The Ultimate Betrayal (13 page)

Rachel mouthed the word stop.

Joy thought she could almost hear Lara’s stress level kick up on the other end of the phone. She wondered what would be the most disturbing, Rachel having dinner with Sophia or her.

“No, Sophia decided to head back to the hotel. She mentioned something about a headache, so it was just Joy and me. Sorry, I also promised to meet Joy for drinks after I finish up here. Tell me you did not just forbid me to have drinks with Joy. I am not having this conversation with you right now. Just go to bed and I’ll talk to you in the morning. I don’t want to fight about this right now. Bye.”

Rachel abruptly ended the call and Joy saw her turn off her ringer.

Joy grinned at Rachel. “Okay, this is fun. I need to be subtle with my texts, huh? Sophia, you need to help me with that. You know that I don’t really do subtle.”

Joy thought their plan was a little like the old game of Chinese water torture she played with her brothers, when you kept poking them until it became too much and they exploded.

“All right. Do you two mind if I hang out with you until about one? I want to stroll in late enough for her to conjure up all kinds of nasty possibilities,” Rachel said.

“Not at all. There’s good wine and great company. This is somewhat surreal to me. I don’t know about you, but isn’t this strange to team up with
the other woman
. I should hate you, but I don’t at all,” Sophia confessed.

“We’ve both been made fools of. I don’t blame you at all for this. I knew right away that you were an innocent victim. No one could have possibly faked that reaction. I’m just glad you recognized that I had absolutely no knowledge of your existence. I swear I never would have gotten involved with Lara had I known. I’m so sorry for whatever part I’ve played in your pain,” Rachel uttered.

Joy watched as Sophia lifted her eyes and locked onto Rachel’s.

“There is something about you that is so genuine. I don’t know. I guess I just trusted you from the very start—even after you sort of sniped at me being horrible in the bedroom,” Sophia confessed.

Rachel groaned. “Oh God. I’m so sorry, that was not one of my finer moments. I let the hurt take control of my good sense.”

“No need to apologize. You didn’t have to go after me when I had my meltdown in the bathroom, but you were right there—comforting me—even though I knew how much you were in pain yourself. It was incredibly sweet,” Sophia whispered.

“Damn. You two are just the cutest thing. Wouldn’t it be karmic justice if the two of you were to fall in love and live happily ever after leaving that bitch Lara to dry up like an old prune,” Joy announced.

“After this experience, I may never fall in love again,” Rachel noted.

“Never say never is what I always say,” Joy responded.

Chapter Seventeen

Lara felt the buzz on her watch and blinked her eyes. She’d fallen asleep in her recliner. Her back was killing her. She worried about the reason or reasons—plural—why Rachel hadn’t woken her to go to bed when she’d returned the past night.

She heard the shower going and walked into the master bedroom. Rachel never got up this early. Rachel’s phone buzzed on the dresser. She needed to know what was happening and if her luck had finally worn out. She didn’t get as far in business as she had without the ability to siphon through every available clue. Without any sense of remorse about violating Rachel’s privacy, Lara picked up her phone and looked at the string of text messages.

Had a blast last night. J

Me too.

Interested in a repeat?

Absolutely. Lara leaving for New York tonight.

When the cat’s away….

Flirt.

Damn tooting I am

Careful I’m a married woman

And….

Ignoring you…Interested in breakfast?

You bet! Call me when you wake. A little bit of coffee and I’ll perk right up, especially if I get to spend time with you.

Sweet dreams

Ditto

Can’t wait to CU today…thirty and counting J

By the time Lara read the entire stream of text messages, she was fuming. Joy was a loose cannon and she had her sights set on her wife. At least it appeared as though they hadn’t discussed her during their evening, but it was only a matter of time before Rachel discovered her secret. Joy was Sophia’s best friend. It was bound to come up at some point if they kept hanging out. Her only hope was she knew that Joy wasn’t the type to focus on learning anything personal about her next sexual liaison and she was a master at keeping things light. She needed to figure out how to manage this situation without Rachel knowing she’d read the texts.

Lara heard the shower shut off and walked into the master bath to talk to her wife.

“You didn’t wake me up last night. I missed you,” Lara stated. She was going for a conciliatory approach after her overbearing declaration absolutely forbidding Rachel to spend more time with Joy.

Rachel grabbed one of the fluffy white towels hanging on the brass hook next to the shower. “You were sound asleep in the chair and I didn’t have the heart to wake you up. I didn’t want to interrupt your sleep.”

Lara saw her smile, but it didn’t seem to reach her eyes. Something was definitely amiss.

“You’re up early, especially for how late you were out last night. I thought we might have a nice leisurely breakfast before I have to leave for the airport today. I’m sorry I reacted the way I did last night. I have no right to control your social agenda.”

“Apology accepted, but I’m sorry, I have a breakfast meeting this morning,” Rachel answered.

Lara was seething on the inside, while maintaining her poker face on the outside. “Oh. Who with? Maybe you can cancel. I’m sure they would understand.”

Rachel towel dried her hair and walked into the closet, selecting her clothes for the day. “Well, actually, I promised Joy I would go to breakfast with her. Sophia is abandoning her today. I think that’s rude to drag your friend all the way across the country and then take off on a romantic getaway. I know you aren’t able to spend time with your friends and now Sophia has deserted her. I feel bad for her.”

Lara followed Rachel into the master bedroom. “Trust me, Joy can take care of herself. It’s not that I’m jealous or anything, but Joy can be a bit of a stalker. That’s the reason I reacted so strongly last night. You are a very beautiful woman and Joy has absolutely no morals. Even though we’re friends, she will think nothing of making a play for you.”

Rachel chuckled. “Oh, she already has. It’s harmless flirtation. Besides, don’t you trust me?”

Lara watched as Rachel pulled on her clothes, rushed around the bedroom, and got ready more quickly than usual.

Lara sat on the bed and Rachel continued to button her blouse. “I trust you, but Joy is a piranha.”

“So, who is Sophia going off with? Does she have a love interest here in Seattle? Is that really why she came to visit, dragging her best friend across the country?” Rachel asked.

It took all of Lara’s boardroom skills to control her reaction. “I don’t really know. Sophia tends to keep things close to her chest.” Working to keep control, Lara added, “Can’t you please cancel your breakfast date with Joy? I won’t see you for at least a whole week.”

Rachel walked back into the master bathroom and grabbed her toothbrush.

As Lara followed her, she noticed that Rachel was using the manual brush. Normally she would use the electric toothbrush unless she was in a hurry.

“I can’t. Really, I’m already running late. I told her I’d meet her at eight and she’s probably on her way already,” Rachel mumbled through her toothbrush.

Lara frowned. Things were definitely not going her way this morning. She needed to find out if the unthinkable had occurred. In her mind, she focused solely on Joy making a play for her wife—hoping their time together would not lead down the path of enlightenment for Rachel. Lara was at the edge of the volcano and she knew it. There wasn’t much she could do about the precarious situation she found herself in without raising a red flag. She needed to find out more.

 
“I know you, Rachel, something is wrong. Talk to me.”

Rachel rinsed out her mouth and began applying her make-up.

 
“Nothing is wrong. Well, sure, I’m not happy you have to leave again so shortly, but I’m used to it and I’ll get over it. I also didn’t appreciate your Neanderthal response to an innocent round of drinks with a friend that you are totally ignoring.”

“I’ve already apologized for my behavior last night. Are you sure that’s all?” Lara asked.

“Of course, what else could it possibly be? Just have a safe trip and take care of your business. I’ll be here when you get back.”

Lara sat on the edge of the Jacuzzi tub and watched her wife get ready. “I promise, when I get back, I’ll make it up to you. Maybe we can plan a second honeymoon. You name the place and I’ll take you there. Anywhere you want to go. Paris, Rome, Greece, you name it. I’ll make the arrangements.”

Rachel grabbed the hair dryer and plugged it into the outlet. Before turning on the dryer she answered.
 
“We don’t need to go far. I’ve always wanted to go to Rosario Resort on Orcas Island and then maybe a visit to Victoria.”

It was a good thing that Rachel turned around and focused back on drying her hair as the hair dryer blocked out the sound Lara made when she reacted to Rachel’s suggestion. She experienced a niggling in her brain that suggested this was not a coincidence. Her plans to take Sophia to Rosario and then to Victoria was a freaky link to Rachel’s request.

After Rachel finished drying her hair, Lara attempted to lead Rachel in a new direction. “I’m sure they are nice places to visit, but wouldn’t you rather go somewhere farther away?”

“No, I don’t think so. Listen, I really have to go. Call me when you arrive in New York. Bye.” Rachel pecked Lara’s lips, then grabbed her keys and purse as she ran out the door.

Lara felt like she’d just been blindsided by something, but didn’t exactly know what.
Is the honeymoon finally over?
Every other time an energetic romp in the bedroom would sway her passionate wife and forgiveness would soon follow. She didn’t have any time to react or control the state of affairs before Rachel ran out the door. The situation was a bit more than unsettling to her and she didn’t have the time to make a course correction with her wife, because she needed to get moving on her plans with Sophia. For the first time, Lara thought having two wives was far too exhausting to manage effectively. She was losing her tightly maintained control on everything and that was disconcerting to her.

She had to pray that neither Joy nor Rachel would spill the beans on her marital status. She was banking on Joy’s self-centeredness.

†

Sophia yawned as she sat in the café with her best friend waiting for Rachel to arrive.

Rachel burst through the front door. “Sorry, sorry, I’m late. I know. Here’s the good news. I am relatively confident she read the texts. Lara thinks she doesn’t show emotion on her face, but I, no, we, definitely have her on the run. I could almost see the wheels in her head spinning and trying to find a way to control the situation. I left the phone on the dresser and if you sent the final text at the specific time I told you to, she would have found them all. I imagine she woke up in the chair when her alarm went off and then started searching for me. She would have entered the bedroom at just the right moment to hear the buzz. You know all about Lara’s need to control every situation. We have her on the run right now and everywhere she turns is another obstacle.”

Joy grinned. “How were my texts?”

“Perfect,” Rachel said enthusiastically.

“So, now I just wait for her call. I’m getting nervous. I don’t know if I can pull this off. Right now, I want to scratch her eyes out—not act like everything is hunky dory. I don’t know if I can manage to let her kiss me without puking in her mouth,” Sophia announced.

“
Ew
. That is definitely not a mental picture I want. I think I may be rubbing off on you. That’s something I would say, not you,” Joy said.

“Yeah well, a person changes when they learn they are married to a lying, cheating, manipulative, bitch,” Sophia spit out.

“Ooh, you go girl. I think I like this new side of you,” Joy said.

“Are you gals ready for the next phase? Sophia, can you do this? If you can’t, I totally understand. I had a hard time not slapping her silly myself this morning. You have the hardest part,” Rachel remarked.

Sophia felt Rachel’s warm hand cover her own. She genuinely liked Rachel. She was such a good person. When she first learned about Lara’s deceit, she had been bitchy and insensitive, but when she saw some of the light retreat from Rachel’s expressive eyes, it was her undoing. Although they were still somewhat dull, what she saw in them this morning was compassion.

Rachel was a very beautiful woman and under different circumstances, she would have wanted to get to know her better and perhaps she would have tried to explore a relationship. That was out of the question now, but she couldn’t help feeling the attraction. She felt a pull toward Rachel that she didn’t have a lot of control of at this moment. The circumstances didn’t matter. It was a strange, yet not an altogether unwelcome feeling. She’d have to tamp down that attraction, because the last thing Rachel needed was Sophia acting on her attraction to muddy the waters even further. Besides, Sophia was not about to jump into anything for oh, maybe ten years. That wasn’t an unreasonable time to remain celibate.

“I can do this,” Sophia responded.

†

After the confusing interchange with Rachel, Lara shook it off and concentrated on the need to focus on Sophia. She’d find some time to call Rachel and do whatever was necessary to repair the continental divide that had suddenly appeared between the two of them this morning.

Calling Sophia’s phone, she found a new irritation when it went straight to voicemail. She tossed the phone on the dresser, not bothering to leave a message.

“Goddammit. What the hell is going on this morning? Which Goddess did I piss off? Sophia knew I would call her this morning to tell her the plans,” Lara barked.

She stomped into the shower to try to let the warm water wash across her body. She felt tense. Rachel hadn’t even stopped for one minute this morning while she got ready. Not only did she have to worry about Joy spilling the beans, but she’d also lost out on having sex with her wife last night. She’d hoped to have some intimate time with her before leaving for Rosario and now she had a bunch of pent up energy.