She nodded, glad for the friendship. Once inside the apartment, she dropped her bags and walked to the bathroom while Nancy headed to the kitchen. As she washed her hands, she stared at her reflection. In most ways, she looked the same as she had several days earlier. The difference was in her eyes. Darker. Sadder. Wiser. Unrequited teenage love had been difficult. Now, twelve years later, unrequited adult love was even more so.
By the time she made it into the living room, Nancy had found the wine and poured two glasses. “I thought about tea but just felt like wine was what we needed.”
Before taking the wine glass, she pulled out her laptop, and with a few taps sent the financial statements and her initial report to Nancy’s email. “I want to go ahead and get this to you so that you can meet with Sally whenever it’s convenient for you. At least this part of the last several days was worth it.”
As they moved to the sofa and chair, they plopped down, and she gratefully accepted the glass of wine. “Just like I told you on our call earlier, while I can’t give her any specifics on exactly what Errol is doing with the money, he definitely handed over a large envelope of cash to have it applied to his casino card. Chances are, if he’s laundering it through the casino, someone on the inside is letting him play for a little while, probably with fixed-odd betting, and then he gets cashed out.” A heavy sigh left her lips, and she added, “To be perfectly honest, Nancy, I don’t even care what he’s doing with the money or how he’s doing it. Sally didn’t hire us to investigate that… she just wants to know if the business makes more than what he’s reporting on taxes. And the answer to that is yes.”
Nancy nodded, her smile tight. “Thank you, Lynn. I can’t believe how this case… well, I never expected…” She sighed heavily and shook her head. “I confess that I claimed best friend privilege and checked your phone while you were in the bathroom. I figured you’d placed it on silent.”
Lifting her brow, she remained quiet, knowing Nancy was going to tell her what was on her phone whether she wanted her to or not.
“You’ve missed dozens of messages and phone calls. A few from me, but most from Nolan. When he called me to tell me you were on your way by yourself, I didn’t bother calling you anymore, deciding to come here instead.”
She took another sip of wine, wincing at her tight muscles as she stretched her legs out toward the coffee table.
With perception born of many years of friendship, Nancy said, “You should take a hot bath tonight. Just soak and try to relax.”
Snorting, her gaze held Nancy’s and she smiled. “Best friend. Wine. Hot bath. Do you have all the answers?”
“Hell, Lynn. You’ve been friends with me long enough to know I hardly have any answers at all.” The two women smiled, both taking another large sip before Nancy sobered. “But we’ve also been friends long enough for you to know that we need to talk.”
Her shoulders lifted in a shrug, and she replied, “What’s there to talk about? We screwed up. Big time.”
“Screwed up?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I would call it. We had a plan, and even when we had to adapt, we both thought that with false information on the marriage license, it wouldn’t be valid. That was a huge mistake.”
“Maybe it was just different timing for something that’s not a mistake.”
Lynn’s wine glass halted on its way to her lips at Nancy’s words. Her brow scrunched as she waited to see what else her friend was going to say.
“Look, I get what you’re saying about the screwup. If this had been anybody else but Nolan, you’d be in a real pickle right now. And, of course, because you’re doing this for me, I already feel responsible for the situation. But it was Nolan and you. I don’t know what you’ve been doing for the past two days but if you and he slept together then—”
“I fell for him.”
At that proclamation, Nancy snapped her mouth shut, her eyes widening. After a moment, her lips began to curve, slowly at first until a wide smile lit her face.
Without giving Nancy a chance to speak, she threw her hand up and continued. “The past two days in a nutshell? We talked and laughed. We got to know each other and had a good time. Sometimes he would reach over and link fingers with me as we walked along and other times our arms would be around each other. He called me babe, and I discovered I liked it. And yes, we slept together. We agreed it was just for those couple of days, nothing more, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I fell for him.”
“Lynn, honey, I don’t know what Nolan’s going to say to you, but from all the calls he’s making, I’d have to say you’re not the only one who fell.”
“You heard him, Nancy. His accusations were loud and clear, throwing my foolish teenage infatuation into my face and saying that I orchestrated everything to trap him.”
Nancy leaned forward to set her wine glass on the coffee table and shook her head. “I know that’s what he said, but he was shocked and angry. He acted like a stupid man who blabs and blames first and then thinks it all through, eventually coming up with the right answer.”
“The right answer?”
“Yes, that he’s in love with you, too.”
She leaned back against the seat cushions again, sipping her wine and allowing her mind to drift over Nancy’s words. She finally sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly before moving her gaze back to her friend. “It doesn’t really matter, Nancy. The timing is all wrong. He’s getting ready to go back to his SEAL team. His life is in California and my life is here. Who knows how many years he’ll still serve in the Navy? And as much as I care for him, it’s not fair to ask me to wait for years.” Her eyes drifted to the side and she added, “Even if he is my husband.”
Long minutes passed as the two women finished their wine in silence. “So what are you going to do?” Nancy asked, her voice soft and full of concern.
“Since annulment is not possible, we’ll get a divorce. It’s too late on a Friday afternoon to contact an attorney, but I’ll get hold of one on Monday morning. I can’t imagine that this would be hard. An uncontested divorce between two people who never meant to get married in the first place.”
Nancy’s face fell, and she nodded slowly. She stood and snagged the wine glasses, carrying them to the sink and rinsing them out. Lynn joined her at the door where the two friends hugged tightly once again.
“I always wanted you for my sister,” Nancy whispered.
Unable to hold back the tears that slid down her cheek, she tightened her hug. “We’ll always be sisters. Not legally, but in our hearts where it counts.”
With that, Nancy nodded and then left. Locking the door, she leaned her head against the cool metal, her hands still on the knob. Every muscle felt heavy, as though movement would be impossible. Desperate for the hot bath Nancy had recommended, she grabbed her bag and headed into her bathroom. It was not long before the tub was filled with steamy hot water that was fragrant from a lilac bath bomb.
Reaching inside her bag for a hair clip, her fingers curled around an object. Drawing out the small, carved black bear, she blinked back tears. Tracing the carving, she placed it on the edge of the tub. With music playing in the background, she leaned against her bath pillow and closed her eyes. At some point, she thought she heard distant knocking but ignored the sound.