I noticed Lily walking our way.
Shit. I shouldn’t have suggested we come out to the main bar.
“Nash, who’s your friend?”
Glancing over Lily’s shoulder, I saw Mark talking to Tucker. When I didn’t answer Lily, Kaelynn took it upon herself to make the introductions.
“Kaelynn Dotson. I’m a friend of Morgan’s.”
Lily looked Kaelynn over before giving her a fake smile. “I see. I’m Lily. Nash, may I speak with you, please? In private?”
I took another drink of beer and stood. Taking a step closer to Lily, I answered her in a voice that wasn’t quiet. “Lily, we have nothing to talk about, like I told you not that long ago. Your husband is waiting for you.”
Turning to see Mark standing there, Lily pulled in a deep breath before glancing back at me.
She lifted her chin, smiled, then said, “Enjoy your evening then.”
When she walked away, I took my seat again. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Old girlfriend, I assume?” Kaelynn asked.
“Yes.”
She had the courtesy to not ask anything else. For all I knew, Morgan probably already told her the whole story.
We sat in silence for an awkward moment before I decided to come out with it.
“She cheated on me with a guy, actually. He was waiting for her just then. He was more up to her . . . standards.”
Kaelynn lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”
Slicing my fingers through my hair, I let out a gruff laugh. “I have a group of friends from college I’ve remained good friends with. My best friend, Tucker, owns this bar.”
“Really?” she said with a grin. “Morgan didn’t tell me she knew the owner.”
I shrugged. “Lily is his sister. She came into the group a bit later since she’s younger. We started dating a few years back, and she wanted to keep me her little secret. She told me it was because of her brother, that she was worried he would be pissed we were dating. I had to admit, I was afraid of that as well, so I went along with it. But she kept insisting we couldn’t tell anyone about our relationship. Looking back, I should have realized she was embarrassed by me.”
Kaelynn gasped. “What? Why in the world would she be embarrassed?”
“I didn’t—don’t—have the kind of money she has. I’m the only person in our little group of friends who is considered middle class, working my ass off every day to earn the good ol’ dollar. Not that my friends don’t work their asses off, because they do. Tucker especially does and has never really taken much from his folks. His father was a wealthy businessman here in Austin, but he passed away last year. Lily was being groomed to take over the business and was forced to find a husband suitable to her dad’s liking. Mark was the guy her father picked out for her.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that they lost their father.”
Nodding, I replied, “Yeah. It was hard on Tucker.”
“I can’t imagine,” was all Kaelynn said. I wasn’t sure if she was saying she couldn’t imagine losing a parent or couldn’t imagine the bullshit Lily pulled.
“All of them are good people, down to earth, and have great hearts. Charlie and Tucker, especially. They are considered to be the power couple simply because Charlie is CEO of a large and profitable consulting firm. Y’all would probably hit it off.”
She grinned and replied, “Probably.”
“Anyway, when Charlie and Tucker got married, the press naturally wanted to put his rich surname and Charlie’s name together and make it a big issue. Call more attention to it than either of them wanted or cared to. Charlie is still CEO of her company, but after the baby is born, she’s most likely going to be stepping down, or at least sharing the role to free herself up to enjoy being a mom.”
With a small gasp, Kaelynn leaned forward. “Charleston Middleton, formerly Charleston Monroe, of CMI Consulting?”
I nodded. “Yeah, how do you know Charlie?”
She laughed. “Oh, I don’t. I’ve heard of her.”