Fifteen Weekends (24 page)

  As she returned to the table she saw her dinner had arrived.

  “Ah, there you are, darling. I was about to send a search party to look for you,” Liam said with a laugh.

  “Oh, sorry. I got caught up chatting with one of the ladies in the bathroom. She was asking me about my dress,” Ashleigh lied.

  Staring at her food, Ashleigh felt nauseous. She was starving, but how could she eat at a time like this. Noticing the breadbasket on the table she reached for a small roll, gently tearing off a corner and popping it in her mouth.

  “It is a lovely dress. I can certainly understand why she would make an inquiry,” Liam said as he cut into his sirloin drizzled with a sharp peppered sauce.

  Ashleigh needed more information about this Lydia character. What did she look like? What did she do for a living? She wasn’t quite sure she could stomach listening to Liam boast about the other woman, who was now her competition. Suddenly it occurred to Ashleigh, that she totally had the upper hand in this situation. History, they shared history and a deep friendship. No random British Chippy could compete with history.

  “So Liam, tell me more about Lydia? How long have you known her? Where is she from?”

  After about twenty minutes of conversation, she learned Lydia James was thirty-six years old, originally from Bermondsey, a district in south London. Liam described her as being humorous with a good head for business. Physically she was about five foot eight with beautiful honey-blonde hair and blue eyes. He reached for his iPhone and showed Ashleigh a picture. He was right, she was beautiful. In the photo she had on a short, sparkling little black dress. Her hair was blowing in the wind, and she looked like a model. Lydia was tall, thin and stunningly gorgeous. In that moment she thought of Xavier and how he and Lydia would be a perfect match. Maybe she should set those two up. Ashleigh laughed to herself at the idea.

  Lydia was an Advertising Executive at a firm in London. A few of her clients were interested in placing advertisements in
Wanderlust,
and because there were several brands and businesses involved, Liam and a few of the other senior leaders of the company were asked to attend the meeting. Liam and Lydia began talking after the meeting, and she asked him out for coffee so he went. He said he liked her quite a lot and asked if she would have dinner with him the following night. Of course she said yes. 

  After hearing about the fascinating Lydia, Ashleigh thought she might actually hurl. It was unlike Ashleigh to be jealous of a woman she had never met. Liam was a good judge of character, though, so Lydia probably was as lovely as he described her being. Her thoughts were interrupted as the server cleared their plates from the table.

  He glanced at his watch and said, “Well this has been a wonderful evening. I unfortunately must go. I have an early meeting.” He motioned to the server for the check.

  Her face fell as coldness seeped into her body. “A meeting? On a Saturday morning?” her tone was questioning. She wondered if Liam was going to meet Lydia, and now she was experiencing an emotion she hadn’t felt in a long time—jealously.

  “Unfortunately, I do. When the boss asks you to come in on a Saturday, you do it.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  “No, nothing to worry about I am sure.”

  The server approached with the bill, and Liam placed his credit card on the tray. Ashleigh tried to reach for the bill before Liam, but he lightly batted her hand away. Liam stood up and kissed Ashleigh on the lips, which was weird since he just talked about his new lady friend for nearly a half an hour. Ashleigh wondered if maybe she still had an effect on him.

  “May I walk you back to the penthouse?” Liam asked.

  As much as she wanted Liam to take her upstairs in the hopes she could seduce him, Ashleigh just couldn’t. He looked happy, and Ashleigh wasn’t about to interfere with something that could be wonderful for him. All she wanted to do right now was go upstairs, drown herself in alcohol and take a bubble bath, like normal people do when they are hit with soul crushing news. Even though she felt awkward, a little irritated, mostly with herself, not with Liam and overwhelmingly sad, it was good to feel something other than pain and emptiness.

  “No, that’s okay Liam. I know you have things to do. I think I will order a bottle of champagne and sit on the terrace. It’s a nice evening.”

  “That sounds lovely. Enjoy your evening Ashleigh. I’ll ring you tomorrow.”

  And just like that Liam walked out of the hotel leaving Ashleigh feeling cold and alone. This was becoming a trend. After stopping to order the champagne at the bar, Ashleigh arrived at the penthouse. Upon entering the room she stopped and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Sighing deeply she kicked off her heels. She walked up the staircase and began taking off her jewelry. Halfway up the stairs the doorbell rang.
Must be the champagne.
Turning back around, she walked down the stairs and opened the door to find Liam standing there. He brushed past her, and Ashleigh could see he was upset.

  “Liam…hey…I thought you were on your way home?” Liam held up an envelope that had his name on it. Ashleigh was frozen.
Oh no, the card!

Chapter Thirty:

Amanda

  Amanda walked up to the coffee shop, where she would be meeting Julie shortly, when she noticed a young couple across the street from the café holding hands and kissing outside an ice cream shop.

  She thought about Vince and how they spent the most romantic weekend together on the yacht. Vince had told her he loved her, and as a token of his affection he had given her a pair of pear-shaped yellow diamond drop earrings, which she decided she would be wearing to the gala. Vince’s beautiful words twisted inside her, wrecking her with guilt and filling her with joy. The night with Alex was still fresh in her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Admittedly, she found her heart being tugged in opposite directions, torn between two men.

  “Hey, sorry I’m late, sis.” Amanda’s thoughts were interrupted by Julie’s voice. Amanda turned around to see her sister and got a bit of a surprise.

  “You’re pregnant!? Oh my God, Jules!” Amanda was utterly shocked and gave her sister a huge hug.

  Conner wasn’t with Julie, and she explained that last time she saw Amanda, Conner told David that Mommy saw her sister today. Julie said she did the best job she could to explain that what Conner meant was that Mommy had run into a sorority sister.

  “Did David buy that story?” Amanda inquired.

  “I had to be extra persuasive, because he wouldn’t let it go. You can see by my physical condition the measures I had to take,” she teased Amanda.

  “Oh stop it,” Amanda said with a laugh “Do you know if you are having a boy or a girl?”

  “I’m having a girl, and I’m due in November,” she said with a smile.

  “What wonderful news. I am so happy for you. Can I get you a tea or something, sis?”

  “That would be nice. Yes, an Earl Grey, please.”

  Amanda told Julie she would be right back with her tea and walked inside the café. A few moments later she returned and found her sister on the phone. She couldn’t tell what Julie was saying because she was whispering in a soft tone. Julie sighed and ended the call.

  “Everything okay Jules?” Amanda asked, hoping her sister would open up to her.

  “Yes everything is fine. I was talking to Mom. She’s in the middle of planning the Labor Day celebration at the club, and she asked if I could help her out with some things. So, between prepping for the baby, working at Dad’s doing accounting and financials and now helping Mom, I’m feeling exhausted.”

  “I’m glad to hear Mom is back to doing events for the club. I know that really must have hurt her to be asked to leave…you know after I brought so much shame to the family.” Amanda hung her head and sighed.

  Julie took notice of her sister’s polished appearance. Amanda looked more put together than she did the last time they met. Today, she was wearing a pretty floral print blouse paired with white capri pants and a pair of bright yellow, strappy, patent leather sandals. Sunlight reflected off her gorgeous diamond and lemon quartz drop earrings. Her skin was luminous, and her hair was freshly highlighted with warm blonde pieces.

  “Well dear, that is all in the past. However, Amanda you’re looking quite well these days, how are things going at the mall?”

  “Actually Julie, I am living at The River House now with the new man in my life— Vince. It seems my former life is being restored to me. I have new car, I get a weekly allowance, and Vince showers me with designer clothes and jewels regularly. Isn’t that fabulous?” 

  Julie swallowed her tea and started to cough. She accidently spilled some of it on her blouse.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m so clumsy these days. Excuse me sis while I go clean myself off.”

  When Julie walked into the ladies room, Amanda picked up her phone and immediately started checking for any communication between her and Andrew Langston. She scrolled down scanning all the names and conversations. There it was— a conversation between her and Andrew from a few months ago. All it said was:
FINAL
PAYMENT
DEPOSITED
.
THANK
YOU
AGAIN
FOR
ALL
YOU
’
VE
DONE
.

 
She took a screen shot then texted the message to her phone. In order to not get caught, she deleted the text and the image from Julie’s phone. Amanda saw her sister exiting the bathroom and she immediately put Julie’s phone back, pretending to be writing something in her day planner.

  “Did you get the stain out of your blouse?”

  “Yes, luckily I carry one of these handy stain pens wherever I go.” She paused for a moment, took a sip of her tea and said, “I’m so glad you reached out to me, Amanda. I was glad to get your message.”

  Amanda saw the perfect opportunity to bring up her former lover. “Speaking of Facebook messages, I used your login information to stalk Brandon the other day, and I saw you were friends with Andrew Langston, what is that all about?”

  Julie glanced at Amanda with a puzzled look and asked, “Who’s Andrew Langston?”

  Right, like she didn’t know who he was. Amanda knew that tone. Clearly her sister was hiding something. Amanda knew there was a puzzle to piece together, but how would she go about solving it? Remembering Alex had mentioned once that Vince used him to look into her past, she wondered if he could help her with this project. If there was a connection between Julie and Andrew she was going to find it. Amanda was just going to have to push through the awkwardness that existed between the two of them and try to regain the friendship she had with Alex.

   After her spin class, Amanda sat outside the Bagel Beanery soaking up the warm August sunshine and sipping a passion fruit smoothie. Exercise didn’t manage to take her mind off the Julie and Andrew situation. Vince was in New York and wouldn’t be back until the following evening. She sent a text message to Alex asking him to meet her at the apartment saying she needed to talk to him. He had yet to respond.

   A tall woman with blonde hair caught Amanda’s attention as she closed the door of her black Mercedes Benz, which was coincidentally the same make model as Amanda’s. She looked to be in her early thirties and was dressed in her tennis whites that showed off her perfectly tanned skin. Two kids hopped out of the backseat, the girl looked about twelve and the boy about ten. The young girl had the most beautiful green eyes and wavy toffee blonde hair that was pulled up in a tousled ponytail. She was wearing a Ramones t-shirt with a pair of jean shorts that had a rip on the front left leg and black Converse shoes.

  The boy, who opened the book he was carrying, had extreme ash blonde hair like his mom and brown eyes. He was wearing a Detroit Tigers t-shirt and black shorts. The mom, or she could be the nanny, or maybe a step-mom, stood holding the door open for the kids. The little boy was walking hesitantly to the door as if he didn’t want to be there.