Page 40 of That Reilly Boy
It’s a short walk to the bench in the town square, and we walk quickly, both of us licking around the edges of our ice cream. By the time we sit, Penny’s practically dancing, waiting for her share. I use a plastic spoon to take some of mine and put it in the paper bowl I’d asked for. As soon as I set it on the ground, she buries her face in it.
I turn my body toward Cara, hoping a lot of nosy people are watching. “So Cara is short for Carolina and your sister’s name is Georgia. Is that some kind of state you were conceived in thing?”
“It’s more of a weird family quirk, I guess—like an inside joke. My great-aunt’s name is Tennessee, but everybody calls her Tess. My grandfather—her brother—then married a woman named Arizona, so my dad’s aunt and mother were both named for states. And then my dad fell in love with Gin, which is short for Virginia. It’s almost like he had to name us after states at that point.”
“So we can have daughters and name them…I don’t know, Nebraska and Idaho?”
I’ve never seen anybody choke on soft-serve ice cream before, but Cara does her best. Once she recovers, she gives me a cranky look. “We won’t be having children because we won’t be sharing a bed.”
I wish she didn’t sound so definitive about that. “Is a marriage even legal if it’s not consummated?”
“I don’t know. Is it 1845 right now?” she snaps back.
I laugh, but I know under the humor lurks a conversation we need to have. “Speaking of having sex.”
She snorts. “I think you mean speaking of not having sex, because we won’t be.”
This is a tough conversation to be having while her tongue keeps flicking out to lick her ice cream. “So, our wedding night?—”
“Will be as fake as our marriage,” she says without hesitation.
I keep going because this part of the plan is important. “Considering how much this quaint little hometown of ours loves to gossip, I doubt it will go unnoticed if you and I leave our wedding reception in separate cars to return to separate homes.”
She considers my words, scowling again. “I guess that would be an interesting choice for two people who’ve supposedly fallen head over heels back in love after being reunited.”
Back in love. I catch that very important word, but I don’t react to it as I drop more ice cream into Penny’s dish. It’s important to keep Cara focused on the path ahead. Maybe she loved me once, but that was a long time ago and taking a detour through our painful past won’t serve either of us.
I can’t try to explain homecoming without telling her what really happened that night, and I don’t want to do that. The only way I can make up for breaking her heart is by getting her mother to sell me the house.
“I have a suggestion for dealing with that issue,” I tell her instead. “When we leave the reception, we can go to my apartment in Boston.”
“I have appointments on Monday. The first is at ten o’clock, I think.” She sighs. “I know that probably doesn’t seem very important to you in the grander scheme of things, but I can’t take a time out from my life for this thing.”
This thing being our marriage. “I’ve never downplayed your business, Cara, and I never will. We can drive down in my car. I’ll have a car service bring you home in time for your first appointment on Monday because I need to handle a few things in the office. There’s no reason everybody shouldn’t accept that two people with busy lives and existing obligations wouldn’t sneak a weekend away, but put off a proper honeymoon until later.”
“You’re very good at scheming,” she says, and I’m not sure if she means it as a compliment or not. “And does your apartment have a guest room or will you be sleeping on the couch?”
“I have a guest room, but I can reserve a hotel room for you if you’d be more comfortable.”
As expected, her nose wrinkles. “That would be a huge waste of money.”
“It’s a very comfortable guestroom. And then, as I said, the fact we both have preexisting obligations is a very believable story because it’s the truth.”
“Fine. That’s what we’ll go with, then. But what about after?”
“After what?”
“After…you know.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s going to take a little while to get the house sale sorted and find Gin a place to live and we never finished that discussion because your mother came home.”
“And you ran out of there like your ass was on fire.” When I chuckle, she rolls her eyes, but the corners of her lips quirk into an almost smile.
“What’s the plan for us?” she asks. “As a married couple, I mean.”
“I’ve been thinking about that because, as the shock fades, our mothers are going to want the answer. I think we lean in on me going back and forth to Boston quite a lot. I have a nice space at my mom’s, with a sitting room and its own bathroom so when I’m in Sumac Falls, it would make sense for you to stay with me there. Maybe being in the house alone those nights and keeping us apart the others will put some pressure on Gin.”
“I don’t love the idea of staying at Colleen’s.”
“It’ll be fine. Once she gets to know you for yourself, apart from the Gamble family?—”
