Nigel drained his glass and motioned to the waiter. “What about Trevor? I’m staying in Vegas for the time being.”
“Have you told him you’re sorry? Have you asked him how he felt when the two of you left him and got married a zillion times?”
Nigel shifted uncomfortably. “We’re British, dear. We don’t sit around and talk endlessly about our feelings. Besides, he’s still upset about Anna.”
“Who’s Anna?”
Nigel glanced at the waiter. “Keep them coming, please. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long afternoon.” He gave Allie a look as dry as his martini. “Trev didn’t tell you about Anna?”
Her stomach fell fourteen stories and kept dropping. “No.”
“Trevor dated her a few years back. Nothing serious, but she was my fifth. Wife that is.”
Allie blinked. “You married Trevor’s ex?” No wonder he hated his father.
Nigel popped an olive in his mouth. “It’s not like he was serious about her. They casually dated for a couple months. I apologized.”
“You apologized? For marrying Trevor’s girlfriend?”
Nigel straightened. “She wasn’t his girlfriend at the time. They’d broken up, you see.”
“That doesn’t make it okay,” she hissed.
“What do you want me to do? I’ve tried to get him to play a round of golf, but he’s always working.”
“You think bonding over a round of golf is going to fix this?” Did Trevor still care about this Anna? No wonder he didn’t believe in love. There was no hope for them. She’d known it all along, but she’d let herself believe.
Her phone rang, breaking her train of thought. She groped in her bag and pulled it out. “Sorry, it’s Brynn.”
“Take it, dear.” He sipped at his drink and glanced around the room.
“What’s wrong?” Allie said in lieu of greeting.
“I’m in trouble, Al.” Brynn sniffed a few times. “I got in a fight.”
Allie’s body froze. “Are you all right? Are you still at school?”
“Yeah, can you come and get me? Dad’s out on a job, and I’m in the principal’s office.”
“I’ll be right there.” She hung up and looked at Nigel. “I have to go. Brynn’s been in a fight.”
Nigel hopped up from his seat and pulled out his wallet, throwing a few bills on the table. “I’ll go with you, my dear.”
She didn’t waste time arguing but fled the restaurant, Nigel at her heels.
***
She and Nigel checked in at the front office and sat on stiff chairs, waiting to see the principal. Allie nervously clutched her bag in her lap.
Nigel reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Brynn’s a good girl, Allison. Everything is going to be all right.”
It seemed like everything had gone haywire today. Brynn didn’t get in fights. She didn’t like conflict of any kind.
Allie glanced up at Nigel. For some reason, his casual, nonchalant air was calming.
A middle-aged woman with a short, wispy hairstyle moved toward them. “Mr. Campbell? I’m Mrs. Stanford, Assistant Principal.”
Allie stood up and held her bag in front of her. “I’m Allie Campbell, Brynn’s sister and emergency contact. This is—”
“Nigel Blake.” He rose and shook the woman’s hand.
“I can’t believe Brynn got into a fight,” Allie said. “She’s a straight-A student. Maybe she mentioned that?”
“Step into my office, please.”
Nigel stayed behind as Allie followed the vice principal. Her little sister sat in one chair, facing the desk.
Allie dropped to the other seat, her eyes scanning Brynn “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
Brynn kept her gaze on her lap and shook her head. “I’m okay, Al.”
“Miss Campbell, your sister and another girl had a heated exchange and Brynn threw a punch. The other girl managed to duck and tackled Brynn to the floor. A teacher broke it up before things could escalate.”
“Is that what happened?” Allie asked.
Brynn studied her fingernails and shrugged.
Allie glanced at Mrs. Stanford. “Do you know what this was about?”
“I believe one of our staff, Ms. Castor, is dating your father?”
“Oh, great.” Allie slouched in the chair and covered her eyes with one hand.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence in this school. Brynn will spend the next two weeks on in-house suspension and this will go on her permanent record.
“Starting when?” Allie asked.
“Tomorrow. You can take her home now.” She stood, crossed the room, and opened the door.
“Come on, Nigel’s waiting.”
Brynn got to her feet and shuffled out of the office. “Sorry, Al,” she whispered.
“Hello, my darling.” Nigel enfolded Brynn in his arms, and she hugged him back. He held her hand as they headed outside into the bright sunshine.
“What were you thinking?” Allie asked after they all climbed into the car.
Brynn shrugged again.
“Enough with the shrugging. That Stanford woman said you threw the first punch.”
“Layla Anderson said some crap, and I just lost it.”
She refrained from asking anymore questions on the ride home. When Allie parked in front of her old house, she turned to Nigel. “Do you want to take the car back to the hotel?”
“Oh no, I can take a taxi.”
Inside the house, Nigel made himself at home on the saggy, ripped couch. He picked up the remote and flipped through the channels. “Where’s the golf channel, Als?”
“We don’t have cable, Nige.”
“Oh.” He looked a little forlorn.
“I’ll be right back. Do you want something to drink or eat? We never did get lunch.”
Nigel waved her off. “No, darling, I’m fine.”
“Brynn, go get started on your homework and I’ll make you a snack.”
Once in the kitchen, Allie called Trevor. He answered on the first ring.
“Where in the bloody hell have you been?”
“Can Simmons come and pick up your dad?”
“What the … Where are you?”
“Home.”
“At your father’s house, then?”
“Yeah. Brynn got into a fight and is suspended.”
“Where does my father fit into this picture?”
“I was having lunch with him when I got the call from Brynn.”
She heard him take a deep breath. “Allison, listen to me. Those two nut jobs are not worth the effort.”
“What? You…break…up…send…Sim…” And she hung up. She didn’t want a lecture right now, she just wanted to make sure Brynn was okay until her father got home.
She threw together sandwiches for Brynn and Nigel, along with cookies and glasses of iced tea. She put everything on a tray and carried it to the living room. Nigel sat back, his legs crossed, engrossed in a talk show that had turned into a free-for-all with the audience members.
He hopped up when he saw her, took the tray, and set it down on the coffee table. He pointed to the screen. “Turns out, he’s not the father of her child after all. They just released the DNA results and all hell broke loose. You Americans.”
She reached over and flicked off the set. “What are you going to do about Mags? About Trevor?”
He took a long sip of iced tea and winced. “I don’t know, Als.”
“Do you love Mags, Nigel? Really love her?”
“I do. I desperately love her. But it’s too late. She’s already taken me back once. There’s not going to be a third act, love.”
She sat next to him and patted his knee. “Tell her you were wrong to want your ex at the wedding. Let Mags know she matters to you.”
He gazed at the carpet and back up at Allie. “Do you really think she’d take me back? You don’t know how long it took to win her affections for the second time. I could be well into the grave before she gives me another go.”
“It might help if you didn’t marry the first woman who flashes her boobs.”
“Well, quite.”
“Okay,” she said, slapping her knees and popping to her feet. “I’m going to see about Brynn.”
Nigel grabbed the sandwich with one hand and turned the TV back on with the other.