Mandy smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I’m getting there. Slowly.”
She’d been putting all of her energy into the restaurant these past few months and it had helped to keep her mind off Cory and their marriage. But she knew that soon, she needed to figure out what she wanted.
Mandy finished her glass of wine, said goodbye to the others and headed home. The kids were with Cory, so the house was quiet and peaceful. She changed into her most comfy pajamas, grabbed a good book and curled up in bed to read for a while. After a few pages, she drifted off to sleep and slept late the next morning.
She woke to the sound of the front door opening and Brooke and Blake’s voices as they ran upstairs to find her. She looked at the clock. She’d slept in, but it was still early, not quite nine. Cory didn’t usually bring them home this early.
Brooke and Blake ran into her bedroom and jumped on her bed.
“I can’t believe you’re still in bed!” Brooke exclaimed.
“Lazybones!” Blake said and giggled.
Mandy smiled. “You’re right. I slept in. I worked hard last night. What are you guys doing home so early? Did Dad have to work?”
Brooke nodded. “He said he had to go into the office. Daisy was going in with him.”
Mandy felt a chill run through her. “Daisy? Was she meeting your dad at the office, you mean?”
“No, she stayed over last night too. They were up late laughing. Daisy works with Daddy.”
Mandy nodded. “That’s right, she does. Was Patrick there too?” Patrick and Daisy had their own house on Nantucket, so she was pretty sure the answer was no.
“Just Daisy,” Brooke said.
Mandy decided to change the subject. “So, what do you two want to do today? I was thinking maybe we could go for a bike ride along the trail and stop for pizza at Oath after?”
Blake jumped up. “Can we go right now?”
Mandy laughed. “No. But soon, buddy. Give me a little time to get up and get ready.”
Later on, after a fun day riding bikes with the kids, and after they’d had dinner and gone to bed, Mandy called Cory.
He answered on the first ring and sounded pleasantly surprised to hear from her.
“Hey, Mandy, what’s up?”
Mandy cut right to the chase.
“Are you having a ‘discreet’ affair with Daisy now, too?”
There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Finally, Cory sighed.
“The kids told you she stayed over.”
“They did. What are you thinking, Cory? Daisy, of all people? Your partner’s wife? What will you do if he finds out?”
“He’s not going to find out. It’s just a bit of fun. It’s not serious for either of us.”
“I don’t care what it is, I really don’t. If you want to be that stupid, that’s your business. But I think we need to set some ground rules. I assumed it went without saying, but I don’t want you to bring any of these women around the kids. For the one or two nights a week that you see them, have the focus be on just them. It’s not fair and too confusing for them. They don’t understand what you’re doing, Cory.”
“I don’t understand it, either. If you let me come back, it won’t be an issue.”
Mandy sighed in disbelief. He was like a broken record that never stopped playing.
“Cory, I’ve made a decision. I’m meeting with a lawyer this week. I think it’s time we start discussing divorce.”
“Are you sure about that? I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make this work.”
Mandy laughed bitterly. “You mean like go to counseling? You said you’d do that, but I’ve mentioned it twice now and you’ve brushed me off.”
“If I agree to go to counseling, will you change your mind?”
Would she?
“No. I think we’re past that now. I’ll have my lawyer get in touch once we meet and decide how to move forward.”
He sighed. “Okay. Whatever you want to do, Mandy. I’ll support it.”
“I appreciate that.” At least he wasn’t going to be difficult. Mandy suspected Cory still didn’t believe the divorce would actually happen. But knowing he’d been with Daisy was the final straw. It was just too much for her to get past.
When she hung up with Cory, she fished through her purse until she found Taylor Nickerson’s business card. She was the divorce lawyer that Mandy was going to call first thing in the morning.
Chapter 25
Jill was used to the twice-monthly trips to Manhattan now, though two weeks ago, Billy had come to see her for a change and they’d had a great weekend. He was falling in love with Nantucket, too, and they’d talked about spending more time together there, maybe a full week vacation at some point. Both of them rarely took time off for vacation, but they both agreed it was something they should do more often.