“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t. You told me this was over.”
“It is.”
“Then why are you worried about my life?”
He did not answer.
Tessa pushed further.
“She already knows about the resort.”
“How?”
“I told her.”
A chair scraped.
Grant must have stood.
“You need to fix this.”
“How?”
“Tell her you made it up.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I can make this very difficult for you.”
The threat in his voice erased the last trace of doubt I had.
Tessa had feared he might charm her again. I had feared I might remember the man I loved and weaken.
Instead, he made the decision easy.
I entered the restaurant.
Grant saw me before I reached the table.
His face turned gray.
“Rachel?”
“Sit down.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I said sit down.”
Several diners turned toward us.
Grant lowered himself into the chair.
His gaze moved from me to Tessa and back again.
“You two planned this?”
I placed the prepaid phone on the table.
“You’ve been talking to me all week.”
His eyes fixed on the phone.
“The messages?”
“Mine.”
Grant rubbed both hands over his face.
“Rachel, let me explain.”
“Please do.”
He opened his mouth, but couldn’t speak.
I placed the beach receipt beside the phone, followed by photographs from the resort and copies of his messages to Tessa.
“Start with the business conference.”
“It wasn’t what you think.”
“Was there a conference?” I asked.
“No.”
“Did you use our joint account to pay for this trip?”
“I was going to replace the money.”
“With what?”
“My bonus.”
“You told Tessa you had 30,000 dollars saved.”
His head snapped toward her.
“Why would you show her private messages?”
Tessa stared at him.
“Private? You were planning a future with me while married to her.”
“I made mistakes.”
I leaned forward.
“You did not make one mistake. You made reservations. You bought plane tickets. You packed a suitcase. You invented meetings. You introduced me as your sister. Then, when Tessa discovered the truth, you threatened her.”
“I didn’t threaten her.”
“You said you could make her life difficult.”
“I was angry.”
“So was she. All she did was write an accurate description across your back.”
Tessa almost smiled.
Grant reached for my hand.
I pulled it away.
“Rachel, I love you.”
“You told her the same thing.”
“I never meant it with her.”
Tessa flinched, but she recovered quickly.
“That’s not the defense you think it is.”
Grant looked between us, searching for whichever version of himself might work.
The tired businessman.
The misunderstood husband.
The romantic victim.
None of them remained.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“I want you to leave the house tonight.”
His expression hardened.
“Our house.”
“The house my parents helped us buy and whose mortgage I have paid for the last six years.”
“You can’t throw me out!”
“I already packed your things.”
He stared at me.
“You went through my belongings?”
“You went through our marriage.”
He looked down at the evidence scattered across the table.
