Page 81 of Meet Me in Montreal

“Don’t try to turn this back on me,” she hissed, her eyes in slits.

“Mom says you’re gone every morning, every afternoon. But we get the groceries delivered, the laundry gets sent out. Where do you go? When you’re gone for hours and no one knows where you are, what are you doing? When you fuck yourself in the bathroom after we’ve made love and I’ve obviously not satisfied you, who are you thinking about?”

Zoe’s face changed, something wild flickering behind her eyes. “Fuck you,” she spat out. “If you think this bitch here wants your delusional ass, be my guest. Take her and ride off into the goddamned sunset.”

Zoe got out of her chair and raced away, her face flaming, leaving a trail of Bobby’s unanswered questions in her wake. Santino closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

After an interminable moment of silence, Virgil stood stiffly, running his hand down his cream shirt.

“Well. It’s been a night to remember. I’ll drop you home, Ling, unless you’re going with Bobby.”

Ling shook her head. “I think it would be best if I called a car.”

“Alright.” Virgil looked at Bobby wordlessly, then stood up and dropped another couple hundred on the table. He held his hand out to Santino. “Good night, Santino.”

Santino stood up and shook it. “Good night, Virgil.”

Vanessa didn’t even have the heart to try and shake his hand before he left.

Ling stood up. She kissed Vanessa’s cheek woodenly. “It was nice meeting you. The next time you’re in Montreal, let me know. We’ll have another coffee.”

Next, she shook Santino’s hand, but when she got to Bobby, the handshake was accompanied by a gentle kiss on the cheek. Softly, she murmured in his ear, “Don’t contact me anymore.”

She straightened her shoulders, and when she walked out, Bobby slumped in his seat. Vanessa’s heart broke, for him, for herself. A secret, wizened part of her heart had hoped to be there if the royals ever came down from their pedestal. But now that she was witnessing it happen in real time, there was nothing but sorrow and grime coating the inside of her chest.

“What the fuck was that?” Santino asked Bobby quietly. “Didn’t you say you’d never leave Zoe for her?”

Vanessa turned to Santino slowly. “They met yesterday. What are you talking about?”

His answering admission came even slower. “Actually, they met a few years ago, last time Bobby was here for some medical conference. They kept in touch.”

“How did you know that? And when did you know?” Vanessa’s heart tumbled in her chest as she waited for his reply. She hadn’t thought it would be possible for his face to turn an even deeper shade of crimson.

“Earlier today. He told meafterhe invited himself to this dinner.”

She touched her forehead with her fingers, shaking her head and laughing. She stood there, deflate,d in her beautiful dress and heels. Something was close to bursting in her chest. It wasn’t anger, it was disappointment, in herself, in Santino, in her brother. But the last thing she needed was another showdown in this place.

“Can we just go back to the hotel?” she asked, smoothing her dress down to cover her knees. It was too short. She was overexposed.

“Of course,” Santino agreed hastily, rising to his feet. “And in the morning, we’re heading to Toronto. This place is fucking done.”

Vanessa didn’t respond to that. She got Bobby to stand while Santino put the last of the money down, not waiting for a bill. She tried texting Zoe to see if she was still in the complex and got a “Fuck off, bitch,” in response.

Okay then. She kinda deserved that one.

Stiff, not speaking, she took Bobby’s keys when the valet brought their cars around and put him in the passenger seat. Silent tears rolled down his face once she started driving, but she was suddenly exhausted and had no comfort left in her to give. Not even enough for a small loan. Santino followed them out as they headed toward the bridge.

“I can’t go back to my hotel.” Bobby finally spoke. The sound of defeat, the shame on his face, were too hard to hear, too hard to look at. “Can I spend the night? A chair, the floor. I don’t care. I just can’t face Zoe right now.”

“We’ve got a living room and a couch.”

Santino’s comment when she’d first seen that couch came back to her suddenly. Just like that couch, he hadn’t pulled out, as he’d said. How the fuck had she allowed herself to go so far with him in a matter of days?

Not wanting to think about that or whether there would be any lasting consequences from her impulsive choices, Vanessa turned the radio on once they were on the bridge. It managed to drown out the noise in her head with the thumping beats of random house music all the way back. She was getting Bobby settled on the couch when Santino came into the suite.

“I stopped to get some sodas,” he said, showing her the cans. “Did you guys want to stay up and hang out for a little while? It’s still early.”

Bobby lay down on his side, facing the back of the couch. Santino, seeing he’d gotten his answer, raised his eyebrows and took the drinks into the bedroom. Since there was no door between the two spaces, he gestured to the vanity with a movement of his head and she followed, folding her arms and leaning on the counter.

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