Leaving at Noon Read Online Free PDF Page B

call.”
    Zoey squinted at the two Fionas sitting on
the opposite side of the dining table. “This is the first time I’ve
been happy in months. So shut up and take the credit.”
    “ Well, I do make a helluva
margarita.”
    “ That you do.” Zoey set
the glass on the coaster before her but couldn’t get it to balance.
It rested on the edge and wobbled, liquid sloshing over the
sides.
    “ And you make a sloppy
drunk.” Fiona handed over a serviette. The concern on her face was
evident. Zoey noticed it through the drink-induced fog.
    “ That I do.” Wiping up the
mess proved too taxing, so she flattened the serviette and placed
it over the spill instead, hoping it would soak up the liquid. Then
she soaked up the rest of the glass, emptying it in a long
swallow.
    “ Is he having an
affair?”
    She gawked at Fiona. “Is who having an
affair?”
    “ The pope.” Fiona rolled
her eyes. “Who do you think?”
    “ Theo?”
    “ Yeah, Zo.”
    The question washed away the effects of the
tequila like a cold shower. Zoey sat up straighter and set the
glass down without a problem.
    If a friend had challenged her like that ten
years ago, she’d have stood, walked out the door and never looked
back. The friendship would have been over. As a kid, she’d never
let anyone close enough to either ask such personal questions or to
know so many intimate details about her private life.
    But the friendships she’d made in the Dinner
Club were different from the ones she’d known growing up. If Zoey
tried to walk away now, Fiona would stop her. She’d force her to
face the tough questions—while pillowing her in a cloud of loyal
support.
    Zoey was still bamboozled that she belonged
to such a close group of friends.
    “ Is that what’s going on?”
Fiona pressed.
    While the question itself was a shitty one
to tackle, the answer was simple. “Do you not know my husband at
all?”
    “ I used to know him really
well. But I haven’t seen him for more than a couple of days here
and there over the last two years.” She shrugged. “People
change.”
    Things might be messed up between her and
her husband, maybe even unsalvageable, but Zoey knew with absolute
certainty there was no one else. “Theo’s no saint, but neither is
he deceitful. He wouldn’t cheat on me. If he’d met someone,
or even considered being with another woman, he’d tell me.”
    One thing they still had between them was
honesty. It might be blunt, hurtful and used more as a weapon than
anything else, but it was still there.
    She needed another drink. Something to bring
back the blissful nothingness. “Is the jug empty?”
    “ Not yet.” Fiona topped up
her glass. “Are you having an affair?”
    “ Me?” An unfeminine snort
erupted from Zoey. “What makes you think I could summon up the
desire to sleep with another man when I can’t pluck up the energy
or interest to sleep with my own husband? And, as you may have said
a time or two, he happens to be the sexiest man in Australia.” She
lifted her hand to count down several details on her fingers. “He
also has the best cock, most talented tongue and finest hand moves
ever. Not to mention the undisputed fact that angels taught him to
kiss.”
    Truth was, when Theo wasn’t being an
asshole, he was hot as hell.
    Hotter.
    “ Which makes my question
even more perplexing. Your husband is gorgeous and sexy. And jeez,
Zo, about one of the best men I know. He worships you, yet your
marriage is still shaky. If the most solid couple around is having
trouble, something pretty massive must have happened.” Fiona stared
at her intently. “One of you having an affair is pretty damn
massive.”
    “ Our marriage is shaky.” More like heading into earthquake territory than shaky.
“But neither of us has been unfaithful. I promise.”
    Fiona frowned. “Relationships don’t just
fall apart. Something had to precipitate the breakdown.”
    “ Something did.” Zoey
frowned at her glass. The alcohol she’d