AllFreeNovel
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“I don’t. I’m not. Definitely not pregnant. Wine, remember?” She gestured to her glass before taking a sip. “We just... met and fell in love quickly, I guess.”
“I thought you’d been talking to him for years now. Gus, from seminary, right? I remember you getting all starry-eyed in the FAC lab when you told me you met the man you—”
“Right,” she said too loudly. “Yes. That... is true. We met a few years ago. Gus is Soula’s brother, so we’ve known each other tangentially for a while now. We just... clicked. Sort of. It was a new thing. We both decided to jump in.”
She took a long swig of her wine. Then another. Giving mea look.
I jumped in to try to save the situation. “It took a while, but when you know, you know, right?”
“Sure.” He didn’t sound convinced. But he was smart. He was playing along, collecting information bit by bit, until it finally added up to something more concrete in his head.
“I’m just... drunk... I guess,” Decca said, definitely not drunk.
He gave her a look that said he wasn’t buying it either, but he wasn’t going to push for more tonight. No doubt they’d discuss it on a phone call when she was at her office.
“Okay. Cool. I guess that’s my cue to head out. Thank you so much for dinner. It was nice meeting you…Father Gus. Would it be alright if I got an Uber to my mom and dad’s place, left my car overnight? It’s pretty late, and I don’t feel much like driving through Nashville, four beers in.”
“Absolutely not. You’re staying here. We’ve got the guest room...” Decca trailed off when she looked at my horrified face.
I’d been living in the guest room. Our cover would be blown as soon as Chris stepped upstairs.
Chris stood. For a moment, I almost let him leave. But basic human decency got to me.
“Please, Chris.” I said. “We insist. Let me just go get the room ready.”
“Well, I appreciate that. I promise to be out of your hair before you even wake up. I’ll even finish the dinner dishes.”
“You’re our guest. I’d never let—”
“I insist.”
I practically dragged Decca up the stairs with me. “Let him do the goddamned dishes. We need to talk.”
I didn’t let go of her elbow until the guest room door was shut behind us.
I flattened my palms against the door on either side of her head. “You didn’t tell him about us.”
“I—” her eyes flicked around the room like she wanted to bolt.
“No. It’s not a question. You didn’t. You spent the past four days with him, working the same case, sleeping in the same sleazy motel, sharing meals and downtime, and it, what...? Never once came up that you’re married?
“Are you mad at me?”
“And married to a priest?”
“It was awkward.”
“Are you fucking him?” I blurted it out. It was none of my business. Sort of. Maybe it was. God, I didn’t know anymore. Good for her if she was. I’d be just fine. George could always pick my cold dead body off the floor when she left me for good.
“Of course not,” she crossed her arms, defensive at first, then immediately she deflated. “Oh, God. Not... anymore,” she said quieter, pressing her lips between her teeth.
I sucked in a breath with a pearl-clutching gasp that I hadn’t intended to be so audible. Shit. I’d noticed the easy way they joked through dinner, the quick smiles and comfortable glances. Even a few, friendly touches. I’d promised myself I’d stop making assumptions. They were just that—friendly. Like how Decca and I used to be before our wedding.
But I was a fool to think a guy like Chris, with his smart-guy glasses and self-deprecating humor, wouldn’t fall for Decca. They were perfect together. Their conversation flowed like a fine vintage. They had such a shared history. He was obviously into her. I could see it all over his face.
He looked at her the way I longed to.
“How long ago? For how long? How many—”
