Day, Xondra - Our Dirty Little Secret (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (12 page)

“
No. Jade
’
s fine. She
’
s outside playing with the neighbor
’
s kids. I called you because I need someone to talk to. You know I
’
m not the best at making friends. I
’
ve never been. I
’
m not like you, Ann. I don
’
t have the knack for it.
”

Gwenn looked tired, and from her dress, disheveled.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
She could tell that something definitely wasn
’
t right with her sister, and walking through the house to the kitchen, that was apparent all around them.

Gwenn was an immaculate homemaker. She was fiercely proud of her house. But that certainly didn
’
t show at this time.

Various things had been strewn around the house, while other items were out of their places, and dust, actual dust, could be found. This so wasn
’
t the Gwenn that Ann had known to be her sister.

“
The house is a little
…
messy. I
’
ve had no mind to tend to it lately. Not with the other stuff that
’
s been going on here. Ann, that
’
s why I needed you to come here, to talk with me. I don
’
t know what to do.
”

Ann placed her purse on the kitchen table along with her car keys. She had an inkling about what Gwenn
’
s problems might be. But she wasn
’
t going to be the one to open this can of worms.

Gwenn filled the coffeemaker with water and set it to brew. She looked to Ann.
“
I
’
m in desperate need of a cup.
”

“
Count me in. I jumped out of bed and came straight here.
”

“
It
’
s Kevin. I think he
’
s having an affair,
”
explained Gwenn.
“
And before you go on and tell me how he
’
s an asshole, hear me out.
”

Ann sat down, eager to hear what her sister had to say next.

“
Last night for the first time ever, Kevin didn
’
t come home. He called just before dinner to say that he
’
d be working late at the office. How cliché is that?
”

It was.

“
Like a fool, I made more excuses for him in my head. I told myself that it takes a lot of money to maintain everything we have, like the house, the cottage, the cars, and vacations. This hasn
’
t been the first thing to key me in that something might be happening with another woman.

“
Last week while I was doing the laundry, I found makeup on the collar of one of his shirts and the scent of a perfume that I don
’
t wear.
”

“
Has he said anything to you?
”
asked Ann.

“
Nothing. When he
’
s here, he pretends like everything is fine. And it is, except we no longer
…
do it.

“
Kevin always liked
…
sex.
”
Gwenn lowered her voice as if she was afraid someone might be listening.
“
It
’
s been well over a month. Please, Ann, tell me I
’
m being silly. Tell me this isn
’
t happening because I don
’
t think I can bear to get through it.
”

“
He didn
’
t come home last night at all? Did he call?
”

Gwenn shook her head.
“
He didn
’
t call, text
…
nothing. I called his cell and it was turned off.
”

The telling, turned-off cell phone. That was a sure way to tell that a man was cheating if you already suspected it.

“
I never liked him,
”
proclaimed Ann.
“
He
’
s a bastard and you
’
re too good for him. I told you to not marry him.
”

“
I know, I know.
”
Gwenn sighed and went to the coffeemaker, pouring two cups.
“
I know all of this. It
’
s so darned hard to wrap my mind around it. I thought our marriage was good. I thought it would last.
”

“
What will you do?
”
Ann sipped her coffee.

“
What do you think I should do? What would you do if this was you and Jeff?
”

She thought about that for a moment, and the truth was she honestly didn
’
t know and hoped she
’
d never be in that situation.
“
I don
’
t know. I do know I would have a hard time knowing that Jeff had been with another woman. That would kill me.
”

“
God, I get angry thinking about that,
”
said Gwenn.
“
But there
’
s more.
”

Ann raised one brow in wonderment. What else could there be?

“
There is a lot of money missing from our bank account. I
’
m talking thousands.

“
I haven
’
t confronted him about that
…
yet.
”

“
What
’
s he doing with the money?
”
She never liked Kevin, and she always found him strange. But this was weird, even for him.

“
I haven
’
t the slightest clue. I was going to confront him soon, once I had the nerve. Maybe he
’
s planning another life with his other woman?
”

* * * *

Mike groaned. The floral explosion in the bedroom wasn
’
t coming off the walls easily.

“
Wallpaper from hell,
”
he muttered, attempting to remove another strip.
What the hell had these people been thinking?

It wasn
’
t happening, and underneath was another layer, this one in a bold sixties swirl pattern.

Enough!

He was losing his patience fast with it. He
’
d leave it for now and return to it later. Perhaps Jeff or Ann had an easier way of removing it.

Paint.
Surely, that he could handle without help. Earlier that morning he’d went to the hardware store and picked up a couple gallons of a glorious light sand color to repaint the hall and entryway. It would be a step up from its current mint green.

Ten minutes later, with a paint roller in one hand and a beer in the other, he braced himself and dug in.

After an hour had passed, he stood back to admire his handiwork. It looked damned good, a vast improvement.

Just as he was about to grab another beer from the kitchen, he heard a knock tapping at the front door.

He opened the door and was pleasantly surprised to find Ann standing there.
“
Ann, how nice to see you.
”

“
I thought I
’
d stop in for a look
…
at the house.
”

“
Come on in. The place is a mess with the move. I haven
’
t managed to sort through everything, and I started painting, as you can see,
”
he said.
“
Mind the walls. They
’
re not completely dry yet.
”

“
Oh, wow, I love the high ceilings and that color, it
’
s gorgeous.
”

“
Clean Sand.
”

“
What?
”
she asked.

“
That
’
s the name of the color. I figured neutral tones throughout the house would work best.
”

“
Good choice. So no floral, then?
”
She laughed.

“
No floral. Not in this lifetime or the next, if I have anything to say about it. And speaking of floral, I have a question about wallpaper. Come on, follow me to the bedroom.