Page 7 of Love Affair in London (Once Again #12)
Nancy sighed. “I didn’t speak to the daughters.” Another pregnant pause long enough to actually have a baby. “But I talked to Roger. I would have walked away, but Jeremy made me listen.”
Piper felt her teeth grinding. “And what did he say?” She was livid even before Nancy said a word.
“Nothing bad about you, just that he wished you two could have worked things out, and that he was brokenhearted. He didn’t mention a prenup the way the girls did.”
Piper snorted. Loudly. The stunning man looked up from his computer screen, and she felt herself blushing at having made such an ugly sound. But he smiled, and, oh my God, it was a lady killer smile. She couldn’t help smiling in return, despite Nancy’s revelations.
“I asked him why,” Nancy confided, “if he was so brokenhearted, was he having a party to celebrate the breakup.”
Piper waited, her breath stalled in her chest. But maybe that was because of the man’s smile. “And?”
“That it was his daughters’ idea. They couldn’t let the money go to waste.” Right, like those girls would care about wasting money. “He obviously didn’t call anyone to say the wedding was canceled and decided just to announce it at the country club.”
“I’m totally flabbergasted.” She wanted to smack her fist against her forehead. Or maybe Roger’s forehead. Better yet, all three of his daughters. “But at least I got hold of most of my guests. I’m so sorry you didn’t get my message.”
“I’m not.” Nancy made a pfft of annoyance. “If I hadn’t been there, you might never have known what he did. You should sue him for defamation and get back whatever you paid for.”
Piper had already accepted that she’d lose anything she’d put into the wedding.
After all, she’d been the one to call it off.
But his daughters telling all the guests that she’d refused to sign the prenup?
That was beyond the pale. The entire thing was beyond the pale.
“I have to think about it. Since I already cleared the week on my calendar for the trip, I’m actually on my way to London now. The plane should board shortly.”
“Good for you,” Nancy crowed. “And I hope Roger paid for the tickets and the hotel.”
“I used miles for my ticket. But he booked the hotel.”
“Then you totally deserve to keep that.”
“I plan to reimburse him.”
“Don’t you dare.” Nancy’s voice was as hard as the diamond in the engagement ring. Piper had returned to Roger.
Then Nancy added, “I have to go, but before you get on that plane, I want you to call Roger and give him a piece of your mind.”
Piper couldn’t help but laugh. “After what you’ve told me, I don’t have enough pieces of my mind left to give any away.”
Nancy hooted. “I’m glad to hear you’re not all broken up about this. I thought I’d find you in tears.”
Piper stifled a snort. “The girls seem to think they had a near miss. But I’m actually the one who got the near miss. I’m sure they would have broken us up in less than a year.”
“They were that awful?”
Piper nodded even if Nancy couldn’t see her. “They were worse.”
“All right, I’m hanging up now. But you need to call Roger right away. You hear me?”
“I hear you,” Piper agreed.
“Then I want you to text me and tell me all about it.”
She toasted her near miss. “Thanks for telling me. I appreciate that.”
“I love you, darling. Have a fabulous time. Text me.” Then Nancy was gone.
Piper sat unmoving for a long moment, her phone still in her hand. The couple next to her gathered up their carry-ons when their flight was called. A mom and dad tried to quiet their three children. The handsome man worked his computer keyboard.
She didn’t want to call Roger, needing to enjoy this quiet time before the long flight.
But the confrontation had to come, whether it was now or later, and there was no sense in putting it off.
After a refreshing swallow of her champagne, she opened her contact list on her phone.
Roger’s number still sat in her favorites.
He answered on the second ring. “Piper. How are you?” he asked, as if she were a friend who hadn’t called in ages.
She answered him the same way. “I’m fine, Roger. It sounds as if you’re fine too.” As if he hadn’t invested too much emotion in their relationship. “I heard about your un-wedding reception.”
She could almost hear him gulp. “It wasn’t my idea.
It was the girls.” Naturally, it was the girls.
“I couldn’t get any refunds.” His dejected shrug came across in his voice.
“What was I supposed to do? The country club wouldn’t give me a break, making me pay for the whole thing, saying there was no way they could rent out the space on such short notice.
They even threatened to revoke my membership.
” His sigh lingered in the space between them.
“So I decided the girls were right. We just needed to go with the flow and have the party.”
That was so Roger. He always went with the girls’ flow.
With his daughters, he had no backbone at all.
She could have lambasted him for letting the girls get away with trashing her yet again, but that was a fight she’d lost long ago.
Rehashing all that now would only ruin her mood.
But she was an accountant, and she had to talk about the money.
“You know, I put some of that money into the wedding and reception too.”
“I know, I know.” She pictured him wagging his head back and forth in abject misery.
“But I have the perfect way to cut a deal with you,” she told him.
His voice brightened. “You do?”
She didn’t believe he was hoping she’d come back. They both knew their relationship was over. And she laid out her compromise. “I’m in the airport lounge at SFO. I didn’t cancel my ticket to London. And since I’d already freed up the week, I decided to make the trip.”
After an announcement over the loudspeaker, Roger said, “Christ, you really are at the airport.”
“The flight will board in a few minutes. But here’s my offer. Since you put the hotel bill on your credit card, if you don’t ask me to reimburse you for that, I won’t ask you to reimburse me for anything I put into the reception that you and your friends enjoyed.”
She’d put more into the wedding than what the honeymoon cost, but Piper didn’t care. That was the price of being the one to call it off. Roger would have to pay the balance for the country club, but he and his friends got the benefit of the party.
“I didn’t even think about canceling the hotel.
Or my plane ticket.” That was Roger. At work, Ms. Olsen covered all the details, but in his personal life, he’d left that to Piper.
She was actually surprised he’d taken on canceling the wedding reception.
Then it hit her. “You never even tried to cancel the reception, did you?”
He gave her that long-suffering sigh she knew so well, when one of his daughters wanted something he felt reluctant about but knew he’d give in to anyway. “No, I didn’t,” he admitted.
She laughed, loud enough for the man across the lounge to look at her. And smile. What would he think if he knew the conversation she was having?
“It was just too much of a bother trying to get the money back, wasn’t it?” She didn’t even need to Roger to answer.
He laughed softly. “You know me too well, Piper. We really would’ve had a good marriage.”
She felt sad for what might have been. “Only if we lived halfway around the world from your daughters.” Though even then, she knew, it wouldn’t have been far enough.
“Were they really that bad?”
She didn’t want to have this discussion again. “I truly believe they love you, Roger. And that’s the most important thing. A father should always choose his children over a new wife.”
“Right. But I don’t think I’ll ever find anyone I get along with as well as you.” He chuckled, with a lascivious note. “And I certainly don’t think I’m going to find anyone so compatible in bed.”
A wistful smile creased her lips. “I will miss that, Roger. And I’ll miss you.”
“But you won’t miss my daughters,” he added for her,
“No.” She let out a soft snort. “Sorry, but I absolutely won’t miss them.”
“Well then, you have a deal, my dear Piper. Go off and enjoy our honeymoon to your heart’s content. Do everything you wanted to do. And send me a few pictures.”
“Thank you. Goodbye, Roger.” And she hung up.
Could a breakup have ever been more genial?