Chapter Five
Iris glanced out the window as they took the road that left Westmoreland Country behind.
This was certainly not how she had planned her day.
She had intended to hang out with Garlan until it was time for her to leave to pick up the banners.
Yet here she was, riding in a car to town with the one man she had wanted to avoid.
Well, she hadn’t exactly wanted to avoid him but had decided that keeping him at arm’s length would be in her best interest. Even after her conversation with Pam during breakfast, she still wasn’t convinced that getting something started with Matt was a good idea.
And something else was bothering her. Garlan had sent her a text letting her know he had arrived and would be going horseback riding. There had never been a time when he’d returned home after a long separation that he didn’t seek her out immediately. So, why hadn’t he done so today?
Maybe she was making a mountain out of a mole hill, and it was just a sign she no longer held the position of the most important person in his life.
If not her, then who? Did he have a steady girlfriend he hadn’t told her about?
Even if he did, what would a girlfriend have to do with her?
A girlfriend was a girlfriend, but mama was mama.
Although she had told Pam just that morning she was okay with Garlan claiming his independence, she wasn’t certain she truly was.
“You’re quiet, Iris. Are you okay?”
She glanced over at Matt. Funny he should ask, because at that moment, she wasn’t okay. He was a single parent, too. Maybe what she was going through was normal and just not what she’d ever had to deal with before. “May I ask you something?”
“Sure. What would you like to ask me?”
She hesitated for a moment and then said, “You and your daughter have always been close, right?”
“Yes. Very close.”
“Was there ever a time she began acting differently?”
He lifted a brow. “Differently in what way?”
“As if you weren’t her entire universe anymore.”
He nodded and smiled wryly. “I think at some point all parents feel that way. For me, it was when Deena left for college. She made new friends, some of whom I never met and some of whom I probably would not have approved of had I met them. Whereas in the past she would be eager to tell me everything, I noticed she wasn’t telling me much of anything.
Although we still maintained a close relationship, I could tell it wasn’t as tight as it had been.
I had to accept that her universe, which had once only included me and a few others, had been opened to include a handful more.
I also had to accept that she was no longer my little girl.
She was growing into adulthood and had to figure out some things for herself.
I couldn’t continue to be her superhero. ”
“How did you handle it?”
“Whenever she came home, I gave her the space I thought she needed. And I didn’t expect her to still act like I was her entire world.
I had to accept that things were no longer normal—at least my definition of normal.
I think she appreciated that. The hardest thing was when she decided she wanted her own place after returning home from law school.
It should not have come as a shock since, while attending Harvard, she’d had an apartment.
But it did. Even so, I understood.” He paused.
“Is there a reason you asked me that, Iris?”
“Yes. This is Garlan’s second year at college, and he doesn’t call home as often. And today, when he arrived in Westmoreland Country, he didn’t seek me out like he normally would.”
“Where is he staying?”
“At the house that Prince Ari is occupying. Jamal and Delaney, along with their other children, will be arriving tomorrow morning. Over the years, Garlan and Ari have developed a close friendship. Garlan has even gone to Tahran to stay a couple of summers while growing up.”
“Your son is probably developing other interests, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
“So, do you think I’m worrying for nothing?”
“I think as parents, we often overthink things. We forget we were once young. It’s probably nothing, but if it makes you feel better, ask him about it. If he tells you it’s nothing, then take his word for it. The worst thing you can do is be demanding or accusing. It won’t get you anywhere.”
“Thanks. That’s good advice.”
The car’s interior got quiet for a moment, and then he said, “Now I want to ask you something, Iris.”
She glanced back over at him when the car came to a traffic light. “What?”
“What happened with you and Warren?”
* * *
Drawing in a deep breath, Iris knew there was only one way to answer Matt’s question. Truthfully. “Eleven months ago, Warren confessed to cheating on me.”
Matt blinked as if shocked by what she had said. “He actually admitted it?”
“Yes.”
“Had you suspected it and questioned him about it?”
“No. His admission actually blindsided me.”
Matt pulled into the museum’s parking lot and, after finding a suitable spot, cut off the car’s ignition, unsnapped his seat belt and turned to her. “Had his conscience gotten to him?”
“I doubt it. I believe he only told me because when he tried breaking up with the woman, she threatened to tell me about the affair. He decided to beat her to the punch and tell me first.”
He shook his head. “That’s unbelievable.”
“No, what’s unbelievable is that he expected me to accept what he did as a first-time offense. He wanted us to continue on from there. He was actually shocked that I disagreed and broke up with him. After all, he felt I contributed to his cheating.”
“How so?”
When she told him, he stared at her for a moment and then asked, “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“He actually thinks just because he took your advice and hired this woman, that you also forced him to sleep with her?” Matt asked.
“Evidently. After what Warren did, I’ve decided it’s safer to wrap up in bed with a book rather than with a man.”
“How long ago did the two of you break up?”
“Eleven months ago.”
“I’m sorry Warren did that to you, Iris. You didn’t deserve it.”
“No, I didn’t. He lived in Philly, and when we agreed to a long-distance romance, I made sure he understood how much trust meant to me.
He’d assured me he did. Since he was a widower like I was a widow, and we’d both lost people we’d loved deeply and were too old to play games, I felt he was safe.
Obviously, I was wrong.” She paused. “It was an unfortunate circumstance that came with a valuable lesson.”
He nodded. “Are you ready to go inside the museum now?”
She smiled at him. “Yes, I’m ready.”
* * *
“So, what did you think of the exhibit?”
Matt glanced over at Iris as they were seated at the table for lunch.
After spending a little more than an hour at the museum, they were now at McKay’s.
Iris had told him she’d been here before, a number of times, with the Westmorelands, as it was one of their favorite restaurants.
“I thought the sculptures were quite stunning. So were those artifacts,” he said.
“I thought so, too. Pam and I took an Egyptian studies class in college, and Egypt has been on my bucket list since. Pam got a chance to go there when she and Dillon visited Jamal and Delaney in Tahran.”
The conversation paused when a waitress gave them menus and poured glasses of water. He glanced at the menu. If he wasn’t hungry before, he most certainly was now. There were so many delicious-looking entrees. He could see why this was one of the Westmorelands’ favorite places.
After deciding what he wanted, he placed his menu down at the same time Iris did. Their gazes met, and she smiled, asking, “What did you decide to order?”
“Since I figured a feast would be served at the hoedown, I didn’t want to overeat now, but those pork chops look too delicious.”
Her smile widened. “I’ve gotten them before, and they are good. But for now, I decided to order their lunch-size vegetable pot pie.”
He nodded as he continued to stare at her, unable to look away.
He still had a hard time believing she was in her forties.
When they met two years ago, she was a few months shy of forty-one.
Matt thought she still looked younger than that.
Her smooth brown skin was flawless, with not a single wrinkle in sight.
And he liked the way her hair hung around her shoulders. The style fit her features.
He couldn’t erase from his mind what she’d told him about Warren Forsythe.
Granted, he had never been in an exclusive relationship with a woman, but like Iris, trust meant a lot to him.
He couldn’t overlook what she’d said. “I have decided that for me it’s safer to wrap up in bed with a book rather than with a man. ”
Was that her way of letting him know she wasn’t ready to get seriously involved with another man anytime soon?
Another woman had shared her boyfriend’s bed while they were in an exclusive relationship.
He could just imagine the trust issues she’d been left with.
It had been close to a year ago, and she still hadn’t moved on.
Her inability to do so definitely didn’t work in his favor.
The waitress returned and took their order. Afterward, deciding to change the subject, he said, “I understand you and Pam met at college.”
“Yes, we did. We were roommates at the University of Southern California.”
“Where are you originally from?” he asked.
“I was born and raised in San Clemente. When I left home for college, I didn’t have to go far. Just a little over an hour away. I got to go home often.”
“Are your parents still living?”