Page 21 of Give Me More
“Oh, hey, nothing. Just checking text messages,” Grace said, and closed the screen on her phone, pushing it to the side.
Nina frowned. “You sure?”
Graced nodded. “Positive. Where’s Desta?”
“Oh, she’s coming. She and Riley wanted daiquiris so they stopped at the bar by the pool.” Nina signaled the server and when the young lady appeared, she ordered water and a fruit bowl.
“Taking the healthy route, I see,” Grace noted. Nina had also opted for bottled water over alcoholic beverages last night at the pool.
“Trying,” Nina replied with a shrug.
“Did you say Riley was coming?”
“Yes. We just figured we’d help save you time with the interviews and that way you could spend more time doing...other things.”
Before Grace could ask about the “other things,” Desta and Riley joined them. Desta wore black Bermuda shorts and a yellow tank top, her dark hair styled in two braids that hung down her back. Riley wore her hair in a ponytail, her entrancing hazel eyes highlighted with a nude eyeshadow that matched the color of her shorts and the stripes in her halter top.
“Mornin’!” Desta said cheerfully while taking a seat next to Nina.
Riley pulled out the chair beside Grace and sat. “Hey. How’re you feeling this morning? You and RJ were taking those vodka drinks down last night.”
Yeah, they had been drinking but not enough that either of them was drunk, which she thought could’ve been an excuse for what they’d done after the pool party. But Grace definitely didn’t want to think about that right now.
“Oh, that was nothing. I’m fine. Shall we get started?” They were scheduled to play volleyball at eleven thirty and since she was now interviewing three people, Grace wanted to make sure she had enough time to get everything in.
“Sure,” Riley said. “But first, if you don’t mind, I wanted to ask you something.”
Grace had been digging her notepad and pen out of her bag and looked up to see that all three women were staring at her.
“Ah, no, ask away,” Grace said, trying to hide the fact that she was more than a little leery about what Riley wanted to know.
It didn’t escape her that she was sitting next to RJ’s younger sister, a woman whom she’d been close to a long time ago and who undoubtedly wanted answers to the same questions her brother probably had.
“I know you don’t know Desta and Nina as well as you used to know me, but since we’re all related by marriage, and outside of that we’re all women, I figure it’s okay to speak candidly.” Riley didn’t wait for Grace to agree or disagree. “What happened between you and RJ? I thought you two were the perfect couple. I mean, coming from me, who at the time wasn’t even considering being in a relationship, I thought next to my parents, you and RJ were exactly what love was supposed to look like. And then you were just gone.”
Riley sipped from her straw when she was finished. Her expression was one of innocent curiosity, while Grace grappled with whether to speak just as candidly around this group of women.
The server returned with Grace’s coffee and doughnut and Nina’s water and fruit. Grace reached for the cream and poured it into her coffee, then added sugar, all while knowing they waited for her response.
“Nothing happened,” she replied, figuring if she expected these women to be honest with her, she owed them the same courtesy. “I needed something different in my life at the time, so I left to find it.”
“Did you find it?” Desta asked. “What you went looking for?”
Well, if this story did what she was hoping it would, the answer to that question would be yes. “I think so. Which leads me to this interview.”
“But you did love him, right?” Riley asked. “I mean the two of you seemed so perfect together. I just remember wondering if you loved him, how could you have left him?” She clearly didn’t want to let this topic go. “I guess what I’m really concerned about now is that you’re not here to hurt my brother again.”
There was no heat to Riley’s words, but an air of tension settled over them and Nina acted quickly to resolve it. “Well, I can kinda see walking away from someone you love, if you have a good enough reason,” she said. “I mean, I loved Major but when I thought he’d used me and my company for his benefit and was then trying to take over everything I’d worked hard to build, I had to get away from him.”
Grace didn’t have all the details, but she suspected these were the events that led up to Nina and Major’s fake engagement turning into the real thing.
Desta nodded. “She’s speaking the truth. Sometimes walking away is what you need to get things straight in your mind, to make sure what you’re feeling is the best thing for you. Despite what people say, love isn’t always the only answer.”
Grace wanted to high-five Desta for saying almost exactly what she’d been thinking so long ago.
“I know,” Riley started. “Don’t get me wrong, Chaz and I definitely went through some things before we got it right and my first inclination was to let it all go. But you and RJ didn’t seem to be having any problems. Like, I really thought things were perfect between you guys.”
It was clear that her breakup with RJ had hit Riley hard. When she’d walked away back then, Grace had thought a clean break was best. And as certain as she’d been that she was making the right decision about leaving, there’d been many times in the past years that the guilt over not saying goodbye to his family had assailed her.
