The laugh escaped me before I could stop it. It’s not that I wasn't pretty in high school, but standing next to a supermodel when you feel like you belong under a bridge is disconcerting enough. To have her tell you that you’re pretty is a step too far outside reality for my own tastes.
Her eyes widened with shock, and Ethan suddenly found his fingernails very interesting. But before I could apologize, Lauren’s hand was on my forearm.
“That’s a fair response. I’ll be the first to tell you, I wasn’t the nicest person in high school. I’m certain I owe you an apology.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Back then, I was going through a lot. I took it out on others, rather than face it myself.”
My heart gave a little twang at the tremor in her words. I knew that kind of pain, even if I didn’t know the specifics.
“We all get better with age, don’t we, Lauren?” I patted herhand. “We’re like fine wine. Or so I’ve heard. I only drink the cheap stuff myself.”
My throat constricted, like it did when I said something I didn’t mean. I thought back through my words. I didn’t think I’d gotten particularly better with age, and what I’d said to her felt more like a platitude than a genuine sentiment. I couldn’t remember any specifics from our past, though. Had she done anything more than ignore me, spread rumors about me, and talk down to me? My reaction felt too strong for run-of-the-mill bullying.
There was something else. A hazy event just on the edges of my memory. She’d been the jealous sort; I remembered that much. Possessive of Ethan and his time, and he’d kept our morning workouts a secret even though they were innocent. That was, until…
Until, what? I couldn’t find the details anywhere in my mess of a brain. She released my arm with a grateful smile, looking relieved and comfortable. Did I trust that she really thought she wasn’t nice in high school? Did I believe her apology would be sincere?
Or was I projecting emotions onto her because the last time I was this close to a woman who looked like her, she was in my bed with my husband, and I threw up on her shoes? Yeah, it was probably that.
All things I could analyze later, when I was alone and less overwhelmed. For now, since Ethan had said Lauren was a division head and therefore on this mysterious board, it was time to make small talk.
“So, you two stayed together, huh? That’s fantastic. The stats on high school sweethearts remaining married were definitely against your odds.”
“Actually, we divorced right after college.” Ethan pulled a chair out for Lauren, then took the chair between us. “But we’ve remained pretty close. There’s no animosity. We just wanted different things out of life.”
“Like marriage.” Lauren jabbed Ethan’s side, and it was such a sibling-like gesture I had to smile with them. “Ethan wanted to collect them, and I didn’t even want one.”
“And you did fine without it.” Ethan opened his phone and slid it across the table for me to see. It was a shot of Lauren, smiling proudly, snow and sky flying around her bright orange jacket.
“Holy cow, is that Mount Everest?” I swiped through a few of the images. Yeah. She’d climbed a mountain.
“I can’t believe you keep these on your phone.” Lauren retrieved theimage and smiled at it like a doting mother. “Was that the second time or the third?”
“I can’t keep track.” Ethan grinned at Lauren’s stuck-out tongue. “This was the one where you didn’t use your?—”
“The Twins will be here momentarily. They were just finishing up a dual service.” Brianne’s brow furrowed as she nudged herself between Ethan and Lauren, taking his phone and locking it before handing it back to him.
“Who are the Twins?” I asked.
Brianne circled the table and took the chair across from me, absently stroking Gumbo between the ears as she directed her gaze to Ethan. I knew that look. I’d given it to my husband. It was adon’t stick your foot in your mouthkind of stare.
He’d been about to say something, and she’d interrupted on purpose. Huh.
“Lydia and Lyra, the medspa and salon division heads. We can’t start without them. Ethan, while we’re waiting, perhaps you can explain more to Simone about what was left to her? She was taken aback when I showed her upstairs earlier today.”
“Yeah, sorry about that, Simone. You were…” Ethan stared at his hands again, and this time I let myself laugh.
“Not in a good place?” Ethan pressed his lips thin and nodded. Poor guy, he didn’t like uncomfortable situations. Which would be hard for him, because I tended to be awkward and create them.
Oh well, I may as well make it all the way weird.
“Lauren, just to fill you in, because I don’t know how fast gossip in this place travels, I caught my husband of twenty years having an affair with his physical therapist. I’ve been living in my office for the past week, trying to figure out what the heck to do about my screwed up life.”
Both Brianne and Ethan shifted their gaze to me, and the weight of the pity in their eyes was nearly suffocating. My chest already felt like I was wearing a corset, and my heart was pounding a thousand miles a minute. Having to bear people I’d just met feeling this sorry for me was too a step too far.
“I’m sorry, Simone. That’s disgusting of him. And unprofessional of her.” Lauren hissed under her breath, muttering a curse I’d never heard before. “Not that it makes a difference about what he did, but do you have kids?”
“One. A boy.” The pressure bore down harder. “My son Gabe is studying graphic design in California.”
They all stared at me, waiting for me to say more. Even Gumbo had his cute little head cocked to one side, the space where his missing ear should be angled toward me as if to hear me better.
