Page 64 of At the Heart of It
He stood up too quickly, banging his knee on the table. “If we’re just about done here, I should probably run,” he said. “I’ve got some stuff to do at the store.”
“I understand.” Viv smiled, but didn’t stand. Just sat there looking up at him with fond familiarity, like she knew exactly what he was thinking. He used to love that look. Loved the idea of someone peering into his brain and liking what she saw.
Now it just unnerved him.
“Thanks for brainstorming things with me,” Viv said. “I’m glad we’re able to work together again like this.”
“Yeah.” Jonah cleared his throat. “Me, too. Good seeing you, Viv.”
He turned away, not sure whose lies were the boldest. Hers or his. She had to hate this as much as he did, right?
He felt Viv watching as he carried his mug to the bus tub and set it inside. Pushing the door open, he refused to turn back and make eye contact. They’d said their goodbyes. There was no point dragging it out.
Jonah walked fast with the muffin in one hand, desperate to put some distance between himself and his ex-wife. It was already growing dark, but he didn’t head back to the shelter. Not yet, anyway. He needed some fresh air and a chance to get a little space from the conversation.
He slowed down, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Viv hadn’t followed. There was no sign of her, so Jonah pulled his phone out of his pocket. A twinge of guilt pinched his chest as he scrolled down to find the number for Kate. But there was no reason to feel guilty, dammit. He had plenty of professional reasons to call the producer of the show he worked on, didn’t he?
Even so, Jonah found himself crossing to the other side of the street, turning a corner to take him the opposite direction of the animal shelter. He hit the button for Kate’s number, annoyed at himself for the way his pulse kicked up.
“Hello?”
Her voice sent a rush of adrenaline through him, but he ignored it and put on his best professional-guy voice. “Hey, Kate. It’s Jonah. I was hoping to talk to you about this whole arced storyline thing.”
“Oh. Right. Yes, of course.”
She sounded distracted. Muffled. And was that trance music pounding in the background?
Jonah took a bite of his muffin and chewed, trying to make out the din of conversation in the background on Kate’s end. “Did I catch you at a bad time? It sounds like you’re in a bar or something.”
“Uh, I am,” she said. “I think. I guess it’s sort of like a bar.”
Her voice definitely sounded odd. And what the hell was “sort of like a bar,” anyway? It was probably none of his business.
“Should I try you back another time?”
“No! I, uh—I want to talk to you.”
A peal of laughter sounded in the background, then something that sounded like a muffled moan.
“Are you okay, Kate?” he asked. “You sound a little weird.”
“Maybe. I’m, uh—at a swingers club.”
Jonah inhaled a muffin crumb. He stopped walking and coughed, trying to get his breath back.
“A swingers club?” he wheezed.
“It’s where couples go when they want to swap partners for sexual?—”
“I know what a swingers club is,” he said. “I’m just wondering why you’re in one.”
“Location scouting,” she said. “For the couple we’re considering for episode eight. They’ve been talking about trying an open marriage, so Amy and I wanted to check this place out.”
“You’re there with Amy?”
“I was.” The music kicked up a notch louder, and Jonah heard somebody cheering. “Amy got an emergency call and had to leave, so I’m here?—”
“Wait, you’re alone? In a swingers club?”
