Chapter 5
Violet was stunning to look at; she had brilliant red hair, which was curled and styled to perfection in a smart bob that just about grazed her shoulders. She was even more pale than Nora was, nearly translucent in complexion. She wore a fire engine red lipstick, making it impossible to look away from her. She was in a leopard printed chiffon dress that flowed across her body, reaching her ankles.
She had an oversized black tote dangling from the crook of her elbow and strappy black stilettos on her feet. She didn’t seem to look the least bit surprised to find her husband in the pool with a practically naked younger woman.
“Theo, I’m going to the spa and I don’t think I’ll be back for dinner,” she said, ignoring Nora’s presence in front of her.
“Do you want to say hi to Nora? She’s Andy’s kid,” Theo said, and Nora noticed the subtle way in which he drifted away from her a little.
“Andy?” Violet asked, puckering her lips in a pout.
“Andy Moor. My best friend. The guy who I brunch with every Sunday?” Theo said and Nora thought she detected some venom in his voice, but then again, she wondered if she was just imagining it.
“Oh yes, of course. How lovely to meet you, Nora?” Violet stepped towards her, with her hand held out delicately. Nora wasn’t quite sure what to do with the hand, whether to shake or kiss it in gratitude. She was just used to hugs or pats on the backs when she met someone.
“You must be Violet,” she said, embarrassed suddenly that she was found in lingerie, even though the woman didn’t seem to notice.
Violet took Nora’s hand and gave it a gentle shake, and looked at her husband again with her brows raised. It was almost as though she couldn’t wait to get out of there. Even though Theo was insistent on continuing with the introductions.
“Nora’s the editor of one of those magazines you read,” he continued and Violet turned to her with a look of surprise.
“Which one?” she nearly squealed.
“Sub editor, actually, and it’s Viva Vixen,” Nora said, smiling as politely as she could and Violet squealed with delight.
“I love it! I love you! Oh my God, it’s made my day,” she gushed and to Nora’s surprise, she started walking away, with that same excited expression on her face. Nora’s brows crossed again, she was surprised by the reaction, although realizing now that Violet’s reaction was probably just fake. All she was concerned about was getting to the spa as quickly as possible.
“My apologies for that, my wife is not exactly a people person. Or at least not a polite person,” Theo said and Nora looked at him again.
It was like the spell was broken now, that intense silent moment they had shared just minutes ago; was now gone. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him.
“No worries, we all have our downsides,” she said encouragingly and Theo seemed to take a deep breath in. If there was one thing that Nora had already sensed, it was that the couple were not exactly deeply in love. At least not anymore. There was no sign of affection between them.
“And it’s funny how you discover these downsides only when you start living with them,” he said and turned, stretching his long muscular arms on the edge of the pool where he was leaning. Nora still had her feet dipped in the water, and she paddled lightly, enjoying the feel of the cool water against her skin. She was even more starkly aware that she was in her lingerie now, and surprised that Violet had made no comment about it.
“You’ve been married for seven years, I’m sure you both know each other’s downsides well by now,” she said, in an attempt to keep the conversation going.
“Yeah, well, I should have known better than to marry someone I knew for three months,” he said and in the next second, he made a huge splash as he dove back into the water and started swimming to the other side.
Nora remained sitting where she was for a few more minutes, watching Theo do laps down the length of the pool. His strokes were powerful and effortless and the fact that he was in impeccable shape was re-affirmed. She realized in a few minutes that he wasn’t coming back to talk with her, and that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from drooling over him.
Eventually, she stood up and started putting her clothes back on again. Theo looked at her in the middle of one of his strokes and Nora waved at him. He gave her a quick wave and went back to doing his laps and she felt rejected all over again. Those same feelings of a lovesick teenager returned and she knew she had to get out of there as quickly as possible.
For a few minutes, she had felt like he had actually seen her and then in the next moment it was gone. Theo was back to being the adult in the room, the one with no time for a silly kid. And also, he had asked her about her father! Right after she had watched him undressing her lingerie with his eyes.
Nora felt the back of her neck burning as she stormed through his house and out of the front door. She now realized how bad of an idea it had been to come to his home. Her feelings for him, her desire for him…had only strengthened, just when she thought that she would be able to survive this trip without breaking down into a messy heap of tears and heartbreak all over again.