Paris
I LEFT MY life in L.A. without any notice.
So when Tabitha called and asked me to lunch, I jumped at the idea of talking to another female.
I missed my friends in L.A., but they wouldn’t understand my life in St. Helena. To them I was a party girl, the daughter of a winemaker from a small town was a persona I hadn’t shown the world since the day my father banished me.
Shushi Mambo was located in Calistoga, and she picked me up at Albert Dane’s law office where I’d been sitting for hours while Tyler and he hashed out the discrepancies in the surveys.
“Tyler is way more romantic than I ever thought,” Tabitha remarked from around a mouthful of tempura.
I laughed out loud and had to cover my mouth. Once I recovered, I dabbed up the fallen pieces with my napkin. “Um, I’m not sure romantic is a word I’d use to describe Tyler Holiday.”
She pointed her chopsticks at me. “He gave you a fairytale wedding in less than six hours. I’m sorry, but in my book, that’s beyond romantic. I’d say it classifies as dreamy.”
Dreamy. That fit Tyler for sure. He was all kinds of dreamy. Tall, dark, and handsome, but it was the dark side I was worried about. “It’s temporary,” I told her. “You know we only got married to save both our families’ wineries,” I rebutted.
She shrugged and dipped a vegetable into the special sauce. “If business was all he cared about, he could have married you at the St. Helena Court House.”
As I picked up my spicy tuna roll, I considered what she’d said. She was right, of course. He had said he wanted to give me a perfect day, and I guess, yes, even in my overly cautious book, that was dreamy.
The yellow walls were bright and the paper lanterns above us dabbed her in shadows as she leaned forward. “Here’s the important question, how’s marriage sex?”
I was dragging my piece of sushi though the soy sauce on my plate and paused.
She leaned even closer. “I’m sorry, Paris. I can’t read you. I’m not sure if that reaction means fantastic or that it sucks.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I should be talking about it but telling the truth could never be wrong. “Well,” I said, “we haven’t actually had sex since we got married, so I really can’t say.”
Her eyes popped. “Why not?”
The reasons were legitimate, but I felt foolish saying voicing them out loud. “We’ve had a lot on our plate. So anyway, how’s Emerson?”
She smiled. “The baby is the same as she was three days ago. Sucking on my tits, pooping, and crying.”
I laughed. “You make motherhood sound fantastic.”
“It is. Really it is,” she assured me. “Exhausting, too though. At least Grayson helps out a lot or I don’t know what I’d do.”
“Still helping out with the feedings?” I exaggerated my wink so my lashes fluttered.
Tabitha licked her chopsticks seductively. “Oh yeah. I think he figured out it’s the only way he’s getting any until the kid sleeps through the night.”
I laughed so loud the other patrons turned their heads. “Smart guy.”
“So,” so said, “Lane and Christian don’t fuck. Do you and Tyler have the same arrangement?”
I stopped with a piece of sushi halfway to my mouth. “Why don’t they . . . have sex? And what arrangement are you speaking of?”
She lowered her voice. “Their marriage is a business arrangement and Lane says sex makes business way too messy. You know, the whole, don’t fish in the company pond thing. They can step outside the relationship to fill those needs, though, however, never with the same person twice. And it has to be discreet, of course.”
My eyes went wide.
“Tyler drew up their contract.”
My eyes went even wider.
“He drew one up for you, too. Didn’t he?” she asked, with another point of her chopsticks. The implications that they were probably very alike was in her tone.
“Yes, but to be clear, I’m the one who told him no sex but it isn’t stated in our contract.”
“Oh.” She shrugged and drank some of her hot tea. “Why would you do that? I mean, I get why Lane wanted it, but I didn’t think you were into girls.”
Surprised, I tried not to choke on my food. I had no idea about Lane. I patted my chest, feeling the dog tags there and thinking of Tyler. “Trust, I guess.”
She nodded. “You know he’s not the same as he was back then. Growing up has calmed him down a lot.”
I nodded.
She sat back and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “No more cliff diving,” she joked. “And after he crashed his last motorcycle, he didn’t get another.”
I shook my head. “I had no idea he’d gotten into an accident.”
She scrunched her nose. “Don’t tell him I told you.”
“I won’t, I promise. But it’s that recklessness in him that has always worried me. It’s like he doesn’t value his own life.”
Tabitha pushed her beautiful, long blonde hair over her shoulder so she could lean forward again. “I think growing up with his fucked-up father messed with his head but it’s been years since the guy died and I think time has helped Tyler a lot.”
I got that.
I really did.
I picked up the soy sauce and sprinkled it on my plate, even though I didn’t really need anymore. “I know he’s changed. I can see that, and I think I’ve changed my mind about the no sex.”
“Have you told him?” she said, glee filling her features. Tabitha was probably one of the most beautiful women I’d ever met. That, along with her confidence, they made people take notice of her.
I finished my rice and drank my mineral water, thinking about the whole contract thing. The no-sex clause wasn’t included. Hmmm. “Do you think I have to?” I asked.
“Um . . . yes, men are dense sometimes and if you don’t spell it out, they don’t get it.”
I laughed, again drawing attention. “Oh, God, I never thought of that.”
She took another sip of tea. “Want to go lingerie shopping? My mother has the baby and Grayson is at work.”
I bit my lip. “Actually, I do need to go shopping, but for work clothes.”
The waiter set the check on our table and Tabitha pulled it toward her. “Work clothes? Boring.”
“Tyler looks incredibly hot in a suit and I feel a little under dressed.” I looked down at my jeans and sweater. “When I was in L.A., I worked in a super casual office, so I don’t have anything considered dressed up.”
“Oh, work clothes.” Tabitha winked and drew a deep V down her cute cashmere sweater.
The emphasis she put on the word work put a huge inappropriate grin on my face. I had never been one for shopping. In truth, I may have grown up with a wealthy father, but he was never generous, which was how I’d taken to vintage. Ten years ago, vintage was cheap. Now, not so much.
“I get it. You want to wow him,” she said.
I nodded. “Yes, I guess I do.”
She poked my plate with her chopsticks. “You’re going to seduce your husband in a power suit. I like it.”
I reached for the check. “I hope so.”
Tabitha waved me away. “I got this.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“You get the next one. And I know just the place to take you to get that power suit.”
I looked away. “The thing is, I don’t have a lot of money right now to spend on clothes.”
In truth, I never had.
She gave me a look that told me she knew my entire situation, but there wasn’t an ounce of pity in her eyes. “I’m not sure if you know this about me, but I went to law school with Tyler and Lawson.”
I brought my gaze back to her face. “No, I didn’t.”
She nodded and dropped her American Express on the leather portfolio. “I figured Tyler would have forgotten to mention that. Men. But I worked for Albert Dane for almost two years before I got knocked-up and I have a closet full of work clothes.”
“And you still have them?” I asked.
“I actually thought I would go back to work after I had Emerson, but once I did, everything changed, and I decided not to. I really like staying home with her and being there when Grayson gets home from work.”
“That’s really nice,” I said. “I never had anything like that, but I bet both your husband and daughter appreciate the time you give them.”
She reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “I know we don’t know each other well, Paris, but you shouldn’t let your past define your future.”
I thought about what she said.
Was that what I was doing with Tyler?
With my life?
And if it was . . . was I too broken to change it?