“I really don’t have time.”
“It won’t take long,” she promised me, and I stood there for a moment, trying to come up with something, but I was too tired to offer her anything more convincing. My shoulders sagged.
“Okay, just for an hour,” I conceded, and she clapped her hands together.
“Amazing,” she exclaimed. “Let’s get out of here.”
Before I knew it, I was sitting at a table surrounded by a half-dozen women, all of whom were piling on question after question, so fast that I could hardly keep my head straight.
“How long did you know him before you guys got married?”
“Don’t you think it’s a little fast?”
“Where is he now?”
“What do you do?”
I held my hand up, and they fell silent. I almost giggled at the amount of power I had over the lot of them. I wondered if any of them had ever imagined what it might be like to marry Kristo themselves, to wed into this rich, successful family once and for all. I could see a couple of them looking at me with something close to envy, and I understood where it came from. Had I been in their position, I would have been envious too. But they didn’t know the dark side of it, the bleak side, the one that burned me up as I sat there surrounded by women who wanted to know my secrets while I kept the biggest one of all from the lot of them.
“We met while he was on a business trip, and we got married not long after that,” I replied. Well, that was the truth. “It was pretty fast, but it worked for us. And he’s at work right now as far as I know.”
They fell silent for a moment, and Cleo crossed her arms over her chest and eyed me from her spot at the head of the table. I looked back at her, hoping I had done enough to warrant me scooting out of this lunch early, but she seemed to have plenty more to hit me with.
“And tell me, what kind of family do you come from?” she asked, leaning forward with interest. “I know my father was surprised he got married to someone outside the community.”
“Uh, just an average family,” I replied vaguely. “It’s just me and my sister now, and I take care of her as much as I can.”
“Does she live with you?”
“No, she stays at a home,” I replied. “They take care of her better than I ever could, and besides, it gives me a chance to focus on my job.”
And that was how the rest of the afternoon went. In some ways it was a good thing since I was too distracted to do anything but answer their endless questions about Kristo, me, the marriage, what I did, and what I wanted to do. These women were relentless, and Cleo was the worst of the lot, clearly not trusting her brother to allow her to have a crack at me again so squeezing every drop of information out of me that she could.
I had only promised an hour, but before I knew it, three had passed, and I was stuffed full of food with my groceries wilting in the car. I needed to get back.
“I really have to, uh, I have work tomorrow, and I have to get some things organized,” I offered. They had no idea how painful this was for me, of course, having these questions heaped on my head about a relationship with a man I was no longer with, a man I had managed to convince myself that I loved, but in some ways, it was cathartic. I could create this future, this past for us that had never existed, filling in the blanks of what could have been in my head. The fantasies I’d imagined for Kristo and me provided most of the inspiration, and I was happy to let my mind and my words wander a little. He could deal with the blowback. He was the one who had let me walk out, after all.
“No way.” Cleo waved her hand. “You have to try the desserts here. They have a new one every day, and they’re all amazing.”
Fuck. I was trapped for another hour, time stretching out impossibly in front of me until I was practically begging to be given a reprieve.
“I really need to get going,” I begged Cleo, but she shook her head as the waiter cleared away the dessert dishes. I understood why someone like her, someone who could flit around town without an ounce of worry for what the world would bring her, wouldn’t understand how the exhaustion of work could settle in, but I sure as hell did, and I needed a break.
“Come on, we’re only just getting to know each other.” She beamed at me across the table. My heart sank. She seemed to really like me, and she was a sweet, well-intentioned girl, but I knew this was the last I would be seeing of her. How weird would she think I was when she figured out that this lunch had happened after I had walked out on her brother? But what was I supposed to do, tell her right there and then? No, that was up to him.
“You could come out to the club with us tonight,” one of the other women suggested excitedly. “We have an amazing VIP table at—”
“No, I have work early tomorrow morning.” I got to my feet and reached into my bag for my wallet. I hated to think how much this had all come to, but I was no moocher.
“Put your purse away. I got this,” Cleo assured me and frowned. “You really have to go?”
“I really do.” I pulled an apologetic face at her, and she sighed and got to her feet.
“Well, tell your husband not to hide you away so much,” she ordered me, and with a flurry of perfumed hugs and kisses, I was back in my car.
I gripped the steering wheel tightly and let out a long sigh. That had been exhausting, and I still had so much to do when I got home. I pulled out of the city and drove on autopilot, head thrumming with all the lies I’d told today just to get the conversation to stop. At least I could go home and get some rest, let my brain relax a little before I could lose myself in my work the next day.
But when I got home, I saw a car sitting outside the condo, a car I recognized. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I climbed out of my car and headed toward the door. Right where I found Kristo waiting for me.