The Winemaker's Dinner: Entrée (19 page)

She always knew that.

Can she
bury this mistake?

She won’t be able to.

It happens to everyone.
He doesn’t need to know.

Love is about trust.
He needs to know.

She will lose
him if she tells him.

She will lose
him if she doesn’t.

Tell him.

She’ll hurt
him if she does.

She’ll hurt
him if she doesn’t.

She’ll lose
him if she does.

Jaden inhaled and exhaled slowly. Her fingers quivered and lingered over the keyboard. With a heavy heart, she typed her response.

Hey! Sorry but my phone died.
Party was fine. I’ll call you tonight
when I finish running errands. Miss you lots. Xoxoxo

Then she pushed send, officially burying her mistake. She’d learned from it. It would never again be repeated.

She tried to take comfort in her decision, but solace would not come, only regret. Physically and mentally exhausted, Jaden shut her eyes and clung to the bear made of beautiful moments from a happy time in her life. She imagined a Miami Beach sunset decorating the sky with red and purple. Sitting hand in hand with her on the balcony was Ivan, his hair flowing over his neck and a cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth. They shared a glass of wine as their favorite music played.

Ivan was right. Love is beautiful—when it’s not tainted with infidelity.

“Outside”

T
HE
A
IR
S
EEMED
S
TAGNANT
as the worker bees scurried about setting up cameras and the prep team warmed the burners and prepared the vegetables. Jaden stood with as much confidence as she could muster, which was little to none. She knew any moment now
he
would tromp in and take his place beside her. What on earth was he going to say? Her stomach rolled, a soup of fear, remorse, and regret. She shivered.

“So, how’d it go? I want all the juicy details,” a voice called from behind her.

Jaden turned to face Kat, who stood with an eager smile. Of course she’d be dying to know what happened, but this was one conversation Jaden couldn’t quite manage just now. It had taken everything she had to relive a version of the evening on the phone with Ivan last night. He’d seemed bewildered by her lack of enthusiasm about the event.

“Really? Just okay, huh? I’d have thought the network would go all out.”

“Well, maybe I just wasn’t feeling it. Would have been better with you,” she’d managed.