Honeymoon

Chapter 86

NORA KEPT JABBING a finger at the SEEK button on the radio, jumping from one station to another all the way to Briarcliff Manor. There wasn’t a single song she wanted to hear, most of it rap crap that made her want to scream. Finally, that’s what she did! She was anxious and fidgety, and not just from all the coffee she had drunk. Thinking about O’Hara had left her wired.

When her cell phone rang she nearly drove off the road.

It’s him.

Her first thought was to call him out right there, a few choice words to let him know she knew who he really was. But as she reached for the phone, she decided no. O’Hara wasn’t getting off that easy.

Nora glanced at the caller ID. In the glare of the sun, she couldn’t make out the number. Still, she was certain it was him.

“Hello?”

“Where have you been?”

So much for certainties. The slightly annoyed voice on the cell belonged to Jeffrey. She hadn’t returned his calls the past two days.

“I’m so sorry, honey, I’ve been meaning to call you,” she said. “You beat me to it.”

He instantly warmed. “Jeez, I was getting worried, hon. I couldn’t imagine where you were.”

An excuse was needed, a good one. “It’s that same damn client of mine—the client from hell. You know, the same one who threatened to fire me if I didn’t personally pick out fabrics with her?”

“How could I forget—she cost me a weekend with you.”

Nora stayed silent, ominously so.

“Oh, no,” he said. “Don’t tell me.”

“I’m going to try to get out of it.”

“What’s she demanding this time?”

“She wants me at her house in East Hampton to look at the new conservatory. She is a good client, one of my first.”

“It’s already Friday, Nora. When will you know?”

He’s mad. He calls me Nora only when he’s pissed.

“I’ll call you this afternoon. Believe me, the thought of spending another weekend with this woman is killing me. I miss you.”

“Actually, you do sound stressed, sweetie. Is everything else all right?”

“Yes, everything’s fine.” The image of O’Hara flashed in her head. “Sometimes one person can just put you on edge, you know?”

“All the more reason to be with the one person who can make it all better,” said Jeffrey. “Call me later? I love you.”

Nora agreed and said good-bye, ending the call with an “I love you, too.”

She was satisfied with her on-the-spot Jeffrey Maintenance—but just barely. It was getting harder to keep track of her lies, which meant risk. Nevertheless, she wasn’t about to commit to Jeffrey for the weekend without having a better bead on O’Hara and what he was up to.

A minute later she arrived in the village center. She miraculously found a parking space, then stepped out and looked up at the sign above the second-floor windows.

“Centennial One Life Insurance.”

She read the name slowly, as if she’d somehow missed something the first time. She wasn’t taking anything for granted.

Not anymore, O’Hara.