CHAPTER 13 #2
Right? She had to admit, the sex was out of this world crazy good though.
Last night with him felt too good to be true.
They’d bonded physically as if they were already deeply linked and had been together for years, not a few weeks.
But this salacious, burning connection between them needed to be extinguished.
As she drove to her in-laws for Sunday dinner, she panicked. What if Mac were to tell Geoff’s parents about Robert being there this morning, and without a shirt on? It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together, understanding he’d stayed the night.
No, Mac wouldn’t do that. Would he? Hopefully not.
So much for having Robert park on the street last night. Lainey tried being clever, hoping Monica, her most nosy neighbor, didn’t detect a dinner date, let alone a male overnight guest.
How did this go sideways so quickly?
What was Mac doing showing himself into her house when she wasn’t there? Had she given him the impression that she was comfortable letting him have free rein of the place?
Maybe so. With all the work he’d done to help her out, maybe she’d felt obligated to make him feel that way.
But was she really to blame for Mac’s obtrusive actions? Possibly. But it still was strange.
She’d already missed church this morning, and her sister-in-law had texted her wondering where she was. She’d replied that she’d meet them at Sunday dinner afterward to explain.
Turning down her in-laws street, she still was trying to come up with a good excuse of why she hadn’t made it to church this morning.
She had already tried to think of an acceptable reason while on the coffee run earlier, but because Robert’s lean body had been entwined with hers nearly all night, she couldn’t focus. She was still on a high.
She didn’t think it would be a big deal to come up with an unsuspecting explanation, but now she realized the consequences of her actions. Lainey felt completely dismayed at how the morning had gone so wrong.
Why did Robert react like that? Instead of asking Mac who he was, his actions had made this so much worse.
She’d told Robert about Mac being her handyman around the house since her husband’s passing. For him to be surprised to find Mac there was bewildering. How could Robert have been so aggressive and possessive of her home? He’d been there less than eighteen hours.
In Robert’s defense, Mac was breaking into her locked file cabinet with a screwdriver.
And the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was Mac’s fault for being attacked.
Why on earth would he think it was okay to pry the lock on her file cabinet?
And for paint colors? That made little sense.
Lainey parked behind her sister-in-law Lillian’s minivan at her in-laws’. She shut off the engine and told herself to get it together.
She pulled down the visor and looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed, examining herself. In the end, she was to blame for Robert even being there. He should never have stayed the night. She should never have slept with him. She probably should never have invited him over for that matter.
The aging face staring back at her had crossed a line. She hadn’t only crossed it. She’d pummeled right over it, almost living in La La Land indefinitely, not aware of the implications on her family or her husband’s dear friend.
What was she thinking? Was Robert supposed to claim a space in her life seamlessly? In her heart? A place that was still held firmly by her late hero husband.
What was the end goal here? Even if it was marriage, was Robert supposed to go to church with her and Viv on Sundays, then attend dinner at Geoff’s parent’s house afterward?
Did she expect him simply to fall in line, filling her husband’s shoes?
Would her inner circle welcome the substitute she selfishly chose, disregarding their own feelings?
Okay, marriage was jumping the gun. She broke it down even further. What was supposed to happen after last night? She continues this budding relationship with Robert? And then what? Robert gets another assignment and is gone in four months anyway?
The whole situation was irresponsible. To allow Emma to set her up with someone who’s not even sticking around.
To be fair, Robert never said he was for sure taking another assignment and mentioned returning to civilian life, but he had a twenty-three year career.
Who would give that up? Who in his right mind would give that up for a thirty-six-year-old widowed mother?
Especially someone as hot as Robert, who could have any woman he wanted.
Because of Cora’s encouragement, she’d gotten her rocks off. Okay, mission accomplished!
It was time to move on. This was too much, too soon after Geoff’s death. For crying out loud, it’d ONLY been three years. Why on earth had she thought it was appropriate to date again? This wasn’t fair to her husband’s memory.
She closed the visor and got out. She was quite a sight. No makeup and in baggy sweats. She truly looked like she’d been rode hard and put up wet, which wasn’t far from reality, but more like made wet, then rode hard.
Stop it, she told herself, trying not to reminisce about last night’s sex-capades.
She could hear the kids playing in the backyard. She exhaled one last big breath before letting herself into the house.
She found Lillian in the dining room setting the table for her mother. Lillian smiled, “Hey you,” she greeted. Then took in Lainey’s appearance, and followed up with, “Are you feeling okay?”
“No, I woke up with a bad stomachache and couldn’t make it to church. I’m sorry,” Lainey replied, feeling guilt churn in her stomach from the lie that just rolled over her tongue.
“Oh no,” Lillian’s face pained. “We could’ve brought Vivian home. You didn’t have to get out to come here.”
“It’s fine,” Lainey waved her off. “I started feeling better an hour ago. I’m good now,” Lainey patted her tummy, “but I'm not sure if I’ll eat much today.”
“Understandable,” Lillian grimaced with empathy, then walked to the other side, placing silverware on folded napkins next to each plate.
Lainey noticed an extra place setting. Before she could ask, Lillian said, “I should have warned you, but it just happened. Mom invited Pastor Tim over for dinner. Apparently, he wants to talk to all of us about something concerning Geoff. He stopped Mom and Dad after the service, and Mom asked him to dinner. He should be here any...” and at that the doorbell rang.