“It would be pretty convenient and not terribly troublesome, having an affair with someone you’re married to…”
“No, no, no,” he said, shaking his head. “We don’t sleep together; there is no affair. The first thing I noticed was that she wasn’t that interested and I suspected she might have…you know…”
“Other relationships?” she asked.
“I guess. So at some point after she’d been living in LA for a couple of years and came to San Francisco for a weekend, I told her I was starting to feel like a booty call and we were over. I told her I was going home to Virgin River and promised her she would hate it, but she was welcome to visit me here. It was a very smooth transition. She told me she loved me but we’re probably better as friends.”
“Sounds so grown-up,” she said.
“It is. I follow her career. I used to follow with resentment and then with curiosity and eventually I hoped her wish would come true. It stopped being about me a long time ago. Frankly, I think she’s a good actress. I’ve seen her in a lot of things and it’s not unusual for me to think she should’ve been the lead. The star. But I’m not in a relationship with her anymore. I haven’t been for a very long time. I think you were shocked and startled. I’m sorry about that.”
“Why?” she asked. “Why does how I feel or what I think matter?”
“We’re becoming good friends,” he said. “I look forward to sitting on the porch after a long day. I like it when we have dinner. I’ve had several tenants in this house—a few days, a few months. I’ve never had what I’d call a close friendship with any of them before. It’s a bad start to a nice friendship when you get caught lying.”
“But you weren’t lying.” She took a pull on her beer and made a face. “You just didn’t explain properly. Or thoroughly.”
“You lied about the beer,” he said, grinning. “You don’t drink that beer.”
“It’s awful. I bought it in case you came over. Want the rest of this?”
“You didn’t spit in it, did you?” he asked with a laugh, reaching for it.
She made a face and handed it to him. She went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine. The bottle was open, after all. She went back to the couch and curled up in the corner. “I just don’t want to be a complication. This thing you have to work out is with your wife. I’m just a tenant.”
“It’s not a complication and it’s not about you, except for one thing,” he said. “I want to sit on the porch, have dinner, enjoy life. I don’t have any expectations beyond that right now. But I think we have potential. I think we like each other enough to have potential.”
“No expectations,” she said. “Me, either.” It was a total lie. She’d been having expectations like mad in the form of Caroline and Landon. They were morphing into a nearly perfect couple. The story was growing lush and sexy. She realized she wanted to become lush and sexy with Landry.
“I did have a thought on my drive home. We’re ill suited, me and Laura. Opposites. We thought we had a lot in common, given that we’re both artists of a sort. But I live a quiet life; I like being alone. I don’t like crowds or busy places but Laura craves people. We want different things—she’d like the adoration of millions while I’d rather go unnoticed. I’m not really shy, I don’t think. I just prefer smaller groups or maybe just one person at a time. While she wants restaurants and parties, I’d rather train the dogs or go for a walk. I married a woman like my mother. I believe it’s true. I was a toddler when my mother left Virgin River to go back to the city. She divorced my father. He was too quiet and solitary for her. She died a few years later. A car accident. Virgin River isn’t for everyone.”
“I find it much more to my tastes than I thought I would,” she said. “Your dog went on my walk with me today.”
By his expression, he was shocked. “Was he polite?”
“Very. And I wasn’t afraid. I had a moment, you know… But Otis waited for me to invite him. Of course he followed me, but then he waited.”
“What a good guy,” Landry said. “He has no ulterior motives, he just wants to be a good friend. That’s what I love about dogs. They bond and nothing can break the bond. He’s always good, but I think he likes you.”
“You shouldn’t bother with the locks on the doors,” she said. “Apparently he comes and goes as he pleases.”