“It’s fine,” Veronica said. “I’ll come get you when the call comes in. Where will you be?”
“Probably in the dining room or outside on the docks,” he said. “I’m reading scripts.”
She’d found over the past week that she had a tendency to forget he was a big shot actor. It was only at times like this when he said something or someone mentioned something about him. Those times, it would hit her anew she’d played with him when she was nineteen.
“That sounds fun,” she said.
“It sounds more fun than it is.”
Veronica let the conversation die with that. If there was one thing she wasn’t going to do, it was listen to Terrence Knight try to make her believe his life was oh so hard. Please.
He didn’t seem to mind. He simply turned and walked off.
“So what doyou think of Terrence?” Andie asked after taking Veronica up the lighthouse and they were on their way back to the academy. It wasn’t a shocking or even surprising question. The only thing strange about the question was that she’d waited so long to ask it.
“I try not to think of him if it’s at all possible,” Veronica answered.
“Are you able to do that?” Andie asked. “Back when we were a thing, I only wasn’t able to think about him when I was with Fulton.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Andie that her and Terrence weren’t a thing, but then she realized what the other woman had said next.
“Wait,” Veronica said, trying to think. There had been talk before own infamous night with Terrence that he’d recently been dumped by his longtime girlfriend. She only remembered because the only thing the gossip rags had talked about forweeks after was how unreal it was that someone had dumped the Terrence Knight. “You and Terrence?” she asked.
Andie gave her a tight smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to shock you. I’m used to everyone knowing. I forgot you haven’t been here that long and don’t know our deep dark pasts.”
It had been Andie. The truth shocked her speechless for a few seconds. Andie didn’t say anything in response. Letting Veronica absorb the information that few knew the entirety of, Veronica assumed.
“Let me get this straight,” Veronica said. They had made it to the doorway of the main office, and Veronica ushered Andie inside and waved at a chair. “You’re the chick who dumped Terrence?”
Andie shook her head. “It really wasn’t as sensational as it might sound.”
“How about you tell me how it happened, and then I’ll give you my opinion on whether it’s sensational or not?”
“Fair enough,” Andie said. “I’d rather you hear the story from me anyway.”
As opposed to who?Veronica wondered but remained silent.
“I came to RACK Academy years ago as a student,” Andie started. “Terrence and I grew up together, and we remained friends even when he was off making a name for himself in Hollywood. I had no idea he was a Dom, and it wasn’t until we started dating and things started getting serious that he told me. I didn’t know much about the lifestyle, but I made him tell me. When I found out about Lennox and RACK Academy, I told him I wanted to come here to see if I could possibly be a submissive and, if so, to be trained.” She shrugged. “I met Fulton, and that’s all she wrote. We both fought it, but in the end, love will be what love wants to be and there’s not anything you can do to change it. Fortunately, Terrence wasn’t a dick—which looking back now,he had all right to be—and actually was pretty cool about the entire thing.”
“Not being a dick is still miles away from spending every summer living on an island with your ex and her husband,” Veronica said. Surely, the three of them knew that wasn’t how the world typically worked.
“True,” Andie agreed. “But the thing about me and Terrence is that we both agreed we were better as friends than anything else. Frankly, I think the two of us only started dating in the first place because we each saw the other person as safe. He was comfortable for me, I didn’t have to work at all, you know? It was easy. And I was comfortable for him because he’d known me forever and knew I didn’t want to be with him because he was famous and all that.”
“I can see where that makes sense,” Veronica said. “At least for the two of you. But how does Fulton feel about his wife’s ex-boyfriend hanging around every summer?”
“He wasn’t comfortable with the situation at first. You know how Doms can sometimes act like they’re half caveman. But Terrence is one of Lennox’s friends too, so there wasn’t much Fulton could do about the situation.”
“With Lennox being Fulton’s boss and all.”
“Right,” Andie agreed. “And as time went on, Fulton was able to see that Terrence saw me as nothing other than a friend. And I’d like to think today the two of them are friendly.”
Veronica thought back to the few times she’d seen the men together. To look at the two of them, one would never think they were anything other than friends. “From all appearances, they are. I don’t think either one of them is acting.”
“You say that as if you’ve been around a lot of people who have been less than forthcoming with you.” Andie tilted her head. “I’m guessing there’s a lot of that happening in Washington DC?”
Veronica only felt mildly surprised Andie knew who she was. “Terrence told you who I am.” She worded the phrase as a statement and not a question. There was no one else who knew who she was. It could only have been Terrence.
“He did,” Andie said. “But don’t get mad at him. Fulton’s the one who pushed the issue, wanting to know how the two of you knew each other. He wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be a problem with the two of you being here this summer.”