Qualifiers were never a good sign.
“My mom left a note.”
Her mother was a worse sign.
“So did your dad?—”
Everything inside of me stilled. Edward left her a note.
Why?
“Edward left you a note?” I wanted to clarifywherehe left that note.
“Yeah, apparently, he’s having an affair with my mom.” Her eyes narrowed when I didn’t bat an eyelash at that. Maybe I could have pretended surprise, but why? “You knew.” Not a question.
“I did.” I took another swallow of the coffee, then added, “We’ll get back to that in a minute. Why did he leave you a note?” What the fuck had he said to her? Edward was a shitty husband and an even worse father, but for the most part, he kept his distance from my friends.
From my Frankie.
If that was changing… No, that wasn’t going to change. I wouldn’t allow it.
“I think he left it because Maddy’s note was abrasive and it all kind of went sideways on Saturday.” She rubbed a hand against her face and I had to fight my urge to scowl. “I’m saying all of this so badly.”
Giving into the need to touch her, I caught her hand as she lowered it. “You’re not.” She was, but I wasn’t going to point fingers. Whatever this was, it had really upset her and that meant she needed me to listen, not judge. “Take a breath. Tell me how you need to tell me.”But tell me.
I kept the last three words to myself for the moment.
“Mr. Standish—your dad was there on Saturday with my mom.”
Normally, I might have smiled at the fact she clarified that Mr. Standish was my father, I was aware. It would usually be kind of funny, that little aside. Right now, it just ramped up my tension. So, biting my tongue, I waited. Ilistened.
“I guess they’ve been having an affair for a while and this is not new. In fact, it’s really not new. They had an affair before, or maybe they just had sex before.” She grimaced.
Agreed. I didn’t want to think about Edward fucking anyone. Frankly, I didn’t want to think about either of them fucking anyone. Still, I just nodded.
“The last thing I expected was to see them, and to find out they were hooking up—I am so sorry for your mom, by the way.”
“Muriel will survive,” I assured her. “She’s probably buying out Paris right now.”
Frankie frowned.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “What did Edward say that upset you?”
“It’s not—what he said. I mean…” She choked a little and the sound was like sandpaper on my temper. “Maddy said it. He just... backed it up and I have no idea what to do with it.”
For a moment, relief spilled through me. “If he promised to marry your mom, it’s not going to happen. He and Muriel have both had their share of affairs, they always come back. Their prenup is pretty ironclad and as long as…”
I hesitated a beat. As long as I was under eighteen, that meant divorce would cost them both. But I turned eighteen in a matter of days.
Fuck. Didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry, babe. Seriously. If he’s promising her stuff, it more than likely won’t happen. Your mother—she isn’t his first affair.” Or even his second or third. The unnaturally long line that led to his bed was populated with everyone from actresses to models to secretaries and everything in between.
“They didn’t mention marriage,” she said. “Or maybe they did and I had stopped listening at that point.”
Her hand was so cold in mine and I gave it a gentle squeeze. She was letting me hold it and for a brief moment, her gaze dipped to where my hand was on hers. Thankfully, she didn’t pull away.
“Archie…” She swallowed. “Mom said that Mr. Standish, that your dad is mine too.”
