by Livia Grant
"While he what, Cali?"
"Nothing. It's not important now. I'm sorry if this news hurt you, but I just know if you'd found this evidence, I would have wanted you to share it with me, you know? I'm so tired of his lies."
"Cali, would you consider having dinner with me some time? Before you think I'm coming on to you or something, I'm not. I'd just like to talk with you more. I think we could help each other through some of the shit, you know? Maybe you could bring his laptop along and let me see some of the messages?"
"I don't think that's a good idea, Nick."
"Which part? Dinner or the laptop?"
"Both."
"Please. Friday night. I can have Andi sleep over at her best friend's house."
"Let me think about it, okay?"
"Okay. Is this your cell phone you called from?"
"Yes."
"Then we'll talk later in the week. Think about it, Cali. It would mean a lot to me."
"Goodnight, Nick."
"Goodnight, Cali. Try to get some sleep."
CHAPTER FOUR
"Would you like another drink, sir?" The portly bartender reached to take away his empty rock glass. Nick wanted another to calm his nerves.
"Not yet. I'll wait for my companion to join me first, thanks."
He had arrived early at the Greek restaurant in his old haunting ground near Georgetown. He'd been relieved when Cali had texted him the night before, agreeing to meet for dinner. He'd begun to worry she wouldn't feel up to it. Not that he blamed her. A part of him dreaded learning more about how Veronica had made a fool out of him, but he'd begun to think of tonight as the figurative ripping off of the band-aid. It may hurt worse for a bit, but it would help heal the wounds she'd inflicted faster. That was the plan, anyway.
Calista had asked him to pick a place to meet. He'd chosen Georgio's for two reasons. One, because Veronica had hated Greek food and refused to eat there. More importantly, it would be easier for the two of them to disappear into the sea of people on a Friday night in a college neighborhood. He didn't want to risk meeting anywhere near either of their homes on the off chance they might be seen by someone either of them knew.
"Nick?"
He'd been lost in thought and missed her arrival. Nick swung around to greet her. He had forgotten how beautiful she was with her silky black hair, amber-brown eyes, olive skin, and hourglass figure. He couldn't believe what a stupid fuck Kevin Bennett had been to cheat on someone like Cali.
Their eyes locked as they silently sized each other up. The surrounding candlelight reflected off the tears that glistened in her eyes. She looked as fragile as he'd been feeling the last four weeks. It was odd that a strength he hadn't felt minutes before surged through him, urging Nick to protect the woman standing before him from any more harm.
A tear spilled over and trickled down her cheek. He longed to reach out and swipe it away. Her eyes widened in surprise when he gently cupped her face. It gave her the courage to rush into his arms. She hugged him with all her strength.
A cocktail of emotions rushed Nicholas as he held her. It only got worse as her tears turned to sobs. He should have picked a more private place to meet. Restaurant patrons were watching them.
Nick stroked her long, black hair as he rocked her gently in his arms. "Shhh, Cali. It may not feel like it, but it's gonna be okay."
He took the handkerchief out he had been clairvoyant enough to bring along. After she'd calmed, he let her dry her eyes before he took her by her elbow and escorted her toward the restaurant portion of the establishment. He had made reservations and they were ushered to a private booth at the back of the dimly lit restaurant.
Once seated, an awkward silence stretched between them. Nick tried to put her at ease. "Thanks again for calling me, Cali. I think you're the first person I've talked to since... the accident... that understands what I'm going through."
He saw her exhale as if she'd been holding her breath. "I'm relieved. I wasn't sure if you'd be angry for... well... you know."
"I may be angry about a lot of things, Cali, but I promise you that you're the last person that anger is directed at. Unfortunately, the two people who deserve my hatred can't be here. I don't blame you for marrying an asshole."
Nick regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He may have hated Kevin Bennett, but Cali was still mourning her loss. She didn't need to be put in a position to defend him. Cali responded before he could apologize.
"I don't blame you for hating him. Most days I hate him too. I can't say I think of your wife kindly either." She tried to smile, but it came off more as a grimace.
Nick paused before admitting what he'd been struggling with. "I've been trying to blame Kevin for corrupting her, but it isn't working. Deep down, I knew she wasn't happy anymore. I was never ambitious enough for Veronica. She was furious that I wasn't made associate partner yet. I don't even think it was only about the money, but more about the prestige. I've had a lot of time to reflect on it and I think it was so important to her that she gave up on me and moved on to Kevin, knowing that as a Bennett he would certainly be a partner soon."
He watched for her reaction. She didn't look surprised. "I wish I knew if he'd planned on leaving me for her. He was furious..." She stopped abruptly as she weighed her next words. "It's not important now, I guess."
He pressed her. "What could he possibly be angry at you about?"
"Let's just say you aren't the only one who disappointed their spouse."
"Well then he was a bigger idiot than I even gave him credit for."
After their waitress took their order and brought them their drinks and appetizer of flaming cheese, Nick broached the subject that had brought them together. "Did you bring the laptop with the backup?"
Cali hesitated. "You're sure? I've read more. Trust me when I say it's gonna hurt to read it."
"I don't have a choice. I need to know so I can move on."
Cali reached into her purse and pulled out a small USB thumb drive. She slowly pushed it across the table between them. Nick extended his hand and for a few brief seconds, their fingers brushed.
He despised the circumstances that brought them to this place and time together, but in that minute he felt a bond with the fragile woman sitting across the table. Even if they never saw each other again after tonight, they would forever be linked in an intimate way having been put through the same ordeal by their spouses. Kevin and Veronica had set things in motion and Nick and Cali were going along for the ride.
Calista's words brought him back to the present. "There was too much to read here in the restaurant and anyway, you'll want to read it when you are alone."
"I'll have to read it when Andi is gone then."
"How is your daughter doing with her loss?" Her look of concern was genuine.
"Honestly, Andi is doing remarkably well. I'm not sure if you picked up on it in our short time together at the holiday party, but Roni didn't enjoy being a mother. Not really. Andrea was less dependent on her mom than I realized."
"Did you make her get pregnant?" Calista's face turned a bright red. "I'm so sorry. That was a rude question. It's none of my business."
Nick tried to put her mind at ease. "Don't worry about hurting my feelings, Cali. You can ask me anything, and while I was definitely thrilled when we had Andrea, it was a shock. See, Roni and I had broken up some time before. She showed up on my doorstep when Andi was a few weeks old with a sob story about not being able to abort my baby because she was still in love with me. Even now, knowing how things turned out, I don't regret it. Roni and I may have had our problems, but making Andrea was the one thing we did right."
"You're lucky to have her. The house is so empty now."
"Does your family live nearby? Are they helping out?"
A new sadness moved into Cali's eyes. "I grew up in Baltimore. My parents moved over from Greece a few years before I was born. They opened a restaurant in Greektown and so I grew up working there. I had always planned o
n sticking with the family business but then... well... my parents and I were close until I was in high school." She paused as if she was figuring out what she wanted to share. "Then we hit kind of a rough patch and grew apart. I got a great scholarship and left for college. I hoped the time apart would help us heal, but then mom died suddenly when I was a freshman in college. Dad has been a hot-mess ever since. We've remained pretty estranged. He came to Kevin's funeral, but I don't expect to hear from him again anytime soon"
"I'm sorry you don't have a support system."
"My best friend, Lucy, has been a big help. How about you? Other than Andi, that is."
"I grew up in a suburb of Detroit. As you may have guessed with the last name Mikos, my family is from Greece too, although we've been in the States a few more generations than your family. I have an older sister and then I came along many years later as their 'oops'. Dad died of a heart attack about ten years ago and my sister, Natalie, and I have the joy of watching our mother sinking deeper into the throes of early onset Alzheimer's."
"I'm so sorry. That must be so hard to watch your mom changing like that."
"Thanks and yes, it is. They came for the funeral, of course. Natalie was a big help, but she couldn't stay long. She has her own family and they own a restaurant like your dad. Mom is too far-gone to be able to help. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. I'll be able to stay home for the next few weeks, but I'm sure George Bennett is going to want me back on the road meeting clients again soon. I can tell he's shaken up by his son's death, but he's managed to keep going into the office. I talked to him this afternoon. I couldn't help but get the feeling he blames me somehow for Kevin's death."
"I wouldn't put it past him. Kevin's family has pretty much dropped off the face of the earth since the funeral."
A strained silence stretched between them as the waitress delivered their entrees and refilled drinks. After she left, Cali asked, "How long have you worked at BB&M?"
"Since I passed the bar. Just over eight years. Maybe having Bennett blame me is for the best. I haven't been happy there in a long time. I'm going to have to look for a job where I can be at home every night. I've tried hiring a nanny. I've called around town to several of the services. They've sent me dozens of resumes and I've even met with a few ladies, but I just can't find anyone I would feel comfortable leaving Andi with for several days at a time, you know?"
"I hadn't thought of that. It's going to be hard for you. Kevin would be gone for days at a time." Their eyes met. He knew what she was going to say before she spoke. "Looking back, I wonder how many of those nights I thought he was away on business were actually spent with Veronica when you were out of town?"
A renewed wave of rage coursed through Nick at the thought of Roni meeting Kevin. Who had been watching Andi at the time? Had she left Andi home in bed alone to meet her lover? Had she snuck the bastard into their home and let him fuck her in their marital bed while their daughter slept down the hall?
He hadn't spoken his suspicion, but when his eyes met Cali's, he could tell she knew what he'd been thinking. "Unfortunately, as you'll find on the thumb drive, it was probably all of the scenarios you just ran through your head."
"I'm so sorry, Cali."
"You're sorry? For what?"
"That my wife..."
"Stop. This isn't your fault any more than it's mine. Let the blame stay with them. They paid for it with their lives. I just want to put my life back together and figure out what I'm going to do next. I can't stay in the huge house alone so I've already decided to sell it. I just don't know if I should stay in the area or move back to Baltimore or move somewhere completely new and start all over again where no one looks at me with pity in their eyes. Lucky for me, they need school teachers everywhere."
"I'm going through the same evaluation. I don't want to make Andi move schools and be away from her friends unless I have to, though. Lucky for me, they need lawyers everywhere, too."
They finished dinner talking about much lighter topics. Only after they'd shared an order of Baklava and drank their strong after-dinner coffees, did their conversation return to more personal topics.
"Thank you again for calling me the other night, Cali. I know it wasn't easy for you. As hard as it is to talk about what happened, I still had a good time with you tonight."
"I'm glad I decided to come too. I'm not sure how you'll feel about this, but I'd like to offer to babysit Andi for you if you run into a pinch and don't have anyone else. I know she's never met me, but... well... I love kids, obviously, since I'm an elementary school teacher. I wasn't able to have kids of my own so being able to help you with Andi would actually be a treat for me."
Her offer came out of left field. Nick hadn't expected it. He hesitated long enough that Cali shifted in her seat and looked embarrassed. "Hey, never mind. I can tell you don't like the idea."
"I never said that. You just caught me off guard. Why would you offer to do something like that? You don't have any obligation to me, you know."
He saw the flash of anger in her amber eyes. "I'm not offering out of obligation. I just thought we could help each other out. I'm lonely and have too much time on my hands and until you find another job, you're gonna need someone to help with Andrea. If you don't want my help, that's fine. I understand."
He saw her pain. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I never expected the offer. Can you give me some time to think about it?"
"Sure. The offer won't expire. Just give me a call." The waitress arrived with their check. She reached into her purse to pull out her wallet. Nick snatched it up.
Nick interjected, "Oh no you don't. Dinner is on me, tonight. I asked you, remember?"
"That's not necessary, Nick. This wasn't a date. At least let me pay my half."
"Not on your life. This one is my treat. Maybe we can do this again sometime."
Her uneasiness shone through her eyes as she shifted in her seat. "Maybe. Why don't you see how you feel after you read the USB drive."
"Nothing I read on the drive is going to make me blame you, Calista. Nothing."
They settled the bill and left the restaurant together. Nick walked her to her car to make sure she made it safely. Only as their goodbyes were upon them did Nick realize just how much he didn't want the night to end. It had been the first night since the accident that he'd felt alive again. He'd been going through the motions for a month.
Cali unlocked her door before turning back to Nick. "Thanks again for the dinner, Nick. It was good to get out of the house."
"Thanks for calling and for the USB. Please... call me if you need anything, will you?"
"Sure. You too." Nick saw it in her eyes. She thought this was goodbye.
Just in case it was, Nick pulled her into his arms for a final hug. He felt a tremor rush through her body and knew she was cold in the late February chill. They embraced for several long seconds before Cali pulled out of their hug and rushed to sit behind the wheel. She gave a small wave as she pulled out into the snow-covered street. Nick stood and watched her drive away until she turned out of sight. He felt the USB drive in his pocket and knew he was going to be up all night reading.
Calista shoved the stack of papers and lesson plans into her stylish leather briefcase. It wasn't that she was necessarily in a hurry to get home on another Friday night. Considering how long the weekends stretched out in the three months since Kevin's death, the only advantage of heading straight home from school was she could open the waiting bottle of wine sooner.
A fellow third grade teacher, Bethany, called out as she passed her open classroom door. "Night Cali. Hope you have a good weekend."
She stopped to poke her head in. "You too, Bethany. You and Jim have fun with your in-laws visiting."
"Very funny. I hope I'm still married when you see me on Monday."
"Me too. Just stay calm. They're leaving soon."
Cali headed out to the parking lot, thinking of how she'd love to get rid of her own in-laws. S
ince Kevin's death, they had barely checked in with her to see how she was doing and when they had, each conversation had gotten more accusatory about what she'd done to push their son into the arms of another woman. Not once had they said they were sorry about how Kevin had treated her. Not once had they offered to help her sort out her finances. It had been up to her to figure out that Kevin had neglected to purchase life insurance. It had been up to her to figure out how much debt they were in and how there was no way her teacher's salary alone was going to be able to dig herself out.
She wasn't looking forward to her appointment with a real estate agent the following day. It wasn't that she was emotionally attached to the house per se, but she wasn't prepared to deal with figuring out where she wanted to move yet. She was just grateful they had put close to fifty percent down on the house, with her in-law's help of course. She would be fine financially once she got the equity out.
She was approaching her car when she looked beyond to see Nicholas Mikos walking towards her. He looked even more handsome than she remembered from their dinner a few months before. She stood rooted to her spot as their eyes locked. She hadn't expected him to seek her out in person.
"Cali. I'm sorry to startle you, but I was worried about you and... well... I wanted to talk with you."
Her brain was running on high speed, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Nick. I didn't expect to see you here."
"I understand, but you aren't taking my calls. I didn't want to come to the house so I thought this would be the best place to approach you."
"I didn't take two of your calls and that was after you ignored several of my texts first. I get it. I knew reading the stuff on the USB would change how you felt about everything."
"I'm sorry. I was a jerk not to respond. It just took some time to process everything."
"Hey, you don't need to explain it to me. And you don't need to apologize. Just because my husband fucked your wife doesn't mean you owe me anything." Cali's anger had been lurking just under the surface for days. She had to hold it together during the week at school, but she'd found she needed the weekends to let it all out. Nick was catching the start of her weekend angst.
