I would have given my right boob to go be all up in him right at that moment.
“So you grew up here,” Tara said, switching tones and giving me a wink. “Did you ever have sex in this house?”
Yesterday, nearly, till you got here.
“Not quite,” I said, glancing at Nick.
And then I realized what she’d done. She got me all comfortable and buddy-buddy and then popped the question to find out if Nick and I had done the deed. And I fell for it. Dear God, she really could get under your skin.
“Shower’s free,” he said. “Watch the hot, it gets finicky.”
“Lanie said it’s haunted,” she said, getting up and patting his chest as she passed him.
“Well, there’s that,” he said. “Good luck.”
The door closed behind her.
“She’s good,” I said. “Scary good.”
“Told you.”
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Lanie girl. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.”
Chapter Sixteen
Brunch was a bad idea. I felt it in my bones. But Tara was determined to go to the diner with or without me and I figured with would be easier to explain. A stranger in town always drew attention. A stranger that looked like her would have tongues wagging. A stranger that looked like her and was attached to Nick and I in some way—especially after yesterday’s fiasco—would send up the bat signal.
She flounced through the door of the Blue Banana all large and in charge, her hair twisted up in a messy bun that looked divine on her and would just look like bedhead on me.
“This place is adorable,” Tara cooed, sinking onto a stool at the bar.
I was surprised at how many people were actually there that early. Some eating breakfast, some hitting up lunch already. It wasn’t even quite ten. I didn’t get it.
“Maybe let’s get a booth,” I said, glancing around at the curious eyes.
“Nah, this is where the action is,” she said, looking like a kid in a candy store.
I laughed, taking the next stool. “I seriously don’t know what kind of action you’re expecting, but—”
“Look who dares to show up here after that spectacle yesterday,” came a voice I’d learned to cringe over in a very short time.
I turned to see Katrina Bowman standing behind me, one neon-pink nailed hand propped on her overly pronounced hip, the other clutching a bag I wouldn’t be able to afford if I saved for a year. Did she never eat at home?
“Move on, Katrina,” I said, turning back. I was so acutely aware of Tara’s questioning gaze I could feel my blood rising to the surface.
“Move on?” Katrina barked. “After what you and your so-called husband did yesterday?”
I frowned and swung my stool back around. “What we did?” I hurled. Dial it back. Dial it back. “Let’s replay, shall we?” I wasn’t dialing it back. “Whose husband kissed who? Whose husband can’t keep his slimy little hands to himself? Nick was just reminding Alan that I’m not a free-for-all.”
She stepped forward, the challenge sparking in her overly lined eyes. “Who can’t keep her tits under wraps?”
I stood up, nearly nose to nose with her. “You started that one, chica, when you invited my husband in the house for a little slap and tickle.”
“Oh, and he loved that tickle too,” she said under her breath, an angry smile warping her expression. “Did he tell you about it?”
“Enough,” said a male voice harshly behind me, making Tara and I both jump. “You know damn good and well I rejected your pathetic ass, Mrs. Bowman. You and your husband both need a lesson in boundaries.”
My head and face were so hot I had to be glowing, and my heartbeat in my ears was deafening. Tara’s eyes were huge as she looked from Nick to me.
“Yeah well your little lesson is going to cost you our dental bills,” Katrina spat. “You knocked two teeth loose.”
“He was charging me,” Nick said. “Like a wild animal. He’s lucky that’s all that got knocked loose.”
“Okay,” Allie said as she walked up behind Nick. “Let’s all go to our corners, shall we?” She patted Nick’s shoulder. “I believe you have an order or two back there. Mrs. Bowman--”
“He insulted me,” Katrina said. “Your employee insulted a customer. I want him fired.”
“Mrs. Bowman,” Allie repeated slowly. “As I was saying, there are plenty of empty tables on the other side. Why don’t you find one?”
Katrina scoffed and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. “I spend a ton of money here every week, but if you won’t respect a paying customer, then I’ll bring my business elsewhere.”
Allie nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that, but it’s your choice.”
Huffing, Katrina turned on her heel and marched out, and Nick’s jaw set as his eyes glazed over and he walked back to the kitchen without a word or a look to us.
Conversations started back up around us, making me realize how quiet it had gotten. I sat back down on my stool and stared unseeingly at the menu.
“Boring and no action, huh?” Tara said, perusing hers.
My ears felt like they might self-ignite.
“Usually.”
Allie came back with a towel on her arm and two glasses of ice water.
“I’m sorry about that, y’all.”
I gave her a what-the-hell look. “Allie, I’m sorry. She did all that because of me and Nick. You didn’t have to do what you did.”
Allie waved a hand toward the wake Katrina left behind. “The Bowmans are blowhard assholes.”
“Blowhard assholes with major cash flow,” I said.
She leaned forward. “I do just fine, don’t worry about it. Your husband makes sure the whole town keeps coming back.”
Allie took our orders and walked off, and Tara stayed unusually quiet. I sucked down my water like it was the last I’d ever get as I tried to cool my blood. The silence was eventually more than I could stand, and I grabbed a nearby cardboard coaster to have something in my hands.
“Still think small towns are quaint and cute?” I said.
She shrugged. “I guess you’re right. Everyone knows everything you do, even the stuff you try to hide.”
Nick’s words about not trusting Tara rang in my ears. How she’d sell us out if it worked for her agenda.
“Yep. Pretty much,” I said.
“This deal with you and Nick,” she said, finally looking at me. “It’s not pretend anymore, is it?”
Words left me. Thoughts crashed and tumbled against each other. I was barely coming to terms with that myself, much less being able to talk to his ex about it. She wasn’t to be trusted. But she was too smart to accept a lie too.
I stared at the printed ads on the coaster, not seeing the words.
“No,” I said finally. “Or at least not fully. It’s—complicated. We don’t even talk about it.”
“Oh I get that,” she said. “Nick’s not a talker. He’s not big on feelings, either.”
“And neither am I, which made this perfect!” I said. “No strings, no ties. And yet somewhere along the way--”
“Things got tied?”
I blew out a breath, willing myself to shut up. “A little bit.”
“You fell in love with him.”
“I—what?” I said, nearly choking on my water. “What? No! No!”
“That’s what you said,” she said.
“No I didn’t,” I countered. “I can assure you that I most definitely did not say that. I said it got complicated, or different or something. I mean living, with someone day in and day out makes lines blurry after a while, that’s all.”
She gave me a long look and then smiled as our food landed in front of us.
“He’s easy to love, Lanie,” she said, buttering a tall stack of pancakes and reaching for the syrup and the local raw honey provided on the side. “And hard to get over. Be careful.”
I laughed uncomfortably, looking at my eggs and bacon that he’d cooked for me and losing my appetite completely.
“It’s not like that,” I said. “I told you, it’s just—maybe a step above just friends.”
“Uh-huh, and I’m guessing that woman’s husband kissed you, and Nick punched him for it?” she said, licking syrup from her fingers.
She was too observant.
“How are those pancakes drenched in butter and syrup living a healthy lifestyle?” I asked, needing a diversion.
“Pffft, I made that shit up,” she said, fluttering her fingers. “I started running, and as long as I keep doing that I can eat whatever the hell I want.”
“You’re lucky,” I said. “If I ate that, I might as well glue them to my thighs.”
“Then you wouldn’t get the joy of this,” she said, taking my fork and stabbing a steaming dripping forkful of pancakes and shoving them into my mouth. “You don’t pass up Nick’s pancakes.”
“Ohmehgrrdd,” I mumbled around the lightest, fluffiest most amazing buttermilk pancakes I’d ever tasted.
“Yep.”
I glanced sideways at her. “Okay since we’re doing true confessions, it’s your turn.”
She chuckled. “No thanks.”
“Only fair.”
“I don’t play fair, didn’t he tell you that?”
I met her eyes. “Yes he did. But for some reason I think you will with me.”
Tara blinked a couple of times and went back to her food. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, I’m still in love with the man you’re married to,” she said. “But I always will be. He was my first love, my everything. And I’m just not good at that.”
What did I say to that? What possible words on this earth were an appropriate response for that?
“But I know we aren’t good for each other,” she said, a frown creasing the skin over her nose. “And I will deny ever saying that if you repeat it, but I’m admitting it to you. We had our time, and now—now we are just parents.”
“You didn’t come here because you’re parents together,” I said. “Come on.”
“No, I came here because I’m me and I’m twisted and I needed to see what had my Nick so distracted,” she said. “You know, that one step above friends thing you swear by?” She winked at me. But honestly, I just want to see him happy.”
“And why are you telling me this?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” she said. “Are you a witch or something?”
No, but I do have an Aunt Ruby in my pocket. “I must just be easy to talk to.”.
“Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe finding out that the new Mrs. McKane isn’t out to screw him over, but actually has his best interests in mind puts my manipulative little heart at ease.” She leaned sideways. “I’m not the total self-centered privileged bitch he makes me out to be.”
Tara definitely had more substance than Nick made out, but I still felt I had to be wary. Their daughter didn’t trust her either, and that had to mean something, right?
“Just be good to him,” she said, mopping up the last of her pancakes while I was still stabbing a
round at my eggs. I did eat the bacon. Because—bacon. “He deserves someone like you. That will put him first and defend him to the end. That will love him without all the baggage we have weighing things down.”
I shook my head. “It’s not—”
“Not like that, I know,” Tara said with a small grin. “I hear you.”
* * *
The next day at work was an exercise in squirrel tactics. As in my every thought was a new one. I couldn’t focus to save my life; I gave one man back the check he was cashing along with the cash, I put money into the wrong account of another man, and while counting out a thousand dollars, I nearly gave one woman an extra six hundred dollars.
I was toast. I hadn’t slept well again, thank you Nick and now thank you Tara too. Her words kept circling me like buzzards. In fact I think the buzzards were laughing at me when I did doze off. Laughing and pointing and telling me that I would never get laid with my clothes on and when I told them I’d take them off when the time came they all flew off because I didn’t know how to say I love you.
Now seriously, what kind of jacked-up shit was that?
Buzzards, no less.
When I parked myself in the break room for lunch, my phone rang. With what I’d come to recognize as a California area code. After grabbing my turkey sandwich and Coke, I scurried out the back door to the smoke break chair. Luckily, it was vacant.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Lanie Barrett?” a female voice asked. A different one.
McKane.
“Yes, can I help you?” I asked.
“Well, this is Nancy Tanner from Cali Dynamics,” she said. “Is this a good time to talk?
I chuckled. “As good a time as any.”
“Good, good,” Nancy said. “Well, I’m happy to tell you that you’ve been chosen for the ad copy block. Congratulations!”
I got the job.
Chills went on top of goose bumps. I got the damn job. Oh my God.
Oh my God.
What the hell did I do now?
“Oh my goodness, wow!” I said, tossing the sandwich into the nearby garbage. Eating was suddenly the furthest thing from my mind. “Thank you!”
A Charmed Little Lie Page 17