Page 114 of We Met Like This
I stepped out of the car and it wasn’t until he was driving away and I was walking up the pathway, dragging my suitcase in one hand and my purse and backpack in the other, that I remembered the stupid fruit tray. How could I have forgotten? “Because you’re irresponsible,” I muttered.
I pulled up a delivery app on my phone and found the closest grocery store. Between having to buy the already cut tray of fruit, having to order a few more items to meet the minimum requirement, and adding a tip, I spent way too much for someone who was watching her money.
I knocked on the door and waited. The process of ordering the fruit had made me go from on time to ten minutes late. I tried the door handle. It was locked. Like I’d told Oliver, they were probably all in the backyard. I left my suitcase on the porch and headed for the side gate when my phone started buzzing in my pocket.
I pulled it out, thinking it might be Oliver. Maybe he’d changed his mind about wanting to stay. It wasn’t Oliver. It was Rob. I hadn’t answered his phone calls all weekend and I didn’t want to now, but something came over me.
“Rob,” I answered. “Stop calling me.”
“You got a copy of the contract,” was how he responded.
“Is that what this harassment is about? Yes, I got it.”
“Then why the hell do you think you can poach Kari Cross from me?”
I was stunned silent. He caught me off guard and I stuttered out a defensive “I-I, that’s not what I’m trying to do. I have to go. I’m at my sister’s.” I hung up the phone, my hands shaking. Shit. It probably did look a lot like I was trying to steal her, with her calling me on my cell and sending me on research trips. Was that why he sent me a copy of the contract? I sighed out a frustrated breath of air. I’d deal with him later. Tell him that she’d only hired me in an assistant capacity. I’d done nothing wrong.
I climbed up on the stone border of the flower bed and reached over the gate to unlatch and open it. I could hear the boys splashing in the pool as I made my way around the house. My mind was still spinning with the phone call.
I plastered a smile on my face because the only thing worse than being late to a party was being lateandpissy.
My sister’s yard was just as gorgeous as her house. A big pool surrounded by stamped concrete and a built-in bar and barbecue under a large gazebo took up half the yard. Lush green grass framed the pool, and flowers and trees lined the cedar fence. Her yard had been featured in some home-and-garden magazine last year, the cover of which was framed in her house.
Mom saw me first from where she was sitting in a lounge chair under a patio umbrella. She held a frozen drink and waved. “Margot!”
“Hi, everyone.”
Like the cars out front indicated, there were more people in and around the pool than just my family—several couples I didn’t recognize. Obviously, some friends had been invited, their kids playing alongside the twins, pool noodles flying.
My sister glanced over from where she was arranging food on a wooden table. Her eyes took me in and I knew exactly what she was looking for. “It’s coming,” I said when I was within talking range.
“What’s coming?” she asked just as I noticed a gorgeous tray of fruit already on the table.
I pointed at it. “I was bringing the fruit.”
“It was getting late so I just whipped something together. No big deal.”
It was too late to cancel my order. I knew that much. It had already been claimed by someone named Denise and had an estimated delivery time and everything. “I was bringing it,” I said.
“Should I put this away?” she asked in a perfectly innocent voice.
Mom had joined us now and she kissed my cheek. “You look like you got some sun this weekend.”
It was probably just frustration that had turned my cheeks pink, but Oliver and I had been outside more than I typically was, so I could’ve been a little burned. “Hi, Mom.” I gave her a hug. Then, realizing I was just frustrated about the fruit because I was trying to save money, I gave my sister a hug too. “Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Glad you made it.”
I went and greeted my dad and Chase, who were by the grill.
“Are you going to swim with us, Aunt Margot?” Samuel yelled from the pool.
Most of the other adults wore swimsuits even though none of them was actually in the pool.
“Yes,” I said.
“Yay!” he cheered.
“I left my suitcase on the porch,” I said to my dad. “I’ll go change and be right back.”
