Page 62 of Belle Amour

“You're such a city boy.” She teased him, chuckling at the obvious disdain in his voice.

“Yeah, I was raised in the city, not on a farm.” He rolled his eyes as they reached the car and took her bags from her to put in the trunk.

“No wonder Francesca has taken to you.” Mirabelle laughed as she opened her door and got in. “She dislikes anywhere that isn't a major city.”

“I like nature. I like the mountains, the beach, and the ocean. I don't like places that smell like cow shit.” He protested, closing the trunk and climbing in the driver’s seat.

“Sure, Bast, whatever you say.” She kissed his cheek and then settled into her seat, buckling her seatbelt as he did the same. “What's the plan for this afternoon?”

“I don't have one.” Bastian shrugged. “We have a reservation tonight at a Mediterranean restaurant for eight, but other than that, this afternoon is free.”

“Want to go golfing?”

“Are you saying you want to spend it in the pool?”

“Yeah, that's exactly what I was saying,” Mirabelle admitted sheepishly. “I haven't had a chance to relax and swim yet.”

“If that's what you want to do, Bunny, go right ahead.” Bastian picked up her hand and kissed the back. “I’ll check in with Robert, Benji and Peter golf, too, so I'll see if they're available.” He pulled out his phone, sent a quick text, and then started the drive back to the hotel. His phone chimed, and Mirabelle picked it up to read the texts.

“All three of them are in.” She reported.

“Tell them I'll be in touch with the tee time. I have to make some phone calls and see if there's one available for this afternoon.” Mirabelle nodded and sent the text as her phone chimed.

“Well, now the girls want to know what I'm doing since you're golfing.” She chuckled and sent a text back to them.

“Sorry, Bunny,” He smiled at her ruefully, knowing that she would probably prefer to spend the afternoon in the pool by herself. “I didn't think that through.”

“It's fine; I'm not changing my plans. They can join me if they want.” Mirabelle smiled. “I'm gonna swim and read. If that's not exciting enough, they can do something else.”

Chapter Forty-One: Confrontation

After a few phone calls, Bastian managed to get a tee time for two in the afternoon at the Stonebridge Golf Course. He let the guys know, and they all left after lunch to spend some time at the driving range before hitting the course. Mirabelle changed into her swimsuit, dug her book out of her bag, grabbed a towel, and entered the pool area, breathing in the smell of chlorine happily. It was mostly empty, with only two other people on lounge chairs and a few teens swimming. From what she understood, most of the rooms were booked by wedding guests, so she figured most of them were either getting ready for the rehearsals or taking advantage of the bride and groom being otherwise occupied and had gone out to do some things around Ann Arbor.

She put her towel and book on a lounge chair near three others since Eleanor, Caroline, and Lila said they had some shopping to do but would check to see if she was still in the pool area when they got back.

She swam around the pool a dozen times, sticking to the edge of the vaguely kidney-shaped pool, then spent some time floating on her back before climbing out, drying herself off, and settling into a lounge chair to read. She wasn't there very long when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and saw Jillian standing beside her. “Hi.” She smiled, looking a little nervous. “Can I sit?”

“Sure.” Mirabelle nodded. Jillian wasn’t dressed for the pool; she actually looked like she was heading out. She watched as the other woman sat next to her and looked around the room, seemingly unsure about what she wanted to say.

“I wanted to apologize for how everything went down at the scavenger hunt.” She started after a few minutes of silence. “I didn't mean to put you on the spot that way.”

“Well, no, you did. You didn't expect me to say what I said.” Mirabelle smiled at her gently. “It's fine, Jillian, don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.” Jillian chuckled softly. “I did. In my defence, what Casey's been saying about you hasn't put you in the best light.”

“No, I'm sure it hasn't.” Mirabelle tilted her head slightly. Bastian had told her what Robert had said about Eddie seeming to be in the dark when it came to Casey’s plans, and the fact that Jillian didn’t mention Eddie talking badly about her made her start to think it was true.

“You really walked in on them?” She asked quietly.

“Yep. I got a text from my neighbour across the street telling me I needed to get home as soon as possible, and I walked in on them, finishing up on the couch. Casey later admitted to it going on for a year, to which Eddie bravely told her to “Shut up!” Which I got on a recording.”

“Wow.” Jillian looked down, studying her nails. “That's awful. And you got other proof?”

“Yeah, Bast had a financial auditor comb our expenses and found he spent about twenty-five grand on their year-long affair, hotel rooms, mini vacations, etc. Then he sent a private investigator to the places listed in the financial audit and got lots of security footage.” Jillian nodded slowly, still looking at herhands as Mirabelle spoke, and she realized Jillian was very upset about something. “Is everything okay?”

“I told you that all the wives and girlfriends in the friend group have had to put up with Casey because she's “One of the guys.” Jillian's mouth twisted. “None of us like her; most of us wish she’d fall off a cliff or step in front of a bus if I’m being really honest.” She sighed and pushed her hair back off her face.

When I told Zeke what you told me last night, I honestly was thinking, “Yes, finally! We’ll be able to get rid of her!” Imagine my surprise when he said, “Yeah, I know. All the guys know.”

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