Page 158 of Perfect Liar
Will hauled his favorite leather sofa across the billiard room and placed it near the windows where I’d started to paint again. The room’s traffic created a lot of distractions, but it had the best north-facing windows in the house.
Before leaving the bedroom that morning, we’d had some heavy conversations.
He told me how the Green brothers had been paid by Jack Lewis to spy on us.
We agreed to focus on connecting our individual lives to move forward together. No shutting the other one out. No secrets. No holding back. No looking back.
Will and I might never be free, but we could create our own family legacy and put an end to the pain and loss our fathers left behind. And we would do it in the UK.
Living in England suited me, and Lissie totally loved it.
I put down my paint brush for a minute.
“Will, what’s the status of John’s education?”
He answered without looking up from The Wall Street Journal.
“He’s taking his gap year before university. We accepted an offer for him to attend Loughborough and play on their football team.”
“Wow. He must be pretty good.”
He lowered the paper enough for me to see his smirky grin.
“Of course.”
“I think it’s time to get Lissie enrolled in school,” I said.
“I agree. I’ll tell my mother to take care of it. She’s familiar with the process.”
As he went back to his stack of newspapers, I couldn’t help but think how any space we shared would have its own unique scent, one created by his newspaper ink and the spike lavender I used with my paints.
I picked up my brush and started blending shades of green.
“Football is John’s way out. He’ll never have to fight outside the gym.”
“We’ll have to guide him. He’ll still want to fight.”
“I hope not, Will.”
Green paint smudged into some white, and I cursed at it.
“What’s the matter, baby?”
“It’s nothing. Neptune is being a little difficult, that’s all.”
“Neptune?”
“Remember the old green fishing boat back in Stonington?”
He took a drink of his coffee and then came over to stand behind me.
“I remember it well. You sketched it quite a lot. Christ, it’s perfect.”
Will’s eyes burned with an idea.
“We’ll gift it to the owner of the seafood house,” he added.
I sucked in a nervous gasp.