Did he want her to stay or go? Was he disappointed in her or had he expected her to leave all along? The most painful thing was not knowing.
Take a risk, she heard the little voice inside her head whisper.
“What I do or don’t do is no longer any of your business,” she informed him, then bent to pick up her suitcase. “I’ll be inside if anyone needs me,” she turned to tell Gretta and Nash.
Gretta nodded, a worried expression on her face and shifted to allow her to pass. Nash said, “I’ll make sure this one gets where he needs to go.”
While Vivian wasn’t sure what, exactly, he meant by that, she didn’t stick around to ask questions. One way or another, she figured he was going to make sure Andrew left, which was best for everyone because she had a feeling that she was going to be doing a lot of explaining shortly, and she wasn’t looking forward to any of it.
FIFTEEN
“You know what they say about eavesdroppers,” Gretta scolded lightly.
As soon as Nash had run Andrew off, they called Vivian downstairs for the expected chat. The living room was calm, comfortable with the unseasonably temperate breeze blowing through the open windows, save for the massive elephant in the room.
“Listen long enough,” Gretta continued, “and you’re bound to hear something bad about yourself.”
“Except nothing that was said was about you,” Nash asserted. His blue eyes were stormy, filled with irritation, something Vivian had grown used to seeing in them when directed her way, but they also held something else—disappointment, maybe.
“I’m sorry,” Vivian repeated for the hundredth time since she’d sat down on the couch across from the two sets of judging eyes.
“Why the heck were you leaving anyway? And without saying goodbye?” Gretta asked, sounding sad.
Vivian felt a pit in her stomach yawn open wide. She looked down at her hands, unable to meet her stare. “I just thought it would be better for everyone if I left.”
“Whatever for?”
Her shoulders lifted and fell. “I’m not like you all. I don’t really fit in here. Plus, I just sort of showed up one day and imposed myself on you. Then with everything Nash said… It just seemed like the right time to go.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Gretta admonished. “You fit just fine. Everyone likes you, even sourpuss Nash here, even if he’s too stubborn to admit it.”
Nash scowled in response but didn’t try to correct her.
“And you’re no imposition,” Gretta added firmly. “If ya were, I’d have shoved a boot in your ass a long time ago. You better believe that!”
Vivian smiled, believing her completely. She didn’t mince words. The woman was a viper.
But that still didn’t clear up the question of what she’d heard.
Vivian found it a struggle to find the right words to express what she needed to say. “I know you two say that I misheard or misunderstood, but I can’t help how it made me feel. Not after…” She trailed off, some deep-down part of her knowing she was barking up the wrong tree, but she had nothing else to base her assumptions on.
“After what?” Gretta asked, looking between her and Nash. “What did I miss? Someone better get this old woman up to speed before I get my boot in order.”
Nash and Vivian smiled to themselves, entertained by Gretta’s feistiness, but one passing glance at each other, and they quickly sobered.
“I kissed her,” Nash admitted, shocking Vivian. She hadn’t expected in a million years he’d admit to it, even though that was exactly what she’d assumed he’d done and had been bemoaning earlier.
“You what!” Gretta shouted, and slapped her knee as she erupted in guffaws. “Well if that ain’t the best news I’ve heard all week. ‘Bout damn time, too! I thought I’d never get you two bullheads together.” She rose from the chair she’d been occupying and started toward the kitchen.
“Where are you goin’, Ms. Gretta?” Nash asked after her as he, too, stood to follow.
Vivian figured she might as well do the same, and got to her feet, too.
“What do you mean where am I goin’? This calls for cheesecake!”
Vivian’s stomach rumbled at the mention of her favorite dessert, and her step may have picked up a bit. As tumultuous as her emotions were at the moment, she couldn’t deny herself the savory treat that was being so freely offered.
“Christ, Ms. Gretta,” Nash cursed as he dutifully moved around the kitchen to collect plates and forks for the three of them, “you act as if I just announced we’re gettin’ married.”