Page 42 of Wishes at Water's Edge
She reminded herself that there was nothing for it now but to put an optimistic face on the evening.
“So, Lewis,” she said brightly. “What are the updates on L.A.? Is there any news?”
“Oh, always.” Lewis smiled while helping himself to the chicken parmesan. “And oh, hey! I meant to tell you sooner. Your modeling agency, Alexis, the one you used to work for? One of their models is being featured in Vogue next month. Can you imagine if you’d stuck it out in L.A.? That could have been you.” He chuckled and shook his head.
Alexis had been about to pour French dressing on her salad, but she paused. Lewis’s comment didn’t sit particularly well with her, and she wanted to explain to him how she felt about her life in a way that she hoped he would understand.
“It’s not like that, Lewis,” she said, looking him right in the eye. “I made the decision to quit the agency before moving away from the city. And I didn’t leave L.A. because I felt like I wasn’t succeeding enough as a model. I’d aged out of that career, and I was okay with that. I came here to Rosewood Beach because I missed my family and because I found a contentment here that I’d never had in L.A. People are real here, and they know how to slow down and value the little things in life.”
Lewis shook his head. “This place, though—it’s really quite the change. There’s not much out here. Don’t you think you’ll get bored once your vacation time is over?”
“This isn’t a vacation,” Grayson said slowly, sounding truly irritated for the first time that evening.
“Of course, of course,” Lewis said breezily. “I just mean—you’re here for some rest and relaxation, right? Does it really need to last for the rest of your lives? Don’t you wonder sometimes if you cut your careers short too soon?”
There were a couple of beats of silence before Grayson cleared his throat emphatically. “We both still have careers, Lewis,” he said, his tone a bit crisp.
Lewis clapped Grayson on the shoulder, giving a fake laugh. “Yes, of course you do, buddy.”
Alexis watched her husband’s reaction, and she could see his shoulders lift a little in frustration. She could tell that Grayson was beginning to get annoyed with Lewis’s attitude.
The dinner continued, and she did her best to steer the conversation toward safe subjects. She tried to talk about world events, and even brought up politics at one point, even though that went against the rules of hosting that she always followed. Lewis continued to freely and boastfully give his opinions on all subjects, and before long, she found herself getting annoyed with his attitude too.
“Business has really been great for me,” Lewis said finally, not having noticed that Grayson’s responses to him had become rather clipped. “There are so many advantages to building a career in the city.”
“Fascinating,” Grayson said dryly, and Alexis almost wanted to laugh, but she didn’t.
Lewis continued to talk, unfazed. They all finished eating the dinner, which Alexis couldn’t help noticing that Lewis never complimented. She didn’t mind too much, since she wasn’t vain about her cooking skills, but she knew that the food was in fact very good, and it did seem a little rude of him to not say anything about it at all.
Oh, let it go, Alexis,she told herself.The evening’s almost over anyway. Lewis is Lewis, and it’s still been nice to catch up with him, even though he’s being arrogant. This is a good reminder of how glad I am we left L.A.
“Well, I should be going,” Lewis said after another couple of minutes, glancing at his watch. “I don’t want to keep you two up past eight thirty. I’m sure your partying days are long over.”
Grayson made a noise that sounded somewhat like a grunt as he stood up. “I’ll walk you to the door,” he said simply.
“I’ll come too,” Alexis offered, but at that moment they heard the too-familiar sound of Cash beginning to cry. “Oh, never mind.” She gave Lewis a hurried hug. “Good to see you, Lewis. Be in touch, okay?”
“Sure thing. Someone’s got to remind you two what living is really all about.” He meant it as a joke, that was clear, but Alexis could only force a smile that looked more like a grimace as she left the room and made her way upstairs.
Cash was restless and fitful, but after she fed him, he calmed down and soon went back to sleep. Feeling relieved, she went back downstairs and found Grayson alone in the living room, pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
She recognized that body language as her husband trying to cool off. As soon as he saw her, he started shaking his head.
“He’s my friend, but man—after a certain point, you can only come to the conclusion that the guy is trying to be rude on purpose.”
Alexis sighed and wrapped her arms around her husband. “He’s just being Lewis,” she said. “You know you guys always used to joke around like that in L.A. It was always a competition of some kind. He’s just doing the same thing here.”
Grayson shook his head. “But things are different now. It’s one thing to preen your feathers in front of someone and another thing to consistently make jabs at their way of life.”
Alexis nodded. “I know what you mean. But I think in the end, he was just teasing us. He probably doesn’t know what to make of our new lives and he resorted to poking fun at the way we live. Who knows? Maybe he’s even a little jealous.”
“If he is, he hid it very well.” Grayson let out a huffy sigh.
“And if I remember correctly, he was always one to boast—even more than the rest of our friends.”
“True.” Grayson’s brow was still furrowed, and he continued to pace.
She didn’t ask him what he was thinking about, but she had a strong guess. The same thing was on her mind, even though she didn’t want to think about it. Some of the things that Lewis had said were still bothering her.
