Chapter 21
I hadn't heard from Frankie in almost two months, which drove me crazy. We'd been separated for a while now, and all I wanted was to see her. To hear her voice. Hell, even an email from her would suffice. But I'd been effectively shut out of her life, and it was killing me.
Just like you shut her out of your life for the past year.
She was only in Puerto Vallarta for the wedding, which meant she would’ve been there for at least two days. She'd posted the most brilliant sunset, and I'd watched as the photo had climbed in likes and comments. Her talent was incredible. I'd known it as someone who’d been by her side while we honed our skills together, but seeing how much she'd grown since she took the leap to go freelance filled my chest with pride. I'd missed out on my wife for the past year. She'd flourished and had shared herself with me so openly—whereas I'd closed myself off to her.
I would've flown down and surprised her if she was still in Puerto Vallarta. But she wasn't there anymore. When she left, Frankie had headed to Mexico City before hitting San Diego. How did I know all this? I was forced to follow her travels via her social media page. I logged on every day—multiple times—just to feel close to her. Just to know what she was up to.
She'd been upset with me when she'd left, and I hated that she was out there somewhere, mad at me. I tortured myself thinking of her out to dinner, socializing, maybe having a drink alone in a bar. She was a beautiful woman. She caught the eyes of men every time we were out. It never bothered me before because my ass was firmly planted by her side. But now? She was still married but separated. Most people considered themselves single and free to do whatever they liked during this break. Did Frankie feel that way? The thought sliced a strike of fear and jealousy through me.
After the bullshit I put her through with Carly, I couldn't blame her if she sought company elsewhere. She wouldn't, though. Frankie wasn't that kind of person. She was loyal and trustworthy. Even though we were separated I could stake my life on that.
An invasive memory of that ill-fated date with Carly flashed through my head. Guilt gnawed at me at that unwanted reminder of my hypocrisy. I'd already fucked up enough with Carly while Frankie and I were together, so to tell my wife that I went out on what I could admit was a dinner date with her— and let her kiss me—I knew it would be the end of us. It didn't matter that we were separated; Frankie would rightly see it as the final betrayal.
I needed to know if Frankie was okay, though. Experiencing her through her lens on the fucking internet wasn't cutting it anymore. I needed to know when she would be back and where her head was at.
And there was only one person who would know.
Nellie and I had been good friends since college. She'd even helped me plan my proposal to Frankie. She was like a sister to me.
Since the fallout of my marriage, I'd heard crickets from Nellie. Sene and Frankie still maintained a friendship despite my living with him; but since I was the idiot in this situation, I wasn't surprised that Nellie had frozen me out. Frankly, Nellie scared me. She was blunt, honest, and didn't mince words. But my concern for Frankie outweighed my fear of Nellie's wrath.
Still, when her door opened, and her welcoming smile swiftly became a scowl, my balls may have shriveled up a little.
"Oh. It's you."
"Hey, Nellie. How are you?"
She folded her arms, continuing to glare at me. "Not so great anymore."
I swallowed past the lump in my throat as a flush rose on my cheeks. "Right. Listen, I know you're mad at me; you have every right to be. I'm a little mad at myself, too."
"A little ?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Okay, she wasn't going to make this easy for me. In fact, I was pretty sure she hated me right now.
"I just wanted to check whether you've heard from Frankie."
She checked her nails. "I hear from her every day."
A lump clogged my chest. "Oh. That's great." I shifted on my feet. "Uh, is she okay?"
"Why do you care?"
My brow pulled down as a tug of annoyance rumbled through me. "Nellie, she's my wife. Of course I care."
"Hmm…coulda fooled me. Where was this concern when you were wooing that bitch you work with?"
My face blanched, but still, I held firm. I wasn't surprised that Frankie had confided in Nellie, but I did feel like a naughty school kid being reprimanded by the headmistress.
"Please, could you let me know that she's okay?"
Her hardened eyes searched mine before she sighed. "She's fine. Having the time of her life, actually." Her mouth twitched, and her brown eyes twinkled in amusement.
"Ah…okay. Yeah, cool. Any idea when she'll be back?"
"Hmm…haven't the slightest clue."
She knew.
My mouth tightened in frustration and anger. "Nellie, I know I've hurt Frankie, but –"
" Hurt Frankie?” she sputtered. “Hurt Frankie?" Her voice rose several octaves, and she clutched at her front door before stepping towards me. "You didn't just hurt her, you destroyed her."
"Nell –"
"I hate what you did to Frankie, but I still encouraged her to try one last time to fight for you."
I reared back. "What?"
She shook her head as her gaze raked me up and down in disgust. "I was pissed off at you, but I could see that Frankie was super sad. Despite what you put her through, she still loved you, and I knew part of her wanted to reconcile. So, I put my dislike for you aside and encouraged her to fight for you,” she said.
“She'd always planned on asking you to go to Mexico, but since you were so distant the last few months before you separated, she was scared you would turn her down."
The color leeched off me again, and my foot stumbled back a step. She wanted me to come with her to Mexico? The thought that she'd been too terrified of my answer to ask had my eyes watering in sadness. Because, honestly? The man I'd been back then, I probably would've pulled some excuse out of my ass not to go with her.
Now, though? I would give anything to have been on that trip.
"She texted you asking to meet up a few days before she was leaving. She was going to ask you to come with her, just for the weekend, since you don’t work those days."
Shit. Even after we were separated, she still kept trying. But then what Nell said hit me and I recalled just when she texted me—when I had forgotten to check my phone at lunch. With Carly.
"Fuck! I got that text, but I saw it too late. She had a shoot that ran late –"
Nellie shook her head. "No. That's what she told you. When you didn't reply, she made her way to your office block.” She fixed me with a glare so sharp, I could feel the fury cut straight through me. “She saw you having lunch with Carly."
No. No. Shit, shit, shit.
"Yeah," she confirmed when she spied my pale face. She cocked her hip and raised her brow. "She said you two looked mighty comfy laughing and sharing a meal. Tell me, did you go out to lunch with a group of your co-workers, and they left early?"
Remembering my lie to Frankie, I stared down in shame before giving a small shake of my head. It wasn't like what Nellie assumed, though. I was out to lunch alone. Carly had spotted me when she came in to pick up her order and asked to chat about a sale we had coming up on our website. When I invited her to sit, she'd talked about the sale for five minutes before changing the subject.
"Didn't think so," Nellie sneered. "Frankie was devastated, especially when you lied to her face about it and about dating Carly."
My head shot up. "I'm not dating Carly."
A huff of annoyance shot out of her, and she stared at me sadly, shaking her head. "Fuck, Andrew. What the hell happened to you? I don't even recognize you anymore."
With that, she slammed the door in my face.