Page 116 of Geordie

LochlanandIareboth dressed in our black tuxes, standing at the bar. I'm listening to my cousin eulogize the merits of a man wearing a kilt while we watch people we don't know and listen to music that, Lily assured me, is the height of sophistication.

“Where's Kenzie?” trying to break up his monologue. “I saw her when you arrived; did she leave you, man?”

Lochlan stares into his glass. “I guess I should be grateful your humor is back. Lily texted Kenzie to help her dress. Those two have become friends over her trying to conceive.”

“Another cog in the sister network,” I mumble. It's not a criticism. I'm glad Lily has great support; no one is better than Kenzie.

I get an elbow in the ribs from Lochlan as he points his drink to the far corner of the room. “Your Lily has just arrived.”

It must be a trick of the light, the way she shimmers as she greets her guests while angling her way through the gathering towards me. When Lily stops at my side, she leans on my arm, her lips brushing my ear. “You look handsome in your tux. Thanks for wearing it for me.”

She looks bonnie, wearing the diamonds I gave her. I remember her hours ago when she was on her wild ride. The thought makes me wish we were alone again with that dress on the floor and her under me. I smile at her. “You look bonnie, Leannan, you take my breath away.”

Lily bites her lip at the compliment, her cheeks coloring. I slip my arm around her waist, kissing her, until Lochlan slaps me on my back. “Save that for after the party,” Lochlan says. He moves around to Lily. You look beautiful, lass, happy birthday.”

She hugs him. “Thanks,” she says, and I get a pang of jealousy that her attention is on him. Kenzie comes to stand next to Lochlan as Lily returns to my side, as if her place is with me. She turns to the guests; the music stops and the bartenders clink glasses for quiet.

“Welcome to our home,” she announces.

I can't help it. I place my arm around her shoulders. Maybe I'm displaying ownership, but it makes me happy that she acknowledges that we're making a home together.

“Thank you for coming to my birthday celebration. I'm told that dinner is ready. After, we'll dance, and I hope to catch up with everyone tonight.”

They’ve set tables out on the wide patio that wraps around the backyard with heat lamps to keep the party warm. As people take their seats, Lily is flitting around from table to table talking to guests until she reaches our table. “Sit, Lily, there will be time to talk with everyone after dinner,” I say. She reluctantly sits, as Lochlan, Kenzie, Eddie, and Molly join our table. The servers arrive with our first course. The two couples are having side conversations. Molly leans into Eddie.

“Could you get my shawl from the car?”

Eddie looks nonplussed. “You mean the one that you asked me to put in the car?”

She nods. “Sorry, babe, I completely forgot.”

“I've got a shawl you can borrow,” Lilly volunteers. “It won't take me more than a minute to get it.”

She's halfway out of her seat when I place my hand over hers. “Sit, Leannan. Stay with your guests while I fetch it.”

“You'll find it in my top drawer; it's white.”

Lily and Molly are already in deep conversation when I push away from the table. I stroll among the diners, taking the long route to our bedroom. A red cord blocks off this section of the house, but that wouldn't stop anyone who wanted to come back here.

I search the top drawer of her dresser. There's nothing that looks like a white shawl. I open drawer after drawer until I'm at the bottom. I'm about to text Lily when I notice her phone on her vanity table. I dump a drawer on a side table; it's a better method than pushing clothes aside. When I dump the contents of the second drawer, a tiny box falls onto the floor. I scoop it up and pop open the box. A ring with a huge diamond glints back at me.

Lily's jewelry box is sitting on her vanity. Why is this at the bottom of a pile of clothes? Could she have dropped it and not noticed? Not with a diamond this expensive. Her phone vibrates. Walking over to the vanity, I see a text from an STD.Wonderful seeing you today, hope you're enjoying your party, love you, wish I was there.

I can't see if there are messages before this one because I don't have her phone password. I pull the ring out of the box to examine it. There's an inscription. “SD loves LW forever” with this year's date. SD has to be Stephen Dunaway. STD? That message on her phone has to be from him. She lied to me about going to Dalliance to check a freezer; she met him instead.

Heels tapping on hardwood floors are coming toward the walk-in closet. I drop the box back in its place, gather up the clothes, dump them back in the drawer, then quietly close the drawer and open the first one. Lily appears at the door, a wee bit frantic. “I'm so sorry. The shawl is hanging in my closet. With so much going on today, I forgot I got it back from the cleaners yesterday.” She crosses in front of me, slides the closet door open, and snags it off the hanger. “You're so sweet to get this for Molly.”

Should I confront her with the evidence? What will I say? “You've been cheating on me with your ex-boyfriend”? Do I have a right to be possessive? We haven't decided what we are to each other. Sex partners, yes, co-parents, yes, but what's beyond that? If I speak to her about her deceit now, it will ruin her party. We have guests; they don't deserve this drama.

She touches my arm, peering into my face. “What's wrong, Geordie? Something bothering you? Is it about business, or are you unhappy that I sent you on this misdirected errand?”

“I was just concerned that I couldn't find your shawl. Let's get back to the party.”

I'm forced to act as if nothing has happened while Lily's betrayal consumes my thoughts. Lochlan is glaring at me from across the table, telegraphing awhat's wrong with you?on his face. It's from years of living with Lochlan since childhood, that he notices.

I don't get a similar reaction from Lily or the others at the table. It seems Lochlan is the only one who's noticed I have a divided mind. I meet Lily's gaze with a nod, take a drink, and plot.

Servers clear the tables as the gathering drifts to another area for dancing. Lily has already left the table to talk to friends. Molly and Eddie, along with other couples, are filling the dance floor now that they've stopped the ’50s music for something current. I watch Lily drag a reluctant Harv onto the dance floor. “Kenzie, do you mind if I steal my cousin for a chat about Catriona? This can't wait.”

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