Chapter Twenty-Two #2
Chloe couldn’t stop smiling. Her happy dance looked a little like jogging in place. “I guess we know who has the cabin in the woods.”
“Eeeekkk!” Salena squealed.
“My mama is sneaking away for a weekend rendezvous with a lover.” That last word came out in a husky voice.
They both made noises fit for women half their age.
“Who is he?” Salena asked.
“Only one person would know.”
“Rosa,” Salena said.
“Rosa,” Chloe replied at the same time.
Chloe waved at Dante. “Call your mama.”
“Why?”
“Just call her.” Chloe made a rolling gesture with her finger.
Dante paused the program they were watching and reached for his phone.
Rosa picked up on the first ring. “Pronto.”
Dante put her on speaker.
Chloe did the same with Salena.
“Cat’s out of the bag, Mama Rosa. Who is my mama dating?” Chloe asked without preamble.
“Ah . . .”
“We know, so spill the tea.”
“You should ask Mari.”
“We can’t, she’s out talking to her boyfriend’s daughters,” Chloe told her.
“Madison and Ellie went to the restaurant?” Rosa asked.
“Yes.”
“Without James?”
Chloe couldn’t stand still. “James who?”
Dante, who seemed a bit disinterested in the beginning, was catching her excitement. “Is he a good man?” Dante asked.
“No. He’s a three-time felon with a heroin addiction.”
Chloe stopped moving.
Dante busted out in laughter.
“Of course he’s a good man. Do you think I’d let my best friend see a piece of garbage?”
“Mama!” Dante scolded.
Rosa sighed. “His name is James Russell. He owns a crane company, or something like that. Has a home in La Jolla, two daughters. They met on the cruise. Anything else you have to know, get it from Mari. I’ve already said too much.”
“You’re the best,” Chloe said.
“Why the big secret?” Dante asked.
Rosa snorted. “I’ll give you two. Luca and Giovanni.”
That sated Dante’s question.
“I gotta go and make sure the gossip isn’t halting everyone’s work,” Salena told them.
“If you need backup, call me,” Chloe said.
She hung up one phone and turned her attention to Rosa on the other. “What’s James like?”
Rosa was quiet for a minute. “What’s he like? He makes your mama smile in a way I haven’t seen since your papa. And you should know that Paulo never wanted your mama to be alone. You remind your brothers of that if they give Mari a hard time.”
That was music to Chloe’s ears. “I will. Dante and I are happy for her.”
“We are?” Dante asked.
Chloe nudged her shoulder to his, shutting him up. “Thank you.”
Once the line disconnected, Chloe resumed her happy dance. And then scrambled to look up James Russell on the internet while hitting Brooke’s number on speed dial.
The weekend bag James packed sat inside his walk-in closet, ready to go.
He’d filled up the tank on his car, took it through the wash, and had the address to the Airbnb, along with the phone number for the host. Oftentimes in spring, there was a slight chance of snow in the mountains, but the forecast only suggested a little rain.
He was walking out of his bedroom when his phone rang.
Mari’s name showed up on his screen. In that second, he realized that after their families were told about them, he could change her name to a picture.
And what was better than a Pink Lady on a cruise?
He answered his phone with a smile.
“Hello, beautiful.”
“You and your compliments.”
“Don’t even pretend you don’t like them.”
“I won’t.”
He laughed and glanced out the windows by the front door, didn’t see Ellie’s car, and continued to talk.
“The girls aren’t here, so you have my undivided attention.” Another positive, after the weekend, James wouldn’t have to take a walk to his office or close his bedroom door for a private conversation when Mari called.
The list of perks was stacking up.
“They should be there in a half an hour, though I won’t doubt if they take longer.”
James laughed and then paused. “Wait, what?”
“I had some visitors tonight. Two, to be exact.”
His smile fell. “The twins?”
“The twins,” she confirmed.
How? Why? When did they find out? Who told them? So many questions listed in his head, he had a hard time asking one. “Wha . . . how . . . who?”
“Most of those questions I don’t have an answer to.”
James walked into his kitchen and put the call on speaker. “My girls were at your home?” He placed the phone on the counter and talked over it.
“They came to the restaurant, had dinner. Luca and I were in the kitchen. A rarity these days. I stepped out and found Ellie and Madison talking with Salena. I recognized them immediately, and there was no doubt they knew about me.”
“How?” James braced his hand on the counter and gazed across the room into nothing while Mari’s words processed.
“You’ll have to ask them. My guess is they overheard a conversation, or maybe Summer said something to your ex-wife.”
“If Cindy knew, she would have said something. She doesn’t hold back like that.”
“They knew about us, and the restaurant,” Mari said.
“They didn’t do anything stupid, did they?” He couldn’t see his daughters making a scene, but who knew?
“Other than parking entirely too far away, no.”
“What did you say to them? Were they rude?”
“Take a breath, James. Your daughters are lovely girls. Curious girls. Somehow, they got it in their heads that I was married and we were having an affair.”
“What?” James cried out to the empty room.
“We can only blame ourselves for that. Out-of-character dance classes, late-night phone calls. They came here to find out for themselves, all in an effort to protect their father.”
Mari’s voice held so much kindness, James felt his blood simmer. “I’m sorry, Mari.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Once I cleared up their misinformation, we had a nice chat. By the time they left, they were telling me how wonderful you are,” Mari said. “I’m relieved, to be honest.”
“This messed with your plans.”
“By a few days.”
The next question, he didn’t want to ask. “Do you need to cancel this weekend to deal with this?”
“No.” Her answer was swift. “It’s better this way. You and I can disappear, and my adult children can discuss this among themselves.”
That was a relief. “My nonadult children are grounded for life.”
“Oh, James. Be easy on them.”
“They invaded my privacy.”
“That’s laughable. When family is around, there is no privacy. I couldn’t use the bathroom for ten years without a hand pounding on the door. Then Franny was born, and it started all over again.”
She had a point.
Lights from a car pulling in the driveway illuminated the front room of the house. “The girls are home.”
Mari sighed. “You deal with your children. I’ll deal with mine.”
“Okay.”
“Tomorrow,” she started. “I’ll have you pick me up. I’ll introduce you to Luca.”
This was good, despite how it happened. “I look forward to it.”
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” he said.
With the call disconnected, James took a long, cleansing breath, folded his arms over his chest, and waited for his daughters to walk in the door.