“Are you trying to tell us that you have two good-looking guys, one a foreigner, and you didn’t sleep with either of them? God, Bailey, you’re hopeless!”

“Totally agree,” Reggie added. “It’s completely obvious that they are both crazy about you. Are you that oblivious?”

“No. I like Elliott a lot. Just so you know, we have been trying to keep our relationship very businesslike until the restaurant is up and going. So we’ll see where things go. Speaking of which, I need to change and get down there or I’ll be late.”

“I think we all know where this is going,” Elle said. It’s hard to argue with a woman’s intuition.

Thank God they had totally focused on Elliott, not Griffin. How could I possibly describe him? Paragraphs that began with ellipses followed by disconnected prepositional phrases and commas, peppered with air quotes, a truckload of exclamation points thrown in for good measure, and an end with question marks. I was grateful their attention had landed on Elliott.

I changed my clothes, ran a brush through my hair, brushed my teeth, grabbed my satchel, made a pit stop, and headed for the restaurant. I was anxious to see and talk to Elliott.

I put my satchel on a chair and approached Elliott. Immediately, I could tell something was very wrong. It was like a dark cloud had taken residence over him. “What’s wrong?” I reached over to touch him.

He pulled away. “My back hurts. Where were you all night?”

“You know I stayed with Griffin. He had two beds. I totally crashed. I was exhausted. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with your back—your bed. I wanted to get Griffin’s feedback. Remember? I told you that. By the way, he was just blown away by your cooking. And he doesn’t give compliments out freely.”

“Oh really? I thought he was blown away by your vision.” I could tell he was in pain, but he was acting like a jealous husband.

“I think you know you were a big success. And I think you need to make an appointment with the doctor.” I had almost started believing my own lies. But my small secret about Griffin paled in comparison to him obscuring that he had a wife. I considered us even.

“I sent Lady Jane home. I’m getting a divorce. What can I do?” he pleaded.

“You basically lied to me for months. I want to ask you some questions, but I will only ask once. Are there any more secrets? Children? Crazy aunts in the attic?”

“No. That’s it. Just a bad back and a soon-to-be ex-wife. But when I told you I loved you, that was real. That was honest.” But how was I to know that the ex-wife would be the easier thing to get rid of?

“I need some time to process this. When will your divorce be final?”

“Not long.” He grabbed my hand, but I pulled it away.

“This is new for me. New terrain. I have never had a boyfriend and certainly not one who is married. We are not like you Europeans. Wives and girlfriends taking vacations together. We are pretty monogamous over here.” I almost tripped over the word even as I said it. Monogamous.