“I don’t think Chef Roland would have been able to do that.”
“Definitely not,” she laughed.
***
Red had some business to attend to in Hartford, so he left around nine that morning. “I’m looking at some office space for the new company,” he told her.
“You’re not going to have any offices in New York?” she asked.
He shrugged. “New York’s played out. Hartford’s got style, its got character—and besides, it’s a lot cheaper to rent there.”
Nicole laughed. “True.”
“What’re you going to do while I’m gone?” he asked.
“I think Danielle’s going to come by for a few hours.”
“With her new husband?”
“God no. Luckily she didn’t ask to bring him. I’m not sure what I would have said.”
“You’d have told her Kane Wright can set foot on our property when hell freezes over.”
“Not so sure that would go down too well.”
Red grabbed his briefcase and straightened his tie. He was dressed up in a black Armani suit, purple tie, his hair styled, clean-shaven. “I’m off to work.”
She admired him. “You look like how I remember you from the first day we met.”
“In other words—I look totally hot.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “Ego much?”
“Just a little.” He leaned in for a kiss. “Tell Danielle I said hi.”
“I will.”
He kept walking. “Remind her she can still get an annulment if she wants one.”
“Red!”
“I’m just saying…” his voice faded and then the door opened and shut as he left the house.
Nicole cleaned up the kitchen a little for Danielle’s arrival. It felt good to do some dishes, normal things that regular people did who owned a home together.
She’d already showered, but now Nicole also put on a pair of comfortable pants, sandals and a loose fitting long-sleeve shirt. She did her hair and applied a bit of makeup. For the first time since the miscarriage she felt almost human.
Still, there was the pit in her stomach, the deep sense of loss. Nicole didn’t think that would go away anytime soon.
Danielle arrived at the house in a limousine.
She got out of the car, smiling, wearing a sundress and one of those sunhats that old, rich women wear while walking around resort towns. “Hi girl!” she shrieked, as Nicole came out of the house to meet her.
Instantly, Nicole felt annoyed at how unabashedly happy Danielle was. Then Nicole reminded herself that Danielle didn’t know about the miscarriage.
“Hey, Danielle.” Nicole hugged her friend, feeling like she hadn’t seen her in years, even though it had only been days.
Danielle looked at her. “You look thin and pale. Are you doing low carb again or something?”
Nicole shook her head, looking away. “Nope. Just a little tired, I guess.”
“So this is the place!” Danielle said, putting her hands on her hips and taking in the outside of the house and the grounds.
“Yup, this is it.” Nicole already felt tired again. Drained. She’d actually been looking forward to spending time with a friend who didn’t know that she’d gone through hell in back these last few days.
But now that Danielle was actually here, it was different. Nicole was still too raw, too wounded to just have normal girl talk and flit about like some queen bee the way Danielle was doing.
“God, Nicole, this place is amazing.” Danielle pulled off her enormous sunhat and started into the house without asking. “I can’t wait to see the rest of it. It’s almost as big as my house.”
“You mean Kane’s house?” Nicole said.
Danielle turned and gave her a strange look. “No. We’re married now. It’s my house as much as it is his.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course.” Nicole followed her inside.
“The foyer is lovely,” Danielle said. Nicole noticed how tan she still was. Her skin looked glistening and fresh and youthful. Compared to her, Nicole felt like an old hag. Pale, dry skinned, with dark circles under her eyes and an aching wound in her heart.
“Let me give you the tour,” Nicole said with fake cheer.
As they walked, Danielle gave running commentary on the things she liked and the things she didn’t like—there were plenty of both. She liked the floors but not the curtains in the living room. She liked the table in the dining room but she thought there should be a different color used on the walls. Danielle thought the media room was a bit small—the one in the mansion she shared with Kane was probably twice the size.
But she absolutely loved the kitchen.
“I’m going to take a picture of this and tell Kane we need ours to look exactly the same,” she said, pulling out her phone to take a picture.
“Ummmm….I don’t think you should,” Nicole said. “I don’t think Red would like it if you were taking pictures of our home to show Kane.”
Danielle looked at her. “Are you serious?”
“Come on, let me show you the verandah,” Nicole said, trying to change the subject.