Chapter 146 Your Cheating Heart
Quinn Faines’s country mansion just outside of Nashville was booming with people. When he said a ‘barbecue’ what he probably meant was a huge party.
“This is the classic southern hospitality,” Emily said. “They sure love to have company over.”
Music played inside the house and on the deck by a sizeable pool. Byron and Emily made their way through the crowd, some of whom looked like Hollywood celebrities and pop stars.
“It’s Perry McBee,” Byron said, and Emily recognized the famous country singer with his trademark cowboy hat and dark goatee. They came over to where he was lounging by the pool with a couple of beautiful women by his side.
When they introduced themselves, the country star actually seemed to know who they were. “Quinn told me about you. He said your tropical island was quite the trip!”
“Well, you’re welcome to visit anytime,” Byron offered.
“I might take you up on that,” Perry replied. It seemed they were hitting it off already. Emily always did admire Byron’s easy-going way and his generosity, which helped him win people over.
“Do you know what’s going on with Quinn?” she asked. “Despite this big party, I got a feeling there’s something troubling him.”
“Something’s troubling him all right,” Perry confirmed. “He’s thinking of splitting up with his wife. He’s all tore up about it.”
“No wonder he didn’t want to play at my wedding…” Byron muttered.
Perry took a long swig of beer. “Yeah, he’s probably not romantically inclined at the moment.”
“What happened?” Emily asked.
“You didn’t hear it from me, but… it sounds like his lady might have been leaving her boots under someone else’s bed.”
Emily was too shocked to say anything. She had always thought Quinn Faines and his wife Abby McLure had the perfect marriage. They both led busy lives, but it sounded from what Quinn said like he absolutely adored his wife.
“I guess we came all this way for nothing,” Byron said.
“We don’t know that,” Emily replied, “At least it’s good that we saw Quinn and supported him in his time of need. And who knows, maybe he can still mend things with Abby?”
Byron’s expression grew more and more gloomy. “I doubt it, if it’s true that she cheated.”
Quinn was making his way towards them, swaying from side to side as he clutched a glass of whiskey in his hand. “Hey, you made it!” he slurred, “My wife went off to the Bahamas, but y’all arrived, so it kind of balances out…”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Emily said, “I hope you two can make it work again.”
“What exactly happened, if you don’t mind my asking?” Byron said.
“She done me wrong,” Quinn said, continuing to sway slightly. “Then I told her I knew about her cheating, we had a big fight, and she left.”
“You should call her,” Emily said, “Maybe there’s still a chance you can make up.”
Quinn took a gulp of whiskey. “Maybe it’s all my fault. I was away so much lately touring the country.”
“Even more reason to try to make up,” Emily advised, “I think a love like yours is worth fighting for.”
She didn’t know if Quinn would take her advice, and although she wouldn’t have minded staying longer, Byron seemed like he wanted to leave the party. He hardly spoke much on their way to their hotel.
“Are you okay?” Emily asked when they got back to their suite in Nashville. “Do you think I interfered too much in Quinn’s life?”
Byron looked at her somewhat accusingly down his long lashes. “You must be pretty desperate to have him sing at our wedding, wanting him to get back together with his wife no matter what.”
“That’s not why I said it,” Emily objected. “I wanted what was best for them.”
“Even if his wife cheated? Is it really best for him to be with a cheater?”
“It’s complicated,” Emily replied, putting one hand on her hip, “and I don’t know what their situation is exactly, but people are sometimes pushed to cheat. I’m not saying that cheating is okay, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I wasn’t implying it,” Byron said. “But it does worry me a bit that you would say something like that right before our wedding.”
“Okay, you’re taking something I said about someone else’s relationship and blowing it way out of proportion.” Now Emily was mad, and she didn’t really want to fight with him about this, but she wanted to make her position clear. “I’m not saying I was going to cheat.”
“I didn’t think so,” Byron said, “but it just rubbed me the wrong way when you were so casual about letting her off the hook.”
“Whatever,” she scoffed, “I’m going to bed.” She still felt like she was being judged, and unfairly at that.
They got into bed in a huff and faced away from each other. Emily stayed awake late into the night, feeling angry and lonely. She couldn’t believe the man she loved didn’t seem to know or understand her. How could he ever think that she could cheat on him?
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