Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 131459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Nora said nothing. She didn’t even move. And there was a look on her face that pained me.
Then I saw covers flying.
“Nora,” I called.
A bright light shone on my screen before I saw racks of clothes.
“Nora!” I semi-yelled.
Her face came into view, and she appeared to be retching.
“Oh my God, are you all right?” I asked.
“I’m going to have to…fly over New Jersey.”
Was she being funny?
Why was she being funny?
I knew one thing, I wasn’t laughing.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded.
“Paloma fucked Roland.”
My lungs squeezed.
Roland Castellini was her ex-husband and the father of her children.
“What?” I forced out.
“Way back when. I was pregnant with Allegra. It was his first peccadillo. At least it was the first that I knew of. I discovered his perfidy. He apologized profusely, claimed some issues within himself he promised he’d work on. Also, as per him, there were problems with our marriage, obviously, because it couldn’t be just that he was a toxic piece of shit. Though, that last would bear out to be the truth. At the time I forgave him. We went to counseling. He said he’d never do it again. He did it many agains until I ousted him.”
Allegra was her first child of three.
“Oh my God,” I breathed, horrified.
“How taken is he?” she demanded to know.
Now she was asking about Tom.
“I’ve no clue. He and I talked for maybe five minutes before I pissed him off enough to leave. But I think he’s been with her for a while.”
“I’ll set some moles to digging. It doesn’t matter. We’re breaking them up. And then you’re going to extract your head from your ass so you can make your move.”
Now I wasn’t breathing at all.
“I can’t talk anymore,” she decided. “I have to pack while in full drama. I’ve never had occasion to do that, but I’ve been wanting to do it forever. Obviously, I’ll leave when I can either charter a jet, or make certain whatever flight I’m on is nonstop and has those seats that recline into beds. So packing in full drama is moot. I’m doing it anyway. But what is it? A thirty-hour flight to Phoenix?”
“It’s five,” I said hurriedly. “Now, Nora—”
“It’s hot there, right? I should dig into my Mediterranean cruise and Portofino sections of my wardrobe? Yes?”
“It’s hot in the summer. It’s February. Now it gets chilly at night, but it’s usually in the seventies during the day. But, Nora—”
“Good Lord, how do you wear fur in the winter?”
“No one wears fur or should wear fur. Now, listen to me, Nora.”
All I saw was her face because she brought her phone close to it.
“I’m not going to listen to you because you’re going to say something lamebrained and annoying. I’ll text you with my arrival details. Don’t worry, I’ll hire a car to take me to you. Have a bedroom ready for me. One with an en suite, darling, or I’ll complain quite a bit, but I won’t go to a hotel because I can’t ride your ass if you’re not doing what I want if I’m at a hotel. And none of that almond milk or coconut milk or any of that nonsense. The milk I drink comes from an udder. But be sure it’s no more than two percent. I haven’t had milk over two percent since my mother sat me down when I was seven and had our housekeeper demonstrate the powers of a girdle but cautioned me never to get to the point of needing one.”
I really hoped that wasn’t true.
But I suspected it was.
“Nora—”
Again, she cut me off.
“Mika, my dearest, I have never known anyone who lives their life with no excuses, no explanations, they are who they are and do what they please when and with whom, except you. But when you were talking about how Tom Pierce made you feel, for the first time since I’ve known you, I saw fear in your eyes. The good kind. The kind that’s mingled with hope. So if you think I’m not coming to you as soon as I can extremely comfortably do it, you’re high. Bonus, I get a semblance of vengeance by scheming to take that bitch’s man. In short, wild horses couldn’t keep me from Phoenix. And you know it.”
I said not a word.
Because I knew it.
She smiled a contented smile. “See you tomorrow, probably. Kisses and hugs.”
She made a smoochy face then disappeared from my phone.
Well, one good thing, Cadence cherished Nora. She’d be beside herself Nora was coming out.
Another good thing, all the bedrooms were en suite, and in the unlikely event that Nora would one day come out, that occurrence now coming true, I’d been sure my guest room afforded every luxury.
As for me…
I was stubborn.
And I was proud.
But I didn’t procrastinate.
I needed to apologize to Tom.