“Yes, it’s beautiful,” Josie says, appeasing our guest.
“So, Alicia, what do you do?” I ask, unable to bite back my curiosity. Different job scenarios run through my mind. I can’t see her married to an exec like Josie said because she doesn’t seem to carry herself as an uptight housewife.
“I lunch,” she says.
I look quickly at Josie who shows no expression on her face. What does that even mean?
“You lunch?” I ask.
Alicia flips her two-toned blond and brown hair over her shoulder before tying it high on top of her head in a bun. She moves closer, dragging her bag with her. She sits next to me, acting as if we’ve been friends for the longest time.
I adjust and not discreetly. I don’t know what she wants, but she’s making me uncomfortable.
“I lunch, that’s what I do. I have a man that takes care of my needs and in return, I take care of his.” So I wasn’t too far off on my assessment. “But that’s not why I’m here. You see, we have a mutual friend or two.”
I laugh out loud and have to cover my mouth. There’s no way she runs in the same social circle as us. She reaches into her bag and pulls out some papers, holding them in her lap.
“I think you know him.” She hands me a photo and points to the man in the picture. The man just happens to be Harrison and the photo was taken last night. I look at Josie, whose lips are in a tight line. I don’t know what I’m supposed to think here. “I’m going to cut to the chase. You have something I want… well actually I own. Harrison and I have history… and you’re in the way.”
“Excuse me?” My tongue is thick, my jaw clenching.
“I think you’re mistaken here,” Josie says before Alicia… Alicia… I look at her full on. I study her face, taking in her the shape of her eyes, nose and lips. I gasp, my hand covering my mouth, my eyes watering as realization sets in.
“History?” I squeak out.
Alicia shows me picture after picture of her and Harrison. A few look like they were taken on the red carpet, but I don’t remember seeing her, but I also stopped paying attention to him for a few minutes. Another picture is of them embracing, backstage I’m guessing. He’s touching her like he touches me. Picture after picture of them together and not just from last night.
I shake my head. He wouldn’t do this. I know he wouldn’t. “You’re lying,” I say. “Harrison wouldn’t go anywhere near you.”
My words don’t seem to faze her in the least. “Is that what he told you?”
“Among other things.”
“Sweetheart, you should know never to trust a musician, they only want one thing. Besides, do you really think you have what he needs?”
I look away, not wanting her to see the affect she’s having on me.
“I think you need to go,” Josie says with conviction.
Alicia stands, leaving her pictures with me. “I’ll see you ladies in Beaumont. Harrison assures me I’ll just love his house. That’s the one you used to live in, right Josie?”
We aren’t given an opportunity to respond before she steps out of the cabana and disappears. Josie comes over to me and wraps her arms around me. I sob into her shoulder. I knew everything with him was going to fall apart. Everything seemed to fit into place far too easily for us. It was too good to be true. I was right to second-guess my feelings for him. I should’ve listened to my head when it was screaming at me to stay away from him, but he assured me that we were solid.
He lied.
I’m bored.
I spin on my stool like I used to do with Quinn when he was little, waiting for inspiration to strike. Liam is at ‘work’. He forgot, in all his infinite wisdom, that it takes at least two people to run Josie’s store, so he’s working with Jenna for the next couple of days.
And I sit here, bored. The kids are in school. JD stayed in L.A. I came to work to get my mind off Katelyn and her not being here, but it’s not working. All I can think about after waking up next to her, is that being alone only solidifies my desire to be a part of her life. I’m not sure what step is next, except for telling the kids. But after that, what happens next? I know that I need to see her every day to feel alive. I just don’t know what she wants or needs. I plan to find out, though.
I pull my ringing phone out of my pocket. My heart starts beating faster thinking its Katelyn. I look at the unfamiliar number and hope soars.
“Hello?”
“Mr. James?”
I feel as if my heart suddenly stops beating. The voice on the other end is not Katelyn. I should’ve known better. We may be sharing ourselves intimately, but we have yet to talk on the phone, and I was hoping that would be rectified.
“Yes?”
“This Mr. Lumsden, Principal at Beaumont Elementary –“
“Is Quinn okay?” I blurt out before he has a chance to tell me why he’s calling.
“Yes and no. I need you to come down and meet with me. When can you be here?”