Mine, Not Hers (True Love Book 1) (14 page)

Katie

Jason is up and out early with the kids so I can finish getting everything ready for Colleen today. She’s taking a taxi from the hotel, and is supposed to be arriving around eleven. I told Melanie we would pick her up around noon, have a nice lunch, pedicures, and shop. As I vacuum, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I trip over myself while screaming bloody murder. Colleen is rolling on the floor laughing. Literally rolling around like someone set her on fire. I’m happy to see her,
and
want to punch her lights out.

“What the hell was that? Are you trying to kill me before we even catch up?” I yell as I reach out to help her stand up.

“I’ve been ringing the doorbell and knocking for the last ten minutes! It’s your own fault for never locking the door. Sorry, I’d love to feel badly, but I don’t. That’s one of the top-ten funniest moments of my life.”

She squeezes me tightly and I feel like I’m seventeen again. I start crying and she looks at me like I’ve gone nuts.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Are you pregnant? Why are you crying?”

“God, no! Bite your tongue! I’m just so happy to see you, I’ve needed my Colleen.”

I hug her again, and wipe my eyes. All is right with the world now. I give her the grand tour of the house, and she’s awestruck.

“Oh, Katie, it’s just amazing. I always knew Jason would take care of you. Your pictures don’t do this place justice. How are your neighbors? Do you like the area?”

I tell her about our senior swingers, and she cracks up.

“Around here? On Wisteria Lane?”

I get the Desperate Housewives reference. If she only knew how true that was.

“I do have a good friend a couple of houses down. She is dying to meet you so I invited her with us for the day, is that OK?”

It dawns on me that maybe that was rude. After all, she is here to see me, not my friends.

“Of course! The more the merrier! If she’s a friend to you, I know I’ll love her. I know how
picky
you can be.” She playfully shoves my shoulder.

“Oh thanks, I’m sorry I didn’t ask you about it earlier. You’ll love her, I promise.”

When we arrive to pick up Mel, she’s waiting for us on her front porch. I guess she really
is
excited. She hops up and skips over to the car. Colleen opens her door and gets out, and they hug like old friends.

“It’s so nice to meet you!” they say in unison.

Melanie gets in the back seat, and Colleen slips in beside her.

“Hey, what’s up? Is no one sitting up here with me?”

Colleen speaks up from the backseat, “You we know, I need to bond with my new buddy. Now drive, Jeeves.”

She waves her finger at me like a snobby old woman. I pout, but I love that Colleen takes the initiative. I’ve always wished I were more like her in that way. If she hadn’t pushed herself on me in high school, we never would have become friends. We go to one of my favorite Italian restaurants for lunch where the portions are huge, and the wine pours are generous.

“Oh my God, I’ll never eat again.” Poor Melanie is rubbing her stomach like she’s pregnant. We’re all sporting good-sized food babies after that meal. I kept my wine intake at a minimum not just because I’m a lightweight, but because apparently I’m the designated driver for the day. We have nail appointments next, but we still have an hour to kill.

“Where are we going now, Mom?” Colleen giggles from the backseat. She and Melanie have had such a good time getting to know each other over lunch. She loves Melanie’s southern drawl, and keeps making her talk. “Say ‘honey’ and ‘sugar’ again! It’s too cute!!”

“Well, the nail salon isn’t too far from Jason’s office; should we stop by and say hi?” Melanie asks tentatively. The second she mentions his office, my stomach does a nosedive, and I almost lose my wonderful lunch. The memory of my dream comes flooding back. I was so busy cleaning, and rushing around this morning, I had almost forgotten about it. Friday is Jason’s light day, so I agree and we turn down his street.

“Oh my gosh! I can’t wait to see him!” Colleen says a bit too loudly, thanks to four glasses of Chianti at lunch. We pull into his parking lot, and Colleen is impressed.

“Holy shit! This place is beautiful! So chic and classy. Did you help design it, Kat?”

“No, Jason did just about everything himself. He hired an architect, and they remodeled and added on to the existing building. It did turn out well; wait until you see inside.”

I’m happy to show off Jason’s success to his old friend. I know she’s proud of him, and it helps me remember the awesome man he actually is. Dreams and mystery women be damned. I pull into one of the spaces near the back door. Strange, I don’t see Jason’s car. I’m about to turn off the ignition, when I notice something out of the corner of my eye. The front door to the building opens, and one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen comes strolling out. She’s wearing a fitted, gray wool dress with sky-high stilettos. She’s obviously not here for therapy. She has long, thick, wavy brown hair down her back, and piercing blue eyes. Holy shit.

The woman from the airport.

Chris’ description of her has been burned onto my brain since I first heard it. I’ve tried to picture her in my mind’s eye, but even my wild imagination didn’t do her justice. She walks over to a Mercedes, no, she
struts
to her Mercedes, and gracefully folds her body to get inside. She’s holding an expensive attaché that she carefully places in the passenger seat. She checks herself in the mirror, then slowly pulls out of the parking lot. I turn around slowly to face Melanie; she and Colleen are both staring at the woman, just as awestruck as I am. Melanie says nothing. She knows exactly what I’m thinking. Of course, Colleen has no idea.

“Oh my God! Did you see that woman? She was like a supermodel! If Tom ever saw that, he’d kick me to the curb, for sure.” She starts to laugh, then looks at both of us. “What is it? Who was that?”

I begin to cry, and without a word, Melanie gets out and shoos me into the backseat while she gets into the driver’s seat and buckles her belt.

“What’s going on? Would someone tell me please? Why are we leaving, we just got here and I want to see Jason!”

She is genuinely concerned, and more than a little confused. Melanie speaks quietly: “We’ll catch you up when we get back to the house. I think our nails will have to wait for now.” She looks at me with concern, squeezes my hand, and we’re quiet all the way back to the house. She gets out three wine glasses, and clucks her tongue while she looks for a good wine to start us off.

“Aha! Just the right choice. Will go down nice and smooth.”

She walks into the living room and passes each of us a glass and fills each to the rim.

“OK, start talking. I’ve waited long enough,” Colleen says with a huff. I had a good cry on the ride home, so I’m dried up at this point. Melanie glances at me as if to ask, “Want me to tell the story?” I give her a nod, and she begins.

“Well, I don’t know if you know, but Jason has been traveling a bit to see clients when necessary.”

Colleen looks a bit sad because she knows Jason and I have always vowed to never be apart for long. Melanie continues, “That part hasn’t been too bad, our Katie here has really stepped up.” She gives me a nod for reassurance.

“Anyway, about a week or so ago, my husband saw Jason in the airport lounge with a woman.”

Colleen breaks in, “So? Are you kidding? Kat, Jason would be the last person on Earth to cheat! Please tell me you don’t really think that. He loves you!” She sits next to me and grabs my hands tightly. I know what she’s saying is true.

“When Chris told me that, he also mentioned that this woman was touching Jason’s arm, and sitting close to him.”

Colleen looks shocked. She knows Jason as well as anyone, and knows that this behavior would be strange for him to tolerate.

“When I mentioned it to Katie, I just assumed that it was someone he worked with because he obviously knew her. Katie has never met anyone who fits her description.”

I choose this opportunity to chime in.

“The other thing is that I found a receipt from that restaurant with her writing on it. “I
really
need to talk to you. Lunch? On me
.
” It was also on Valentine’s Day, Coll. Can you see why I might be suspicious?”

Colleen, in her way, is processing this information. She isn’t going to throw Jason under the bus; she knows there has to be a good explanation. “Well, we both know that Jason had to know her already, otherwise he wouldn’t have been sitting there with her. Did he mention anyone else he was traveling with? Maybe they knew each other from work and just ran into one another? But why Valentine’s Day? That’s his special day with you.”

“He told me that morning that one of his players had been injured, and had to be tended to immediately. He was really upset about it. He had even planned something for us that Melanie was in on.”

“OK, so not a planned thing. See, you have nothing to worry about. Jason is the most loving, dedicated person I know. I’m really shocked at you, Katie, for making such a rash judgment.” She looks as if I’d slapped her. She also gives Melanie a bit of a glare, assuming that she’s fueling the fire.

“Colleen, the reason I got upset this afternoon, was that the woman coming out of his office fit the mystery woman’s description
exactly
. She’s obviously not a client, and Jason generally meets with salespeople outside of office hours. He feels it’s not professional to have a waiting room full of patients and sales reps at the same time.”

Colleen seems lost in thought. She probably feels bad for the comments about the woman and Tom. “I still don’t see it, Kat. Have you discussed this with Jason? It’s not like the two of you to have secrets.”

“There’s another thing I haven’t mentioned. It’s a little embarrassing, but I’ve been having these dreams.”

They’re both on the edge of their seats.

“They are erotic, and explicit. They started before I heard about this woman, but she and Jason are the starring players. Her image gets a bit clearer with every dream I’ve had, and today I felt like I was looking right at the same person when I saw her come out of his office.”

Melanie’s head pops up. “More than just that one dream you told me about?”

She thought she knew the whole story. She seems stunned, and so does Colleen.

“I had one just last night that took place in his office. What can this mean? Am I psychic? Does that mean it’s really happening?”

I break down again and start sobbing. My two closest friends in the world are immobilized by this information. Melanie speaks first. “I really don’t know what to say. Have you ever had dreams or visions before?”

“Not that I remember. Maybe. I just don’t know.

I’ve had a few about the kids that have come true, but I always thought they were a kind of coincidence, like a Mom thing. Have you guys?”

They both shake their heads. OK, it’s official. Lock me up in the loony bin; I’ve lost all touch with reality. Just then, Colleen shoots up from her seat.

“Her badge! She was wearing a
badge
!”

“What are you talking about?” I’m baffled by her strange reaction.

“That woman we saw today was wearing a conference badge, probably from the same conference as Tom. She must be a drug rep!”

She looks so happy with herself. Of course, this only explains what she does for a living, and not why I seem to be having sex dreams about her and my husband. Colleen sees my expression, and decides to clarify. “What I mean is that we can find out who she is, and what her story is. We may even be able to find out why she was at the airport the same day as Jason.”

She looks at me expectantly. Melanie pipes up as well. “We should go and see if we can find her or her company at the convention. Colleen, aren’t you and Tom staying at the same hotel?”

“Yes! I even have a badge of my own, so I can roam the floors. There’s a big cocktail hour tonight that I’m skipping. We should go to the hotel and see what we can find out. If she’s an attendee, she’ll be there tonight.”

I feel like we’re a group of teenage girls trying to spy on a boy. The kids are out tonight, and I haven’t checked in with Jason yet. I shoot him a quick text telling him that our plans have changed, and we’re having dinner in the city, just us girls. He doesn’t have to take us out after all. He responds right away:
That’s too bad! I was really hoping to see Colleen. Is she still spending the night?

I try to keep my reply short.
Not sure, I’ll text you later.

The three of us freshen up, and head back out to my car. We are headed for the Ritz downtown

Jason

Something’s up with Katie. I can’t put my finger on it, but her behavior has been strange.

Dear God, I hope she hasn’t seen my phone.