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James gets in, and the question jumps out of my lips, “James. No one paid. Why didn’t anyone pay? It happened last month, too, at the Italian place.”
He chuckles. “Kaiden has tabs all over. Riain will charge him what he thinks is fair, and we’ll settle up later. Don't worry about it.”
“Cami brushed me off last time and wouldn’t let me pay.” I complain. “I can pay my own way!”
“Okay, Chipmunk. No one is contesting that. We just all cover each other in different ways.”
“Oh.” I shake my head. I don’t really understand, but I can’t really argue about it.
When we get back to The Bliss, James parks in front again. He turns the key and says, “wait,” when I go to get out.
He comes around and opens the door and helps me down. Stella meets us at the door, unlocking it and letting us in.
“Any problems, Ms. Stella?”
“No, sir, Commander.” She smiles. “It’s been quiet, and Mr. Amato called to check on us, too.”
“Good. We won’t be long but lock the door while we’re upstairs.”
I look sideways at him, but I follow when he walks to the stairs.
When I unlock my door, James says, “I want you to pack a bag and come stay with me a few days.”
“What? Why? I thought we were going to talk”
“Don’t look surprised. You were run off the road and accosted in your hotel lobby.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Lorelai.” He ushers me into the room. “If you stay here, you put Ms. Stella and Ms. Marigold in danger.”
I stop so suddenly James runs into me and grabs my waist to keep us upright. I hadn’t thought of Bray as violent. Our father had always held the top spot on that in my head. I knew Bray was unpredictable, but I can’t ignore that he did run me off the road. He did grab me and try to force me to go with him. And Stella had looked shaken earlier. I wonder what he’d said to her, and how her treasured pen had ended up on the floor.
I grab my newly purchased suitcase from the closet and start layering clothes into it.
James walks over to me and stops my hurried motions with his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him. I feel the scratchy pain in the back of my throat that always comes with the tears I'm holding back. He tips my chin up with a finger.
“You don’t have to rush. I’m going to go talk to Ms. Marigold and I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He presses a kiss to my forehead, grabs my key from the table, and closes the door behind him.
I sink to the floor and allow the dam to break.
I sob for what must be a good ten minutes before I get worried James will come back in, see me curled into a fetal position, and call the men with the white coats. I pull myself together, splash some cold water on my face, and finish packing for a few days. I’m adding the small makeup bag holding the few cosmetics I’ve gathered when James comes back in.
The trip is short since Bayberry Bay isn’t that large, but he drives to a neighborhood I haven’t been to. He pulls up to a pair of tall iron gates that open slowly to allow access. I peer out the window as he drives by houses similar to the ones in my grandmother’s community. Houses with landscaped yards that spread out far enough you’d never hear your neighbors fighting, never know what’s on their dinner table by the smells coming from their kitchen windows.
Chapter 34
~~ James ~~
I watch Lorelai’s face as she wanders the living areas on the bottom floor of the house. I don't know what she expected, but I'm guessing it wasn’t this.
She runs her fingers along the thick mantle across the top of the tall stone fireplace. It holds a mix of formal and candid photos. Some of Emilie and Becca, a few of my Army buddies that I don’t dare look at too long or I’ll choke up, and some of the FreeDivers Team on our boat.
The photos were the one thing I’d fought the interior designer on. She’d wanted to have them in identical frames mounted in the hallway, but I had insisted on having them the same way my grandmother had hers, in mismatched frames in varying heights and designs. Without the lace doilies, though.
She seems particularly delighted in the game room I have set up with a pool table, video games, and a smaller area for the girls to play their games with child-size sofas and a table and chairs for tea parties. She touches the triangle of balls that are waiting for someone to break.
“Do you play pool?” I ask.
