Affairs of State(49)
“It doesn’t seem that way now, but you know what they say about hindsight.”
“I never loved anyone else.” Ted’s soft words shocked Ariella. She felt embarrassed to be eavesdropping, and wanted to disappear. But she knew how hard it was to engineer this meeting in the first place and who knew when she’d get another chance to spend time with her father. “I probably shouldn’t tell you that. I know you were married.”
“Greg was a good man.” Ellie didn’t seem so nervous and skittish anymore. Being in Ted’s presence seemed to calm her. “He was always so kind to me and we shared a good life together, even though we were never blessed with children.”
“I’m sorry to hear that he died.”
“Yes, it was very sudden and unexpected.” Their gazes were still locked on each other and they held hands as if afraid circumstances might suddenly tug them apart again.
It made her think of Simon. Circumstances certainly conspired to keep them apart. In fact it was odd that they’d ever met and managed to forge a few moments of intimacy. Some things just weren’t meant to be. She was almost at peace about it. It had been a fun fling, a wonderful whirlwind romance, and now she needed to get back to her regular life—whatever regular was these days—and try to forget about him.
“Do you think we could…have dinner together?” Ted Morrow asked with a touchingly hopeful expression.
“I’d like that very much.” Eleanor glowed. She looked so young and lovely standing there with Ted. Ariella would barely have recognized her as the white-lipped, anxious woman who’d met her in their secret London hiding place. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
They both seemed to suddenly remember her. “You will join us, won’t you?” Ted reached out and took Ariella’s hand, so that they were all linked. “It would mean so much to me to finally get to know you after all these years.”
“I’d be thrilled.”
* * *
The dinner was very emotional. Their happiness at meeting was thickened with sadness at all the things they’d missed sharing together. Ariella arrived home feeling literally sick with exhaustion, emotional and physical. She’d had her phone turned off since before the taping, and when she finally turned it on she saw that Simon had left a message.
“Great news. I’ve managed to engineer a series of meetings in D.C. next week. I’d like to put in my application now to take you out for dinner on Tuesday. Call me.”
Her heart constricted, partly with the familiar thrill of hearing his voice, and partly with the ugly knowledge that she needed to start weaning herself off him, not getting excited about dinners. Feeling dizzy, she lay down on her sofa, clutching the phone to her chest. She listened to another message from her partner, Scarlet, asking her to call and fill her in on the details. She decided that could wait until tomorrow because Scarlet had probably watched the taping like everyone else.
Her phone rang and she didn’t have the energy to come up with a strategy, so she answered it. “Were you ever going to call me, or what?”
“Hi, Scarlet.” Her voice sounded far away, like it belonged to someone else. “I’m wiped out.”
“I bet you are. That was quite a live reunion. I do believe your parents are still madly in love with each other.”
“Was that obvious on television, too? I felt like a third wheel.”
“You don’t sound good. Are you okay?”
“I’m feeling a little queasy. I’m probably dehydrated or something.” They’d been out for a big fancy dinner but she’d found herself barely able to eat. “And I need a good night’s sleep.”
“All right then. Don’t forget we have the Morelli meeting in the morning.”
Ariella groaned. She’d totally forgotten they were meeting with the extended Morelli clan to plan a huge fiftieth wedding anniversary. “Ten o’clock, right.”
“Call me if you’re not up for it, okay? I can handle it.”
“I’ll be fine.”
But she wasn’t.
When her alarm went off at eight her comforter felt like a lead blanket. Her eyes didn’t want to open. “Coffee. I need coffee,” she tried to convince herself. But the moment she managed to get her feet on the floor, a wave of nausea hit her.
Her phone rang on the dresser on the far side of the room, and she leaped to her feet to go answer it. Or at least she tried, but her ankles didn’t seem capable of holding weight so she found herself flopping back onto the bed, her breath coming in unsteady gasps.