Chapter Six Remi #2
Remi had spent much of the evening mingling, making polite conversation with neighbors she and Gerard had come to know during their summers in Napa.
Most of them hadn’t heard the news. So, over and over again, she’d answered the same painful questions—“Where’s Gerard?
”—and watched faces fall as she explained that he had a heart attack.
Their reactions—“Oh no,” “Why didn’t you call?
” “We would’ve come”—were kind but exhausting.
She was grateful to have them all in one place, though.
At least it spared her the trouble of having to offer them individual explanations when she bumped into them later.
She finally managed to sneak away for a moment of peace, but Leo found her.
He slid onto the sofa next to her, glancing toward the dancing crowd. “Your friend seems to be enjoying herself.”
“Looks that way.” Remi smiled. “I’ll be hauling her home, putting her to bed soon.”
Leo chuckled, his eyes warm. “She’s in good hands. But how about you, Rem? How are you really doing? And don’t give me the bullshit answer that you’ve been giving everyone else all night. It’s me, Leo. Give it to me straight.”
She looked at him, then away. She remembered the times she had sat with him like this after Vivian’s passing, when his grief had nearly consumed him. Now it was her turn.
She exhaled deeply. “Every day is a struggle just to get out of bed and keep going. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up one morning and he’s in the kitchen cooking me one of his world-famous Creole dishes, and all of this is just a bad dream.”
“I feel that.” Leo nodded, his expression solemn. “You know I’m here, right? Anything you need, you just say the word. You and Gerard were so good to me.”
Remi swallowed hard. “Gerard handled everything—our finances, our bills. I feel like I’m drowning in the details while trying to catch up on a life that was running fine without me.”
“I can help,” Leo said softly. “Anything you need, I’m here.”
She hesitated, then admitted, “I brought his laptop. Stuffed every document I could into my suitcase. I just haven’t had the chance or energy to dig into it yet.”
“I’m here when you’re ready.”
Remi turned to him, her eyes glistening. “Thank you for letting me be honest. I can’t tell you how much that means.”
“Always.” Leo gave her hand a gentle squeeze, then nodded his head toward her empty wineglass. “Can I refresh that for you?”
Remi smiled. “Sure, why not?”
He reached for her glass. “Merlot, right?”
“You know that’s my fave.”
“You with the Merlot, Gerard with the yack.”
“And you with the whiskey and Viv … well, Viv with the sweet tea, because she was likely your designated driver.”
Remi laughed and Leo joined in, his grin wide. The white linen shirt he wore seemed to glow against his smooth chocolate skin, catching the firelight just right. He was always handsome.
“Exactly. One of us had to stay sober,” Leo said, still smiling. “I’ll be right back.”
Remi watched as he walked across the patio and exchanged a quick word with the bartender. Then, out of nowhere, Bianca rushed from the dance floor, leaving her dance partner confused and standing alone. She made a beeline for the bar, sliding up next to Leo like she’d been waiting for her cue.
Remi’s eyebrows lifted. She shook her head. “This girl,” she whispered to herself.
Bianca touched Leo’s arm and whispered something in his ear.
What she said made him laugh. She lingered beside him, smiling up at him with a look that was too eager.
A schoolgirl crush, Remi thought, or something more desperate.
Ever since her divorce, she thought Bianca had been too eager for attention.
Remi shook her head. Her friend could be persistent, sometimes too much so.
She often wondered how she’d managed to lose Harry in the first place.
He had doted on her, adored her … until, suddenly, he didn’t.
One day he was gone, just like that—moved out, with no real explanation.
Bianca had just blown it off as they had grown apart.
Yet she seemed jealous about the woman he was currently dating. It just didn’t add up.
Bianca never gave Remi full details about what happened.
She’d been vague, evasive, which pissed Remi off, because they’d always been straight with each other about everything—or so she thought.
The secrecy had caused Remi to draw her own conclusions.
Watching her now with Leo, she couldn’t help thinking it was this same behavior that had driven Harry away.
And while Remi didn’t want to judge her best friend, she couldn’t help feeling a bit of embarrassment in this moment.
She didn’t have the heart to tell her that she wasn’t at all Leo’s type.
She was nothing like Vivian, who had been quiet, poised.
Bianca was neither of those things. Still, she clung to Leo’s arm, laughing, wobbling slightly as he steadied her with one hand and walked back toward the sofa.
“I’m going to walk her home,” Leo said, and handed Remi the glass of wine. “Looks like she’s had a little too much.”
“Looks that way.” Remi gave Bianca a pointed look.
“I’m calling it a night, Rem. Had a bit too much tequila.” Bianca winked, barely able to stand. “I’ll see you at home.”
“Fine. I’m going to finish my wine first and then I’ll be home soon.” Remi took a long sip as she eyeballed Bianca.
“No rush, honey. Enjoy yourself. I’m in good hands.”
Remi raised her glass “Indeed, you are.”
Remi watched as the pair crossed the patio and disappeared into the night.
Then, at last, she leaned back and closed her eyes.
The breeze was soft against her skin as she breathed in the beautiful California night air.
The fire danced beside her, its scent mingling with the warm, woodsy candle burning on the table.
Somewhere in the background, the sound of Michael Franks’s “The Lady Wants to Know” played, mellow and teasing.
It wrapped itself around her, pulled her deeper.