“You’ve only been here a week, and you’ve already hung out with Viv too much,” Dino said.
“Shall we?” Stone said, motioning to the stairs.
They found Jack Coulter in the passenger cabin, receiving a glass of champagne from the flight attendant.
After introductions, the attendant asked if anyone else wanted a drink.
“I’ll have what he’s having,” Dino said, nodding at Jack’s flute.
“Just water for me,” Tamlyn said.
“And you, Mr. Barrington?” the attendant asked.
“I’m handling takeoff, so I’ll wait until later.”
The attendant went to fetch the drinks.
“I wanted to thank you again for offering me a ride,” Jack said.
“Happy to do it. If you finish your business by Monday and get back before we leave at noon, there will be a place for you.”
“I appreciate that. I’ll let you know on Sunday.”
“Is Hillary not joining us?” Dino asked.
“Unfortunately not,” Jack said. “She has a charity event Sunday afternoon. She’s on the board, so she needs to make an appearance. She’s taking our niece in my place.”
“That reminds me,” Stone said. “Jack, could I have a moment?”
“Of course.”
They moved to the back of the plane.
“Something wrong?” Jack asked.
“Not at all. I just have a question. In helping Sara with her divorce, we’ve learned that this wasn’t the first time she’d walked down the aisle.”
“Ah, that. I take it she isn’t the one who told you.”
“She is not. I was wondering if you could fill in a few details for me. I doubt it will be an issue we need to address, but if there’s anything we should know about that might be used against her, it would be best if we were aware of it ahead of time.”
“It happened before I met Hillary. Sara was young, not even out of high school, if I’m remembering correctly, so it was one of those he’s-the-love-of-my-life-I-can’t-live-without-him kind of things. Her grandparents put the kibosh on it as soon as they found out. Told her that if after she finished high schoolandcollege she was still in love with him, they would allow her to marry him then.”
“The love didn’t last?”
“I believe Hillary said Sara met someone new her first week of college and forgot all about the other guy.”
“Do you know anything about him?”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t even know his name. As far as I know, he’s been out of the picture since they broke it off.”
“Thanks, Jack. Do you think it would upset Sara if I asked her about it?”
“It may have been a sensitive topic once, but I don’t see any reason why it would be now. It was a long time ago.”
“That’s all I need to know.”
Faith entered the aircraft. “If everyone will take their seats, we can close up and Stone can get us on our way.”
