the red leather barstool she'd been perched on, and grabbed Lacey by the shoulders. 'Did you see the couple that was just here? Weren't they gorgeous? And guess what? They might be your neighbors, well, sort of. They just put in an offer on one of the other cottages. Let's hope they sunbathe in the nude, right?'
Lacey smiled and gave Serena a hug. 'Congratulations. That's fabulous. You sold one on the first day? Is that typical? I thought this was going to take months.' Lacey didn't comment on the cute gay couple and the possibility of spying on them in their backyard. She could only imagine Jack naked at this point and was pretty sure no one else could compare to that particular sight.
'One? Are you kidding me? We actually have offers in on all six. I am going to be so filthy rich, rich, rich.' Serena gave Lacey a big squeeze, released her and did a happy little jig. She sobered for a second, but her grin was still blinding. 'We still have to wait and see if the financing goes through, of course, but they're all on their way to being sold. In one day. At full price! I've never even heard of that happening. And guess what? Your friend Liz came in and made an offer on that really cute one with the Japanese Maple tree out front.'
'Are you serious? That's great. I told her about them, but I didn't think she was going to be able to get the down payment together. She must have talked to her dad. I'm so happy for her. Plus, it'll be great to have her so close. We can drive into work together.'
'She seemed like a lot of fun, though she did seem a little disappointed that Jay and his minions weren't here. Did she think they'd all be hanging around shirtless, working up a sweat while we were showing the place? Though now that I think about it, that would be a good sales gimmick. Do you think Jay and his bros would go for it?'
'I can't see Jack strutting around shirtless to sell houses,' Lacey said wryly.
'Why not? It certainly worked with you when I took you out to his lair,' Serena teased.
'I knew it. You planned that, didn't you?'
'Not the shirtless part, but I suspected he'd be wearing the Oscar the Grouch T-shirt because I told him not to.'
'You're diabolical. That shirt is obscene. It should have been turned into rags years ago.'
'What can I say? Jack is about as far from a metrosexual as a guy can get. His wardrobe is limited to that shirt and about a dozen plaid work shirts. I don't think he owns anything else.'
'Really? He was wearing a tie when I saw him the other day?'
Serena snorted. 'What? A tie? You've got to be kidding. He didn't even wear a tie to their funeral.' Her eyes grew big as she realized what she'd just said. She quickly tried to cover. 'His dad's funeral, I mean.'
'It's okay. He told me about his wife. You don't need to keep it a secret anymore.'
'Ahh, Lacey. It wasn't actually a secret. I just thought it should come from him.'
'That's what I told him. But he'd assumed that you'd told me months ago, so he mentioned it very casually right after we, you know, consummated our relationship.'
'Wow. I'm glad you guys finally got down to business. Bloody well time. Tension was getting thicker than tar around you two. But talking about his dead wife after doing it? Talk about a mood killer. How did you take it?'
'Not well. Not well at all. I think I may have screwed up. Royally.'
'So, that's why you're here, checking out an Open House on your own home rather than holed up in a motel room with Jack, getting rug burns on your ass?'
'Yeah. I told him I needed some time to work through all this, and he turned into Frosty the Snowman with attitude and took off. I just meant a day or two. Now I'm totally confused. And I should be talking to him, but he's not a big talker. At least not about serious stuff. And I'm not even sure that he wants me anymore…' Lacey trailed off and looked at Serena morosely.
'First, come over here and sit down,' Serena patted one of the bar stools pulled up to the island and gave Lacey's shoulder a squeeze as she sat down. Serena took the seat across from her and studied her friend for a second. 'Now, what makes you think he doesn't want you anymore? Because I gotta tell you, it was pretty obvious to just about everyone that he wanted you bad over the past several months, and I can't see that going away over one little misunderstanding.'
'But it happened after we had sex,' Lacey said, gesturing toward the end of the countertop where her and Jack had done the deed.
'Ewwww,' Serena said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. 'I ate my lunch there earlier.'
Lacey blushed madly. 'It's clean. I swear. But you know what I mean. There was so much build-up. Maybe the real thing was a letdown and he lost interest.'
'I still can't believe you had sex for the first time here. Not even in a bed? You guys were serious when you said you were waiting until after the cottage was done, weren't you? I think the last coat of paint is still drying. Damn. Who knew old Jack had it in him? Or in this case, in you.'
'Serena, focus. Do you think Jack is using my reaction to his past as an excuse because he doesn't want me anymore.'
'Absolutely not. Jack's not like that. If he just wanted sex, he could have gotten it any number of places while you guys were stupidly abstaining from jumping each other's bones. And he didn't. He wouldn't. Even with Deborah, he was as faithful as a neutered beaten dog. Probably not the best metaphor in this case, but you get the point.'
'Okay then, but what's with the deep freeze?. He looked right through me when he left here the other day. The timing makes it seem like he got what he wanted and now I've given him the perfect alibi to move on.'
'Lacey. That's ridiculous. Jack built you a house. He took a huge financial hit on all the extras he put in. Why would he do that if he was just looking to bang you and move on? Jack doesn't need to do that to get laid. Any one of my friends would take him for a ride for free, believe me.' Serena paused and rubbed her stomach. 'And just for the record, talking about my cousin's sex life is making me a little queasy.'
'I know. I'm sorry. I should be dealing with him directly. But I really don't think he'll talk about this with me. He isn't big on the whole communication thing.'
'And can you live with that?' Serena asked, suddenly very serious.
'I don't know. If this is going to turn into something other than a fling, we're going to have to talk about something other than how much we want each other, right?'
'Well, Hell, that sounds like a pretty good start to me. Better than a lot of people have, don't you think?'
'God. I hope not. How depressing. But I can't help but think that we're supposed to confront his feelings about his wife's death, and how awful their relationship was in order to move past it. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? I'm sure Oprah would agree, don't you think?'
Serena whistled. 'You mean, he actually talked about how it was with her? The way she treated him?'
Lacey nodded. 'He said she never wanted him and that he disappointed her every day of their marriage. And he called her a bitch right before the accident happened.'
'Wow. That's total disclosure for Jack. You have no idea. And I had no clue about the bitch thing. Though she was a world class one.'
'Did you know her very well?'
'I don't think anyone knew Deborah really well. Including Jack, and they were married for nine very long years. She wasn't exactly an open book. But, yeah. I knew her.'
'I feel like I'm prying. This is such a hot button topic with Jack, I don't want to upset him by asking about her. But I'm really curious. What was the problem between them, do you think? I mean, besides her being gay.'
'Holy shit. He really did tell you everything then. Jack never said a word about her being into chicks. No one even knew about that until her girlfriend showed up at the funeral, all distraught and blaming him. It was a very ugly scene. Like out of some soap opera. But Jack was completely cool about it. Everyone was really impressed, until it became obvious that he was able to stay so calm because he was completely shut down. All normal human reactions were just gone. No emotions. Just a void where Jack used to be.'
'That's kind of how he was when he left here the other day. So cold and distant.'
'Yeah. That does seem to be his go-to move now. It wasn't always. He used to be really warm and even sweet. So, I think he'll snap out of it and be ready to kiss and make-up in no time. He was showing such promising signs of humanity when you were around. Given the circumstances, I guess he was bound to have a relapse. I'd hate to see him give up so easily. But are you sure you're up to this? I mean, if you're uncertain then it's really better if you get out now. Jack's been through enough already without being with another woman who isn't really into him.'
'Was that how it was? She married someone she wasn't attracted to, so she made his life hell? Why not just
