“I’ll let him know there’s nothing actually going on between us, and he won’t care,” Langston explains.There’s a car waiting for us with our driver, Nate, one of the Atlanta staff members that serves the Keith family. We’ve done so many things together for so many years that we all know the employees that work for the families.The air is cool, and I wish I’d brought a jacket. But Nate has the car warm, and I slide into the back seat. I scoot all the way over to make room for Langston.“Where are we going?” I ask when Nate pulls out of the airport.“You’ll see.”We drive through traffic and eventually pull up to the Fox Theater. “Are we watching a show? What about dinner?”“Don’t worry, I won’t let you go hungry. Heaven forbid you get hangry on me.”I roll my eyes. “I don’t get hangry…”“You don’t? Then why do you have daggers shooting out of your eyes when it takes too long for our food to come out at the diner?”I scowl at him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”Nate opens my door, a
Noodle jumps up on the couch and stares Langston down hard.“I’m all out of meat, kitty.” He shows her his empty hands, but she meows demandingly at him.I can’t help but laugh.Noodle eventually gives up and snuggles beside Langston.“I guess you’ve won her loyalty,” I say.“That’s what happens when you spoil a kitty.”“So back to the fake dating thing,” I say. “How is this going to work? Are we going to have to kiss each other and stuff?”Langston smiles. “Isn’t that what couples do?”“Not always in public. Some people don’t like PDA.”“But we’re putting on a show, and we need it to be convincing. My mom can sniff out lies like a bloodhound. After raising five boys, she’s become quite the expert.”I laugh. “You guys did put her through a lot growing up, so it’s no surprise.”“We broke so many things in the house and blamed them on each other.”I shake my head with a smile. “Typical boys. Ronnie tried to do that to me too, but our parents always believed me.”“And sometimes it was yo
JENNI“Noodle, get out of the noodles.” And this is where she got her name. When I rescued her from the local animal shelter, I had a bowl of noodles I was about to eat, and she buried her tiny head in it and started chowing down.This crazy cat will eat noodles right out of my hand and loves to bat at them. She’s like a little orange mini tiger too, always attacking things. She likes to perch up high and look over the house like it’s her personal kingdom, so I got her a massive kitty playground. It may or may not be taking up half my family room in the basement. That entire space is dedicated to Noodle. I figure if I can’t fill my house with children, I can at least give Noodle the best life possible.I walk over to where Noodle is feasting on a container of leftover spaghetti I needed to put back in the fridge from my cooking lesson earlier.My doorbell rings, and I go to open it to find Langston standing on the front step.“What’s up?” I open the door wider for him to come in.He w
I grit my teeth. “Yeah. A total blast. Woohoo.” I spin a finger in the air.“Do you think she’s after more money? She could have gotten a lot more out of you than she did when you divorced, and maybe she’s interested in patching things up to get more.”“I didn’t even think of that. You know what my biggest fear is here?” I say. “It’s my mom. What if she tries to push me to patch things up with Amanda?”“You think your mom would do that?”“She was just talking about how she thought I could have tried harder to save our marriage. She’s desperate for a grandkid.” I prod Dash forward, and we fly down the hill to the pasture. There’s a reason this horse used to race. His powerful legs tear into the ground as his hooves pound across the grass.Dragon’s hoof-beats sound behind me, and I slow Dash to a walk. He falls in line beside me. I have a racetrack set up on my property for my racehorses to practice on. Since no one is using it right now, I lead him over to it and enjoy a few laps with
“Go on, silly dog. Get some exercise. It’s good for you.”Stella laughs, and finally Sausage gives up his fight and allows her to lead him toward the road.“That dog has gotten fat,” Ronnie says.I laugh. “Yeah. We’re starting him on a new walking regimen because I’m weak, and I can’t stop letting him have snacks.”“So what did you want to tell me?” Ronnie asks.I walk into the stable toward Dash. “Did you hear that my dad is looking for a new company to merge with? He’s thinking of merging with this big company in Singapore, but they’re being difficult.”“Isn’t that stuff top secret?” Ronnie jokes.“Keep it between us, of course.”“I was only kidding. You know I wouldn’t repeat something like that to the wrong people.”“But if it’s true, I may end up going to Singapore a lot more.”“I thought Ashton was handling the Singapore division.” We stop in front of Dash’s stall.“He is. But there will be a lot more to do over there, and there’s a lot of schmoozing we’ll need to do.”“Didn’t y
LANGSTONI haven’t heard from her in years. Talk about a blast from the past. Why would Amanda be reaching out to me? Once I’m in my car, I read and re-read the text I got from her while I was in the stables talking to Jenni.Amanda: Langston. I haven’t been fully honest with you. Is there a time we could talk in person soon?I put the car into reverse and drive home. What would Amanda possibly have to tell me after all these years? We would have been married ten years by now if she’d decided to stay married.It’s concerning that she wants to talk in person too. Whatever she has to tell me must be huge. When I pull into my garage, I shoot her a text.Langston: I’m in Blue Mountain these days. You’re welcome to come here.I’m trying to think of the best way to meet. It’s not like she can stay with me. Maybe my parents’ house? She’s been to their house many times, but that’s not very private either. Who knows what my mom would think about Amanda showing up on their doorstep? Would she b