Page 73 of Someone to Tempt
"I appreciate hearing about Boris and Mikhail," I tell her with a soft laugh. "I wish my confession involved true love and redemption. Instead, I play the part of the villain—or at least the fool—in this story.” I take a deep breath and just blurt it out. “I had an affair with a married man."The words taste bitter coming out, laced with the shame I tried to bury.
Five pairs of eyes lock on me.
"After everything that happened with your mother?" Sloane asks, sounding confused and, if I'm being honest, disappointed.
"It's not an excuse," I continue, "but he told me they were legally separated, only staying in the marriage for political reasons."
"Then he lied and deceived you, which isn't your fault," Sadie says, always wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt.
She has the kindest heart of any person I've ever met. Maybe it’s because she spends most of her time with animals and not people. Is it too late to change my career path to veterinary medicine? Except I'm allergic.
"Political reasons," Sloane repeats. If anyone realizes the man I'm talking about, it's my best friend. "Who was it?" Based on her flat tone, she already knows the answer.
"Robert Wilhelm," I say quietly.
"The governor of Minnesota?" Molly practically shouts, and Avah elbows her hard.
"Not so loud."
Molly's big green eyes go even wider. "This could be an episode ofCastle of Love. Maybe we'll call itPolitics of Love."
"No." I shake my head and offer her a weak smile. "Not love. We're calling it Iris being a fool because Robert and his wife are not separated, legally or otherwise. I know that because?—"
"She had a baby last year," Taylor says. "I remember seeing a clip of them on one of those Sunday morning news shows. The perfect political family, a potential Camelot for a new generation."
I choke out a laugh. The reference to the lore surrounding John F. Kennedy and his beautiful wife, Jackie, is ironic, given what we now know about the former president's wandering eye.
"Yes, well, good luck to her," I mutter. "I shouldn't have believed him, and it's humiliating enough to be part of something so sordid. But the worst part is knowing I'm exactly the kind of woman my mother was."
"Your mother went after married men for sport," Sloane points out. "You aren't the same."
"It doesn't feel that way." I draw in a deep breath. "After watching her sneak around with a string of boyfriends, I should have known better when Robert told me we had to keep things quiet because they were still working through the dissolution. I should never have believed him, but I did. His wife found out and confronted me with a picture of her unborn baby's sonogram, along with photos of her other two children and their happy family." I sniff and wipe under my eyes. "The one I was going to destroy if I didn't walk away. So I came here thinking I could lick my wounds and start over. I never expected Homer Moore to die, or to be appointed interim mayor when he did."
"Of course you didn't," Sadie agrees.
"I won't say I didn't appreciate the opportunity." I blow my nose again. "It felt like something good was coming from the worst moment of my life. But if Joey does any digging, he'll find out."
"He's not going to find out. This is Skylark. Nobody digs that hard," Molly assures me.
Avah nods. "Besides, you've got so much lukewarm tea thanks to your family, I doubt he's going to be looking that hard at you."
"The one benefit of your reputation of being a rigid stick-in-the-mud," Sadie tells me with a slight grimace, "is no one's going to guess you could have done anything like that."
"But I did do it," I say, devastated. I brace myself for the judgment I've been drowning in ever since Dana Wilhelm came to see me.
Instead, I feel Sloane's hand on my leg again, steady and firm. "You wouldn't have if you'd known," she insists.
I appreciate her confidence in me, and while it's true, my heart doesn't feel like it absolves me of my wrongdoing. I caused a stranger the type of pain I swore I would never be a part of, in any circumstance.
"The bottom line is, you have to decide what you want," Avah says in the silence that follows. "And know we've got your back in whatever way you need."
"I love you guys," I whisper as the tears threaten again. Just like I feared, they might never end now that they've started.
"But you have to decide fast," Sloane cautions. "If Joey gains momentum, you might not be able to stop him."
"If he discovers my secret, I definitely won't."
"You made a mistake," Molly insists, and I finally get the nerve to look around the table. But my friends aren't glaring at me with anger or disgust. Just understanding.
