The door opened with a rush of warm air, and Angela and Dani walked inside.
“Let’s vanish,” Remy said to Charlie, and he was only too happy to oblige.
A moment later Angela and Dani slid into the booth my friends had vacated. “Hey, Tori. You sounded all serious and secretive on the phone. So what’s up?”
I looked around at the empty bar and rehearsed my words once more inside my head. “Do you know Congressman Reynolds?”
Two circles of red appeared in the hollows of Angela’s cheekbones. “Ah, yes. Why?”
I spread my palms on the table and leaned in. “I know it might not be my business, but is he the guy you’re seeing? The guy you were telling me about?”
Angela gave Dani a quick look and then nodded. “Don’t say anything, okay? We’re trying to keep it quiet until he leaves his wife.”
“I have to tell you something. I ran into his wife earlier today. Outside the Jive Hive coffee shop.”
A wrinkle of confusion appeared between her perfectly groomed brows. “And?”
I dropped my gaze. This was harder than I’d imagined, knowing I was going to break her heart. “She was talking to him, to her husband, on the phone, and I kind of overheard the conversation.” I glanced at Dani. “She’s pregnant.”
“What?” The two red circles in Angela’s cheeks went white. “No. That’s impossible.”
“I told you he was lying,” Dani hissed. She looked ready to climb from the table, hunt down the Congressman, and tear him apart with her bare hands.
Angela, on the other hand, was starting to hyperventilate. “No. You must’ve – you must be wrong. It probably wasn’t her. How do you know it was her?”
“She told me. She also said they’d been trying for a while, and she seemed really happy about it. He did too, from what I could hear. I saw the background photo on her phone. It was him and their two daughters. Ang, I’m sorry. Like so, so sorry.” I squeezed her hand, and this time I wasn’t faking my sympathy. “I thought you should know.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I can’t believe this.” Her phone beeped, and when she pulled it out to check the message, we could all see the four terse words on the screen.
We need to talk.
Two hours later,I was sitting on Penny’s couch with my feet up and a glass of wine in one hand. Each time headlights crossed the window, I looked up.
“He’ll be here.” She refilled my glass and finished off the plate of nachos we’d made together. “Relax.”
“Easy for you to say.”
She shrugged and lit a joint, and though she offered me a drag, I shook my head. I wanted my mellow mood, my languid state, to come from Rafe tonight, not drugs. My foot jittered against the carpet, and I flicked my thumb over my phone and read the messages from Grace once more.
Congratulations…began the first one.
After confirmation, the money will be deposited...began the second.
Regarding your request for Rafe...began the third. I read them all through, taking my time, making sure I understood what she was saying. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it would do. For now.
Finally a pair of headlights flashed across the window and stopped. A moment later the engine shut off, and a moment after that, a knock landed on our exterior door. Penny exhaled dramatically and said, “Pretty sure that’s for you.” She disappeared into her bedroom, so I was alone when I opened it.
“Hey.”
Just that single word from him had the power to send shivers through me. “Hey, yourself.”
“How’re you doing?”
“I’m okay.”No, I’m not. I need to touch you. To kiss you.
“Grace called me about an hour ago.”
I leaned in the hallway and looked up at him. “And?”
