Of course, we haven’t really faced what happened five years ago. In all fairness, I cut short her apology, and brutally at that. But she hasn’t made the effort to revisit and expand on it. I don’t blame her for wanting to just seize the happiness and excitement of the moment. It suddenly occurs to me that she’s comfortable being with me again because I’m wealthy now—I’m finally someone who meets her family’s standards. That thought casts a definite shadow on my mood, and I dismiss it before ruins my day. If Amanda is enjoying this more for what it is, rather than what it could become, then so should I.
I get up and throw on some sweats before I close the window. Next, I brew a pot of coffee and cook a full breakfast for myself. Not only did I expend a lot of calories last night, but I need energy for a full day of painting. I call Nan while I eat.
“Good morning!” I say when she answers.
“More like good grief! No one is that cheerful, not even Santa Claus in a snowstorm. What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing, I’m just in a really good mood, and ready to paint today. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Oh my God.” Nan takes me off of speaker mode, and puts her mouth so close to the phone, that it sounds like she’s talking to me from the bottom of a glass jar when she speaks again. “You slept with Amanda, didn’t you?”
“I, um…”
“I knew it!” she shouts, and I hold the phone away from my ear for an instant.
“Jesus, calm down, Nan. How do you know I had sex with Amanda or anyone else, for that matter?”
“First of all, because Amanda is the only one within five thousand miles that you actually want to have sex with right now, and second, I know you, Damon.”
“Fine, I admit it. Amanda and I made love last night, and it was amazing. Okay?”
“Look, spare me the sordid details, alright? Just…be careful, Damon. Even if you don’t remember how you were after she dumped you,Ido. It wasn’t pretty, and it almost destroyed you. You’re poised to skyrocket again, to heights you’ve never imagined. You can’t let anything spoil that.”
“I hear you, and believe me, I’m the author of my own cautionary tale here. Just because Amanda and I slept together, doesn’t mean we’re getting back together. We can’t change the current set of circumstances—it’s no one’s fault that her sister rented my house—but we each have our own reasons why we don’t want to leave right now, the biggest of which is that I’m enjoying more creative fire than ever. Speaking of which, the real purpose of my call is to give you an update, not get a lecture on my sex life.”
“Fire away, then, Romeo.”
I ignore that last dig from Nan and explain how I’ll be more than ready to talk to Paris and London on Monday, and I’ll send detailed photos of my three works in progress ahead of time. She’s more than pleased, and thankfully it’s enough to distract her from further mentioning anything about Amanda.
I end the call, and head downstairs to see if I can find Amanda. Stirling and Margot are having breakfast on the patio. Cammie’s in the pool, but neither Sylvia nor Amanda are anywhere to be seen.
“There’s the man of the house,” says Stirling cheerfully when I step outside.
“’Morning all,” I say, my right mood matching his.
“Breakfast?” says Margot.
“Somehow, I knew that question was coming. Thank you so much, but no, I made breakfast for myself in the studio and ate it while I talked with my agent.”
“He or she must be pleased with the way you’ve bounced back from the cancellation in such a short span of time,” says Stirling.
“Yes, she is,” I say. “I seem to be even more in demand than I was before the cancellation, and Nan and I are both excited about the strategy we’ve come up with for my next show.”
“Oh, still with the same one,” Margot says.
“Absolutely. You may or may not know that Nancy actually left the agency she worked for to form her own when they wanted her to dump me. And she works her ass off for me. So it would pretty much take the Apocalypse to get me to leave her. Anyway, does anyone know where Amanda is?”
“She came through a little while ago,” says Margot. “She was on her phone, so I’m guessing she chose the lower garden over the beach so she can actually hear the person she’s talking to.”
“Thanks, Margot.”
My head is buzzing with everything I want to tell Amanda this morning, including how I missed her warm presence in my bed this morning and how she can make it up to me later. I can already hear her voice as I approach the steps and the arched trellis to the lower garden. I’m starting to make out part of what she’s saying too.
“No way…are you kidding me…never that great to begin with…”
Something seems off, but I ignore the tight feeling in my chest. It isn’t until I step fully into it, and see her beautiful form sitting on a bench, that her next words make my blood run cold.
“…I wouldn’t take that bastard back if he begged me…”
