Chapter 17
“He must have killed her,” Cora said to Adrian, after they finished their relatively quiet dinner in Cora’s room. They were both exhausted, stressed, and famished. The food went down quickly.
“What? Who?” he said, yawning. The swelling around his eye had lessened, but he still looked pitiful.
“Her husband. Marcy’s husband. Don’t you think?”
Adrian leaned in and tilted his head slightly, the way he always did when he was thinking. “Why would he kill his wife on their wedding night?”
“You saw his temper,” Cora said, and sat her wineglass down on the table.
“Yeah,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine her with someone like him.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, she was always so strong. I can’t imagine she’d put up with any kind of abuse. She was smart and had her act together, most of the time,” he said.
“You know, Adrian, you could say the same thing about most of my clients at the women’s shelter,” she said. “It’s a fallacy that all women who are abused are uneducated.”
His right eyebrow went up. “You’d think if they were educated they’d realize they wouldn’t have to put up with mistreatment.”
“It’s complicated,” she said.
It quieted as Adrian gazed out the window. The moon was shining brightly over the ocean and sand, giving the beach a glow.
“I loved her,” he said, after a moment. “I never would have killed her.”
Cora felt a sting. She couldn’t say why. Was she jealous over a dead woman? Or was he still in love with a dead woman? He was a sensitive guy. He didn’t give his heart away quickly. He hadn’t even made any advances with Cora. Which was refreshing. But now she wondered: was he ready for a relationship?
“How long ago was that?” Cora asked, after pouring herself another glass of wine.
“We broke up around three years ago,” he said. “We were together all through college and grad school. We met in a research methods class. She was vivacious and brilliant. We broke up a few times, over silly stuff, really. You know how it is in college. So stressful. But we were very close. It was intense.”
“Why did you break up? I mean the final break?” she asked, after another sip. Why not? Why not ask the burning question on her mind?
“She’d gotten a fellowship in Greece,” he said, and drank deeply from his wineglass. “I had planned to visit, but never could manage to get enough money together. She met someone and that was the end of it. We were planning to get engaged the following summer, but she met someone and was blunt about . . . things.”
“Was it Josh?”
“No, not from my understanding. It was a local guy from Athens,” he said. “I didn’t keep up with her and her life. If I had any idea she was back and here on this island, well, I’d never have come with you.”
“These things happen,” Cora said.
He looked at her sideways. “Yeah, I guess.” He reached across the table and held her hand. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
“Adrian, I—” Cora was at a loss for words. Did she have a choice but to be understanding? It was a weird circumstance. The two of them had just started dating and they decided to take things slowly. Now, she was glimpsing why Adrian wanted to ease in to their relationship.
“For a long time, I had no interest,” he said, slurring his words at the edges. “Not until I met you.”
Her heart fluttered in her chest and he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.
The kiss spread through her arms and warmed her.
“It’s getting late,” she said. “I need sleep. I have an early class tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” he said, standing up. “I’ll pull the table out into the hallway.”
She opened the door and he scooted the room service out.
She leaned into him and kissed him good night. She kept it short and sweet. No complications. Not tonight.
Later, in bed, she mulled over everything she’d learned today. Her boyfriend had been heartbroken. Hadn’t they all?
Marcy Grimm’s new husband had quite a temper. Cora planned to investigate him on the Internet the next morning after she wrote her blog post about the retreat. Josh’s mother, Rue, seemed to have it together. To have a son like him must be hard for her.
Marcy Grimm had been not only a beautiful woman but also intriguing and smart. But she also seemed to have a mean streak. To break up with Adrian, whom she had planned to marry, over what? A fling in Greece? Oh well. Cora tried not to judge, especially when it came to matters of the heart. Marcy and Adrian simply were not meant for one another.
Cora’s neck and back ached, and she fought to fall asleep. So far, this retreat was not a retreat at all.