Page 45 of Summer Affair

Was he moving too fast?

All day long he could only think about being with her again. About spending another night holding her after making love to her for as long as he could hold out.

When they reached the parking lot, he was about to ask her if he could follow her home, when they heard screaming. They both turned and saw Amy pacing beside her Porsche, a phone to her ear as she screamed.

“I don’t give a fuck. You told me you’d be here. You were supposed to be here tonight. The Trimounts asked for you specifically. I had to make some lame excuse why you couldn’t be here.” She turned and paced again as he and Andrea stood still, both of them hoping that Amy wouldn’t see them in the shadows. “Who was that?” Amy asked after a moment of silence. “This is bullshit, Brad. You swore to me you were done running around. We went to counseling.” He glanced down at Andrea, who shook her head slightly. “No, don’t bother. I’ll be at my sister’s,” Amy said, and then hung up. He felt Andrea tense beside him.

“Well, shit,” Andrea said softly as Amy climbed into her car and sped out of the driveway.

“I guess this means I won’t be coming over tonight,” he said, turning Andrea and pulling her into his arms. “Want to come stay at my place?”

He heard her chuckle. “Thanks, but I think I’d better go make sure she doesn’t break all my grandmother’s good chinaware.” She reached up on her toes and kissed him. “See you tomorrow.”

He watched her go and realized that no matter how perfect Amy’s life seemed on the surface, decay could lurk deep within.

Chapter Fourteen

Andrea unlocked her front door, feeling the weight of the evening’s events lingering in her mind. Casino Night had been a mix of excitement and tension, especially with Amy’s presence and her usual antics. She stepped inside, kicked off her heels, and paused when she noticed Amy’s car pull into the driveway before she could shut her door. She had half expected Amy to already be there, somewhere in her house making herself at home.

She watched Amy get out of her car with a bottle of wine in her hands and head towards her.

“Amy?” Andrea said, getting her sister’s attention.

“Hey, I thought we’d continue our party.” She held up the wine. “With a sleepover.”

Andrea remembered hearing her sister scream at Brad and sighed. No doubt this was her way of avoiding telling her the truth of what was going on between her and her husband. Another game her sister played.

“Sure, come on in.” She made way for Amy to step past her.

Less than fifteen minutes later, they were seated on the deck under the dim lights, the bottle of wine opened and two glasses filled to the brim. Amy had changed out of her flashy dress and into a pair of Andrea’s pajamas, looking uncharacteristically disheveled. Andrea had on her favorite pair of cotton shorts and a tank top.

She’d turned on the fire pit and rested her feet on the edge of the table near the flames to warm them. The last few days of rain had cooled the evenings off.

She poured some chips into a bowl and nibbled on them. She hadn’t gotten to eat a full dinner because she’d been working the casino tables.

“What’s going on?” Andrea asked after a few moments of silence, concern etching her features as she waited for her sister to open up. Did Amy know she and Dean had witnessed the fight?

Amy took a long sip of wine, her eyes red-rimmed and glassy. “Brad and I had a fight. A big one. I…I just needed to get away.”

Andrea felt a pang of sympathy she wasn’t used to feeling towards her sister. Amy had never opened up to her, never hinted that her life was anything but perfect, which told Andrea that this time it was serious.

“What happened?” she asked.

Amy stared into the fire pit, the flames casting flickering shadows on her face. “He doesn’t want kids, Andrea. I do. I’ve always wanted a family, but he won’t even consider it. And he…he cheats. All the time. He doesn’t even try to hide it anymore.”

Andrea’s heart clenched. “Amy, I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

Tears welled up in Amy’s eyes, and she quickly wiped them away. “I’m just so tired. I put on this act, you know? Pretending everything is perfect. But it’s not. My life is a mess. I’ve tried everything to make this work. We even went to counseling.”

Andrea reached out, squeezing her sister’s hand. “Why don’t you leave him? You deserve better than this.”

Amy let out a bitter laugh. “It’s not that simple. I signed a prenuptial agreement. If I leave him, I get nothing. I don’t have a career like you, a job, or even skills that I can fall back on. I don’t have anything except”—she shrugged—“being an expensive piece of eye candy.”

They sat in silence for a moment, the crackling of the fire the only sound between them. Andrea took a deep breath, trying to think of the right words to say. “You’re stronger than you think. You can rebuild. Money isn’t everything. You can start over, find someone who truly loves you and wants the same things you do. Besides, you have a very useful skill. You’ve thrown some of the best charity events around.”

Amy’s tears flowed freely now, and she didn’t bother wiping them away. “I don’t even know where to start outside of him. I feel so trapped. All I know how to do is spend money or to get others to donate it for one of the causes Brad has assigned me.”

Andrea pulled her sister into a hug, holding her tightly. “You start by believing in yourself and quit tearing down others to make you feel better.”