Fidelity (Infidelity #5)

“Holy shit,” Alexandria murmured.

“We spoke…” I emphasized the word. “…for the first time at that party. We were surrounded by other guests. I’d planned all these fantastic business pitches. That was why I was there. The guest list was exclusive. However, fate had other plans.” I turned to Adelaide. “Everyone else disappeared. It was only the two of us. I’d never been so attracted…” My eyes closed in memory and reopened. “…I had, but I never believed that I deserved to know that same kind of love for a second time in my life.”

Adelaide squeezed my hand as Lennox tensed. The muscles of his face flexed as he clenched his jaw, just as he had in his office when I’d explained this for the first time.

“It was a few months later before I tried to contact Adelaide again. I couldn’t get her out of my mind.”

As had happened decades ago at the Christmas party, the rest of the table disappeared. I was recounting our story to the only woman whose opinion mattered. In her gaze I saw the love I’d feared was gone. Was it because we were walking down memory lane or was it still there?

“He tracked me down at a luncheon,” Adelaide said. “Of course I hadn’t gotten him out of my mind either, but I never thought… when he stood there at that restaurant for a moment I thought he was a figment of my imagination.” She reached out and caressed my cheek. “But he was real, just as he was when I woke this morning.”

“Amore mio.”

“My love.”





NOX’S HAND ON my thigh kept me seated, kept me quiet as I listened to one of the most unbelievable stories I’d ever heard.

How is this possible?

How can it be true?

After the shock eased a bit, I tried to take in the scene. I focused not only on their words but also the way my mother and Oren stared at one another. They were well into their private history and stories of stolen moments and secret rendezvous when it hit me—my momma had an affair.

My mother screwed around on Alton.

I suppose that should have upset me. After all, shouldn’t I look to my parents as a moral compass? But the reality didn’t upset me. I’d known most of my life that Alton cheated on my mother. After the last two weeks, I believed it had happened right under her nose. What I never imagined was that my mother had done it too—that she’d actually experienced happiness.

“I couldn’t do as he asked.” Momma’s chest heaved. “Telling Oren to leave me and going back to you and Montague…” She looked at me. “…was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.” She turned back to Oren. “I wanted you to find someone else.”

“That’s when you moved to London,” Silvia said to Oren matter-of-factly.

Oren turned toward her. “It was. You all had each other.”

Nox’s grip tensed. When I looked up, his jaw was set, hard and rigid.

“I didn’t know who you were,” Silvia said to my mother, “but I knew about you.”

“You did? How?” Nox asked.

“Angelina.”

His lips pursed.

Silvia nodded. “Get that look off your face, Lennox. She approved.”

Oren shifted in his chair. “I didn’t know that she told you.”

“It really is nice to finally meet you, Adelaide.”

My momma’s eyes glistened with moisture. “Thank you, Silvia, that means more than you know.”

A stillness fell over the dining room, a calm like that following a storm. Maybe that was what it was. The storm had passed and we were all here.

“Now it’s my turn,” Momma said, “to thank you. I don’t know who all is responsible for saving me…” She smiled, her eyes sparkling in a way I couldn’t recall witnessing. “…kidnapping me but thank you.”

We all turned toward footsteps on the wooden floor.

“Good afternoon,” Deloris said. “It appears you’re all having a party and I wasn’t invited.”

“Mrs. Witt,” Oren said, with a grand gesture. “Please, join us.”

She sat between Chelsea and Silvia, nodding at each and scanning our grouping. The dining room table was large, but in its current form we were nearing capacity. Deloris looked at my mother. “Mrs. Fitzgerald, I’m Deloris Witt. Nice to meet you.”

“Witt?” Momma turned to me. “Is she the one who spoke to Alton and me after the incident in the park?”

“Yes.” I looked from one to the other. “Momma, Deloris. Deloris, this is my mother.”

Momma nodded. “Nice to meet you, Deloris. You’re a strong woman. My husband was not impressed.”

With a slight smile Deloris continued as she scooted her chair forward, “I’ve been working on many different things and different avenues. I’d say the most important bit of information right now is that the medical examiner just released information on the body found at Carmichael Hall.”

She had the full attention of everyone in the room. Six sets of eyes opened wide in anticipation.