‘It’s true,’ I protested, laughing with him, glad to have lightened the mood.
‘Don’t believe her,’ Ray advised him. ‘She lies a lot.’
I didn’t answer him, my attention caught instead by the sight of the woman who had just entered the restaurant and was now looking around the room.
‘Oh shit,’ I muttered, looking around for an escape or cover of some kind. There was nowhere to go and nothing to hide behind. There was only the floor underneath the table, and it was sticky with spilled food and drinks and God knows what else. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.
Jack gave me a puzzled look. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘If I disappear underneath the table, just go with it,’ I hissed, starting to slide slowly down the seat.
‘What?’
‘Play along. Pretend you never saw me.’
‘Why would I?—?’
But it was too late. I locked eyes with her, watching her frown as she tried to reconcile what she was seeing with what she hadn’t been expecting to see. Realization dawned, then she was on her way over. I had about five seconds to brace myself before she was standing in front of me. I stood out of habit and we hugged stiffly.
‘Taylor,’ she said, looking me up and down after I pulled away. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’m having lunch with Ray and um… uh…’ I blinked. My mouth opened and closed a few times, but my mind had gone completely blank.
‘Jack,’ Jack supplied, watching me curiously.
I clicked my fingers at him. ‘Yes,Jack. I knew that.’
‘I’m well aware of who Jack is,’ Celia said, her eyebrows arched. ‘I meant, what are you doing here in Pine Harbor?’
‘Oh, right. That.’
‘Yes, that.’
‘She’s here to stay with me while Moira’s away,’ Ray said gruffly. ‘And if you’ve got a problem with that, Celia Hamilton, then you can take it up with me.’
She shot him a glare and checked to see if anyone in earshot was listening. ‘I don’t have a problem with it,Raymond,’ she said sharply. ‘But it would have been nice to have a bit of warning that she was coming home so I didn’t have to find out like this. But then I suppose I shouldn’t expect that level of consideration from your family.’
‘You can get off your high horse,’ he shot back. ‘Talking about families, as if your lot are the bloody Kennedys. Don’t forget, your son is the one who had an affair and ran off with someone else.’
‘I’m well aware of that, and while I’m not proud of how he went about it, it was a little more nuanced than that, as I’m sure Taylor is aware,’ she sniffed. ‘At the end of the day, Adam found someone who treats him right and makes him happy. We all know that life is unpredictable, and opportunities for happiness should be seized.’
‘What about Taylor’s happiness?’
‘Oh, I’m fine,’ I said. ‘Honestly. Never better.’
‘There, see?’ Celia said, waving a hand in my direction. ‘She’s fine.’
‘It’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that she’s putting on a brave act,’ Ray said.
‘It’s not an act,’ I argued feebly.
‘Good,’ Celia said. ‘Because you should know that Adam and his fiancée are already discussing a spring wedding, here in Pine Harbor.’
‘I’m sorry, did you just sayfiancée?’ The news that Adam was engaged hit me in the guts like a sucker punch. ‘We haven’t even discussed divorce yet.’
She shrugged. ‘Merely paperwork, and shouldn’t take too long to sort out I imagine. Especially if you really have moved on, as you say.’
I nodded, refusing to let her see she had rattled me. Obviously, I’d known that Adam and I would have to go through the official separation channels atsomepoint, but I’d expected to have that discussion with him. Not his bloody mother.
