CHAPTER 15
Lainey said her goodbyes to Vivian. She’d made pigs n’ blanket with steamed broccoli and cheese for her and Sarah to share for dinner.
Lainey told Sarah she hadn’t got to the loose tile flooring in front of the oven, but she planned on getting bids this coming week.
Like a teenager cared, but if Sarah mentioned the disrepair to her mother, Lainey didn’t want Monica having the impression she was incompetent or any scenario Monica could work up to gossip about.
After Monica spotted the detective’s car in her driveway, sharing the observation with Denise the next morning at church, Lainey was hypersensitive to fueling Monica with anything else worth sharing.
Lainey wasn’t embarrassed by the loose tiles. But they’d continued to slowly worsen, then Robert had noticed them.
When Jake called, Lainey was more than happy to get invites to Emma’s colleagues at the bank. But she wondered if Robert was attending the party. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Jake, nor share they’d broken up.
They’d only been on three dates. It shouldn’t feel like that big of a deal. But they’d shared many nightly phone calls. It was four dates if you counted the night he’d come over for dinner...and then some.
Lainey needed to act like an emotionally mature adult tonight. If Robert would be at Emma’s surprise party, she’d be friendly. But she wouldn’t go out of her way to talk to him.
Yeah. That was the plan. Smile, say hello. Move on. I can do this. It’s not a big deal.
She was positive the purple sweater and leggings with boots was a good choice for tonight’s attire.
Casual, but not over the top. If Robert were there, he’d be able to ignore her.
She wasn’t wearing a low-cut blouse like the one he’d ordered her to take off the night she’d cooked him dinner... and then some.
And it was the then some, which was completely screwing with her head. She’d need to ignore the fact, he resembled a godlike character from Greek mythology when naked. Also, she’d need to forget what it was like to be kissed and licked, and touched and.... so much more by him.
That, then some, would haunt her the rest of her life.
Dread filled her stomach as she found a parking spot. She really didn’t want to see Robert. It was too soon. She’d already missed talking to him and their nightly phone calls. Maybe after the dust settled, they’d be friends.
On second thought, that then some would never allow a normal friendship to work at all.
As she walked to the front door, it dawned on her. This was the restaurant Geoff had his last meal at. The lighted El Tapatio Mexican Grill & Cantina sign illuminated the parking lot.
When Jake had sent her the location, she’d remembered it then, but forgotten about it since. Unfortunately, Robert consumed her thoughts lately.
She’d been here once before with Geoff, maybe five years ago, but normally they went to the Mexican restaurant closer to their neighborhood. It was odd that he’d come here that night, clear across town. It’d never crossed her mind until now, the odd choice this was.
When he mentioned he was going to sit at the bar, she knew he was coming here because the other place didn’t have a bar. You could still order a margarita at the other restaurant, though. Why hadn’t she asked him why he’d chosen here instead?
Also, where had he gotten five-hundred thousand to donate to the church? Even though his family could accept it as a possible gambling win, they would’ve had to pay taxes on a substantial win like that.
He’d been gone three years, but she still felt married to him. She should know where the money came from and why he’d chosen this restaurant. But she didn’t.
The hostess led her to the party room. A few co-workers were already there, and Jake’s parents introduced themselves. They were sitting with another older couple chowing down on chips and salsa.
After receiving a text, Jake’s mother announced he and Emma were ten minutes out.
There were about twenty-five people, and none of them was Robert. Thank God.
Another co-worker from the bank raved about El Tapatio’s strawberry margaritas. Lainey hadn’t had a margarita since before Geoff died. She decided tonight was the night. She’d have one at the very last place he’d had one.
As she waited for her drink, she made small talk with Jake’s parent’s who’d driven over from Chapman. They introduced the other older couple sitting with them as the Lanes. It took her a beat, but she determined they were Robert’s parents. Robert’s parents!
Had he told them about her? Surely not. Did this mean he was going to be here? How could she possibly inquire about such information without admitting she knew their son? Crap. There was no way she could.
She studied their faces. Robert definitely took after his father. She saw the same cheekbones and chin. They were lovely people. His mother giggled at a joke, and she had one of those contagious laughs. One which made you laugh too, though you had no idea what was so funny.
Finally, her strawberry margarita arrived. Her no margarita streak would be over.
A woman with bleach blonde hair, tattoos and boobs delivered it. “Strawberry Margarita?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you.” Lainey took it and sipped it right away. The sugar sweetness passed over her tongue and cooled her throat. Man, it was good. She shouldn’t have waited so long to have one. She’d really beaten herself up over nothing.
Drink a margarita for me, echoed again in her head. She should have it on a t-shirt, a hat, her voicemail greeting, a meme on social media, a bumper sticker. She really needed to let it go.
“You’re Lainey Wickham, right?” the blonde with boobs asked.
“Yes,” she nodded.
A crooked smile came over the blonde’s face, like she was in on a joke and the punchline had yet to be revealed to Lainey. “We’ve never met.” The smile disappeared. “But I waited on your husband the night of the fire.”
The fire. Lainey thought. That damn fire.
“I’m sorry for your loss. I own the place,” she motioned. “I wanted to come over and pay my respects.”
Lainey nodded, “Thank you.”
“Enjoy your party.” She walked away.
Jake and Robert’s parents witnessed the exchange, but no one said anything. Jake’s mother’s phone dinged and everyone’s attention averted away from Lainey.
“They’re here! They’re parking,” she announced.
Lainey took a swig of the strawberry margarita before getting in position. Boy, it was tasty.
A moment later, Emma rounded the corner and everyone shouted, “Surprise!”
Nervously awaiting Robert to appear next, Lainey ordered another drink, downing it as quickly as the first.
Half an hour passed. Still no Robert. Another margarita and another half-hour. Still no Robert.
By the time Lainey ordered her fourth margarita, she’d concluded Robert wasn’t coming.
A pinch of sadness uncoiled inside her. Maybe she’d wanted to see him after all? What would she have said anyway?
Maybe it was the tequila running through her veins, but the sight of him naked engrossed her thoughts yet again. It’d been like opening Pandora’s box. There was no going back. She couldn’t un-see it. Forever that glorious image would be burned in her subconscious.
If and when she told Cora the unedited truth, Cora would remind her, it was HER, Lainey, who ended it. Not him. But her, who said, “no thank you” to free prime rib.
Was he hung up on her, like she was on him? Probably not. He’d surely come to his senses by now, realizing he’d dodged a bullet.
With his looks and physique, he could have any woman half his age. One with a tight little body and perky tits. Lainey had done him a favor, breaking it off.
Geoff had made comments about her weight after she’d given birth.
Words like pudgy and thicker came to mind.
Everyone had complimented her on “bouncing back” after she had Viv, though Geoff reminded her she’d never be the same with comments like, “Do you think you should be eating ice cream?” and “Some rice cakes for lunch wouldn’t hurt ya.
” Sure it bothered her, but he’d gained a few pounds during their marriage too.
She brushed those memories aside and thought of how Robert’s mouth felt, the rasp of his facial hair between her thighs. His hands touching her, gripping her butt, her breasts, like he was starving for her.
She’d laid completely naked in a well-lit dining room, and Robert told her she was beautiful. Geoff never said those things or made her feel wanted, like Robert had.
“I brought you another.”
Lainey snapped out of it. “I’m sorry. What?” The skinny blonde owner lady had sat another strawberry margarita in front of her.
“I brought you another,” she repeated, smiling. Lainey couldn’t take her eyes off this woman’s low-cut tank and boobs elevated for display. “They’re the best, aren’t they? My own recipe from my bartending days.” Awe. A bartender first. Probably at a strip club. That would explain so much.
Lainey had completely zoned out. The music was louder. Guests were done eating, and now up mingling, drinking and dancing.
“Mind if I sit?” she said, not waiting for an invitation, taking the open seat next to Lainey.
Connie, a coworker, had been sitting there, but she’d said her goodbyes and they’d already cleared away her plate.
“I’m sorry, what’s your name again?” Lainey felt bad she’d forgotten.
“I never told you,” she grinned, leaning closer to be heard over the music.
The lighting had dimmed, and the restaurant’s atmosphere had turned into a South American nightclub. Lainey’s nose tingled. She definitely needed to slow down on the drinks. Was this four or five sitting in front of her now?
“It’s Sam.”
Lainey looked at her. Why was that name familiar, but not this woman’s face?
Sam raised her voice to be heard over the dance music. “It’s on the house, by the way.”
Lainey glanced over at where Jake and Robert’s parents had sat. They were gone. A busboy was clearing the dishes off their table.
“What’s on the house?” Lainey asked.
“All your drinks,” Sam replied.
Lainey questioned Sam with her facial expression.