His Sugar Baby(48)
When she took the Lexus to work, the fact that she had a new vehicle generated some buzz from a few of her coworkers because many of the details of her financial situation weren’t exactly a secret. After all, the purpose of the website dedicated to her daughter was to raise funds for over-the-top medical expenses. When asked about the Lexus, Cathy said simply that her old car had become too unreliable, which surprised no one since she had had trouble with it more than once, and that the Lexus was leased. The mild curiosity was settled, without necessitating an explanation of who had actually signed the vehicle lease. Cathy was thankful when her explanation was accepted almost without question. It could easily have become very awkward otherwise.
She discovered just how awkward when she went to lunch with her best friend, and Vicky immediately brought it up.
“So tell me about that nice new ride of yours.”
“I’ve already told you. It’s leased.” Cathy avoided her friend’s intent gaze by tucking a loose curl behind her ear.
Vicky rolled her expressive eyes. “This is me, Cathy. I know you don’t have the money or the credit to lease that Lexus. So how did you get it?”
Cathy felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach, silently berating herself for taking her friend so closely into her confidence. It was coming back to bite her. She nervously poked her fork into her Cobb salad. She couldn’t come up with anything plausible, and she tripped over a lame explanation. “A–a friend is helping me out, that’s all.”
“What friend? Not me, I know. And I would if I could, you know that.”
Cathy shrugged with elaborate casualness. “Just a friend.”
Vicky regarded her with a puzzled frown. Sudden intuition sparked. Her brown eyes rounded incredulously. “It’s a man, isn’t it?”
Cathy bit her lip. “No, of course not!” She shook her head, but she felt the telltale heat climb into her face.
“Oh my gosh. You’re seeing someone!” Vicky exclaimed in gaping astonishment. “You’re actually seeing someone!”
Cathy took a deep calming breath. She was feeling the slither of panic, her heart pounding heavy in apprehension. She couldn’t bear it if Vicky, of all people, should discover anything about the nature of her arrangement with the man who had provided the Lexus for her. “Don’t ask me anything. Please!”
Strong curiosity shone in her friend’s expression. Vicky leaned forward across the table, her eyes unblinking. “But Cathy—”
“I’m serious, Vicky! What Michael and I—Damn it!” Cathy threw down her fork. She couldn’t believe that she had been so rattled so quickly. It served her right for not thinking through her explanation.
Vicky fell back in her chair and started laughing. She shook her head when Cathy shot a fulminating glance at her. “Oh, come on! You’ve got to see how funny it is! You just blurted out his name! And I didn’t have to twist your arm once.”
“I can’t believe I slipped up like that,” muttered Cathy.
“Come on, tell me! You’re really dying to tell me. You know you are.”
Cathy reluctantly smiled. “Okay, so it’s funny. Kind of. But I mean it, Vicky. I don’t want to discuss him. I–I want to keep things private right now.”
“I think I get it.” Vicky turned serious, regarding her curiously. “Does…Michael know about Chloe?”
Cathy’s throat tightened. She shook her head quickly. “No. I haven’t told him. All he knows is that I’m divorced and a single mom.”
Vicky took a moment to absorb that. “Wow.” However, she slowly nodded as though Cathy’s admission didn’t surprise her. “So I’m guessing that I don’t know him and neither does anyone else who knows you and Chloe.”
“Right.” Cathy was barely able to gather a smile. She was anxious about what her friend was thinking. She and Vicky had known each other for years. They had always told each other everything. If one or the other had ever tried to suppress personal details, they were soon pried out. Now she was withholding something major. “You’re not mad at me, are you? I mean, for not telling you?”
“Why would I be mad? Don’t you think I can understand? Of course I can! I can understand how you could want to be with someone who doesn’t know how hard everything is for you.” Vicky snorted, shaking her head. “I’m your best friend. How could I be mad?”
Cathy let her breath out on a sigh. She deliberately forced her tensed shoulders to relax. Reaching across the table, she squeezed her friend’s hand. “Thanks, Vic,” she said softly.
By unvoiced agreement, they talked about other things. Vicky wanted to know how Chloe was doing since the stem cell transplantation. Cathy’s face lit up. “She’s doing really, really well. She is still getting the immunological shots, and she hates that, but when I talked to Dr. Richards yesterday, he said that he was cautiously optimistic.”
“That’s wonderful, Cathy! I’ll post an update on the website when I get home tonight.”
Cathy was actually a little surprised that Vicky had so easily given way in not having her undoubtedly rampaging curiosity satisfied. But this time, strangely enough, Vicky didn’t fish for information. Then again, perhaps not so strangely, she mused. The circumstances that made up her life were so out of the whack, her best friend must want to be spared some of the drama, even if that meant allowing her to have one very tantalizing secret.