Chapter Twenty-Eight
Darla
After the visit with Mallory, I talk Isaac into a late lunch at his favorite pizzeria. It doesn’t take much to talk him into food, and I finally have an appetite again. I need the chaos of a lunch crowd and the chatter of waiters running through the maze of tables to drown out all the crap going on in my head. Plus, the smell of fresh-baked pizza dough is enough to rouse anyone from a coma.
“I knew it. I just knew it. She’s as fake as a spray-on tan,” Isaac says as he picks off the onions from his slice of pizza. He claims onions give him gas. TMI. “She didn’t have the glow.”
I roll my eyes. “Not everyone has the glow. I didn’t.”
“Did too. I knew from the beginning. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but it showed on your face even before you knew it.”
“Are you talking about the glow or the zits?”
He chuckles. “Why did she lie, and more importantly, why did she confess? To you, of all people.” He slings an onion onto my pizza slice.
I shrug. “I think she really loves him.”
“Oh, please.” He takes a swig of his drink. “I don’t buy that for one minute.”
“She’s used to getting her way. One time in college, she couldn’t remember this guy’s name, so she renamed him. For two years, he let her call him Trey because she said he looked more like a Trey.”
Isaac chuckles.
“But I’ve spent so much time sharing the same space as her, I know the subtle tics she has when she’s lying. The eye-twitch, necklace-twisting combo rats her out every time.”
He shivers. “Girl, how did you survive?”
“She’s not that bad once you get to know her.”
Isaac stops focusing on me and focuses on something behind me. “Don’t move,” he says under his breath.
Not turning around takes all the willpower my body can generate. It’s like trying not to pick at a scab. If it’s there, I’ve got to pick and pick and pick until it’s finally off. “What’s going on?”
Isaac drinks from his cup and mumbles, “I think she’s about to drop the bomb on him.”
I snap my head around. Theo and Mallory sit at a table in the far corner of the restaurant.
“I told you not to look.”
I hide my head behind the laminated menu. “When did they show up?”
“Somewhere between the glow and you two being roomies.”
I pick up my purse and scan the room for the nearest exit. “I’ve got to get out of here.”
“You totally owe me.” He stands and lets out a big yawn, forming a human shield. He enables me to scoot unnoticed past two tables full of customers, the to-go counter, and out the side entrance. I run three blocks back to work. I do not want to watch what happens. It’s a private matter. Although, I’m not going to lie, I am totally interested in what’s going down.
Isaac finally drags his butt back to work. He always stretches out his lunch breaks as much as possible. He doesn’t count the time it takes to get to and from a restaurant, nor does he count the time it takes for him to get his food.
When he gets back, he heads straight into my office. “You’re welcome. You left me with the tab.” He snaps his hands to his hips and taps a toe.
“Did he see me?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good. Do you think she told him?”
He cackles. “Oh, definitely. But after his first few words, which were even new to me, I think it went okay. No chairs were thrown through windows, no pitchers of beer doused on heads. But fire-engine red is not a good facial color for him.”
“He didn’t take it well?”
Isaac rubs the back of his neck. “Every time she’d reach out to touch him, he’d jerk away like her touch burned his skin.”
I hand him a ten-dollar bill for my lunch, and he bats it away. He knows I’ll offer, and I know he won’t take it.
“So, what happened?”
“Well, Miss Nosy Nelly, he sat there for a few minutes with his head in his hands. Then he kissed her on the cheek and left.”
“Did he see you?”
“Uh-huh.”
I pop him on the shoulder.
“Ow! What was I supposed to do? I had to pay for my, excuse me, our lunches. He waved. I waved. He looked like death warmed over. Then he left. That’s it.”
I stare up at the ceiling and blow hair out of my eyes. “Now what?”
“All I know is she did the right thing. Can you?”
I growl at him, but he’s right. All these secrets are making my blood pressure skyrocket. And Stella will be home soon. But every time I’m with Theo, I cannot make my mouth say the words he needs to hear. I am such an idiot. I’ll tell him at the barbecue tomorrow. That will give him a little break from crazy revelations, and hopefully, he won’t put me in the same category as Mallory. The last thing I want to do is trap him.
Later that afternoon, I get a text from Isaac. For crying out loud, we’re only twenty-five feet away from each other. That’s taking modern technology a bit too far. Then I read the text:
He’s here.
I open my office door to see Theo sitting at the front desk of the wellness center with Isaac. Theo looks so defeated, like a six-year-old that has dropped his ice cream cone. His dress shirt is all wrinkled, and his tie hangs loose. He strides to me in only two large lumbering steps and wraps his arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around his neck and inhale the scent of disinfectant and laundry detergent. Only a doctor could rock that combination. I breathe him in as he holds me close.
“She lied to me,” he mutters, barely above a whisper.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just don’t leave me.”
“Never.” I lean back, and he rests his forehead on mine. “Does this mean I’m still invited to the barbecue?”
He kisses me on the cheek. “Absolutely.” He hugs me again. “Please don’t ever lie to me.”
I hold him tightly for a moment. Then I take his face in my hands and kiss his perfect lips. Muscle memory kicks in as I take in the dark circles under his eyes.
“You look like you haven’t slept in days.”
He shrugs.
“Go get some sleep. I’ll see you soon.”
He lingers a few minutes, holding me in his arms, before he kisses me on my forehead and leaves.
I have never lied to him. I have left huge gaping holes in the truth that are so big he could drive a semitruck through them. But I have never told him something that was not true. I wonder if I could get off on a technicality.
I hum a tune while I dust the dining room. Thinking of Theo makes my spirits soar and my step a little lighter. The last few weeks have been awesome, aside from the little disagreement we had on our date and the hiccup with Mallory. We’ve spent time together, and I’ve gotten to know him. He’s the person I knew he would be—funny, intelligent, kind, gentle.
A few more days, and Stella will be home. Then I won’t be able to keep them apart. I hope they are drawn to each other and that my shortcomings won’t ruin everything.
My cell phone rings, and I see Shelby is calling.
“Hey, you,” she says. “So, today’s the cookout. Are you ready?”
I nod, even though I know she can’t see me. I run a hand over the four gift bags sitting on my dining room table. “Yep. I’ve got my plan, and I hope he’s so distracted by my creativity that he won’t be too mad.” This could go extremely well, or I may never be invited back to another family gathering. Telling him there is a gamble, but time is running out. I hope I get extra points for making it a game.
“He’ll love it. Can’t wait to see his reaction.”
I stop, duster in midair. “What?”
“Don’t be mad, but when we were at Theo’s, I kinda, sorta slipped Tommy my number.”
I gasp. “Shelby, you sly dog.”
“We’re not dating or anything like that. I haven’t even seen him since that day. Only a few texts. Anyway, he invited me to the cookout. I can cancel if you think it will be weird.”
I plop down in a dining room chair. “No. You shouldn’t do that on my account. Do you like him?”
“I don’t know. He’s cute and smart as a whip. And damn, can that boy bake, but he’s still got two years left of graduate school in Boston.”
Wow. Shelby sure does work fast, but I hope she doesn’t forget all about Tommy when the next guy shows her attention. She gets a lot of attention, but she deserves a nice guy, someone who doesn’t crave the spotlight, like the last train wreck. Tommy might be exactly what Shelby needs.
“Tommy says Jennifer is home from her vacation today. You have got to tell him before she does.”
“I know. I have to do it today.”
“Listen, I have to go. I’ll see you later, but I do think your gift idea will help soften the blow.”
I exhale. “Let’s hope so.”
I lay the phone down on the table and proceed with my chores. Next on my list is the laundry. I’ve hardly had to do any since Stella has been out of town. While the machine fills up with water, I sort the darks from the lights. A pair of yoga pants is wadded into a ball, so I flop them out by the waistband. A folded piece of paper floats to the ground. I had forgotten that Theo dropped that a few days ago while I was working the night shift at the fitness center. That was about the time all hell broke loose, and I guess I forgot to throw it away.
I pick up the piece of paper and unfold it. It’s a printout of clues and a Hangman puzzle. No. This cannot be happening. Every time we hung out, he was rewarded with clues to a puzzle.
Tears well up. I am such an idiot. I feel so humiliated, so used, so played for a fool. All the time we spent together wasn’t real—the picnic, the late-night workout, the birthday plans, everything. Oh God, no. Please don’t tell me everything he said and did was to win a stupid game.
I rack my brain, trying to figure out who would have sent these clues to him. I need to confront Shelby and Isaac to see if they had anything to do with this. Or perhaps it was Tommy and his sister. They seem to understand his love of games. Shelby is the first to be on the witness stand. She loves this kind of cutesy stuff, and she knew my schedule. But if Jennifer put the truth together like Tommy thinks, she could have done it. But she wouldn’t have known about my work schedule. Isaac would have known that part, but he’s not very creative. I call Shelby, but it goes straight to voice mail. Dammit. I’m such a fool.
All those times when Theo happened to be right there at the right time, knowing my weaknesses, was too coincidental. He went right along with the game.
And now I have to meet his mother. I have to put on a smiley face and pretend I don’t know. Now, I’m not the only one that has some explaining to do.