Adaline’s face filled with color, and Rayna Jo felt her stomach clench in unease. “Is that for the man who came in last week? Dan or Dean—”
“As a matter of fact, it is. Dale has returned a time or two since and asked if I would handle his account personally.”
“Oh, Adaline. Is that wise? He flirted awfully hard with you.”
Adaline’s color increased still more, and she lifted her perfectly manicured left hand and the wide gold band she wore. “He’s well aware I’m married.”
“That certainly didn’t seem to stop him,” Rayna Jo murmured, unable to keep the note of disapproval from her tone.
“Why should it? Flirting means nothing.”
“Flirting eventually leads to more,” Rayna Jo said. “Addy—”
“Don’t Addy me. It’s fine. You’re overreacting and worrying about nothing. What’s the harm in a few smiles and winks?”
“The harm is that you’re a married woman, and he isn’t your husband.”
“So we’ve established. Ray-Ray, stop being so naive. It’s totally innocent. Besides, I can’t say as I mind getting a few compliments. Hugh’s as flirtatious as a rock. On the bottom of the ocean. I don’t know that he’s even paid me a compliment these past ten years.”
“Hugh is a gem,” Rayna Jo argued. “Maybe he’s not as outgoing and romantic as you’d like, but he’s a good, solid man who worships the ground you walk on. Don’t take that for granted.”
Adaline pursed her lips and shot Rayna Jo a look from beneath her lashes. “I’m not.”
“You are. You’re playing with fire and think no one will get burned.”
“I’m adding spice to a pot that hasn’t simmered in a long, long time. Do you think Richard goes on all his business trips and never turns his head when a pretty woman walks by?”
No, she was sure her husband did turn his head. And a lot more. But it didn’t make it right. Nor did it make the awareness of his actions and behavior hurt any less. “What’s innocent to you might not be considered innocent to what’s-his-name.”
“Dale. And you worry entirely too much,” Adaline said, pinning the last of the navy-and-white-striped fabric to the board. “There. What do you think?”
The board was as gorgeous as they always were when Adaline prepped them. She had a keen decorating eye and used fabrics and textures some might not think would work together.
The board she’d created made for a unique and fabulously understated nautical look well suited for a rich bachelor in a beach town. “When is his appointment?”
She’d hoped to get home early tonight because, unlike her sister, she felt her age. Plus, she liked to look her best when Richard returned from one of his trips, and if she could squeeze in a nap, the beauty sleep couldn’t hurt.
“I’m meeting Dale at his house,” Adaline said, avoiding Rayna Jo’s gaze. “Speaking of which, I’d better get a move on or I’ll be late.”
“I’ll come with you,” Rayna Jo said. “We’ve been slow all day today. It wouldn’t hurt to close up a bit early.”
“No need,” Adaline said, picking up the board after getting her purse from small storage area behind the cash register. “Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Rayna Jo watched as Adaline hurried out the door, heart heavy with the danger ahead for her sister. Maybe Addy could stay strong in the face of the client’s flirting, but why take the risk? Why put herself in the position to teeter on a line that shouldn’t be crossed? How would Hubert feel if he knew?
If Adaline was so unhappy with her marriage, why not go to counseling? Do whatever she could to get the spark back? Anything but seek attention elsewhere.
Rayna Jo left the check-out area and moved through the empty design and decor store, watching as Adaline loaded the board into the back of her Range Rover and shot out of the parking lot.
Adaline’s comment about Richard’s behavior on his business trips had struck a chord, and now she couldn’t shake the dark thoughts or the pain Adaline had inadvertently caused.
She knew very well what took place while her husband was away. Every now and again, she’d see Richard’s receipts. Dinner for two. Drinks. Charges from female clothing stores, lingerie stores that never ended up as gifts for her. Orders for flowers she didn’t receive. Room service for two.
Funny how some men could be so charming and romantic before marriage, but afterwards, the only women they romanced were the ones who didn’t wear their ring.
Her stomach knotted as it always did when she thought of her forty-two-year marriage.
By all accounts, she and Richard had it all. A big, gorgeous house facing the Atlantic, two beautiful twin daughters, each successful in her own right. Nice cars. Great friends.
But peel back the layers, and for the last twenty years, it had all been a sham. She hated the deception of it. Hated that they played the part of the happy couple because… well, for her it was simply easier than facing the truth and starting over.
And for Richard, though they’d never truly discussed it, she believed he liked the convenience of having his cake and eating it, too. She was well aware that, for men like Richard, it was safer to have a wife. After all, it kept pesky mistresses in their place and the relationship between them exactly what it was—physical.
Still, it wasn’t like she hadn’t ever considered putting an end to the shenanigans. But then what? She was sixty-three. Her life almost over.
It was far too late to find her happily ever after….