Come Together (7 page)

“Us. There. Together. It scared me. I realized my problems with Bill ran deeper than I thought, and that . . . my feelings for you did, too.”

“I always follow my gut, Olivia. It’s how I’ve done most of my business. It’s how this happened.” He motioned between us, and I nodded in agreement. “It’s why I bought the house,” he concluded.

I extended a leg and rubbed the inside of his thigh. “Thank you for the home. I don’t think I ever said thank you.”

He caught my foot in his hand and massaged it gently. “Do you accept the terms of the honesty agreement?”

“I do.”

“Next, what birth control do you use?”

I blinked at him. “The pill.”

“We need it to be the Fort Knox of pills, considering my plans for you.”

I nodded slowly.

“That was a joke,” he said. “Why do you look scared?”

“Toward the end, Bill and I fought a lot about birth control. He was pushing me to go off it.”

“Pushing you?” he repeated. “How?”

“He wanted kids,” I said blankly. “And he didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t ready.”

David’s eyes flashed with anger. “You think he loves you, but it’s not true. If he did, he’d never pressure you into something like that. He’s a coward.”

I blinked at him again. David couldn’t know what it meant to hear him say that after all the fighting Bill and I had done over it. I momentarily wondered if I should elaborate on the subject, but Bill had exhausted the topic of children for me. It was the last thing I felt like discussing, so instead, I said, “It was definitely a sore spot in our relationship.”

“When was the last time?”

“Last time what?”

“You and Bill,” he said, swallowing.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I just do. I want to know.”

I sighed and looked out the window at the city. “Bill and I haven’t been intimate much lately. He was respectful because I was grieving over Davena, but he didn’t know, couldn’t know, that my feelings for him . . . changed. After you. Or rather, I began to notice how they were different.”

“When?” he prompted.

“We only did it once since . . .” I let my gaze drift back to him. “I’m sorry, isn’t this weird?”

His jaw was set, but he said, “Go on.”

“Only once since you and I did. And that was, I don’t know, a couple months ago maybe.”

“Jesus. It’s a good thing I was around to take care of you.” His face fell serious. “But I’ll tell you right now, that will never happen around here.”

“It’s been difficult these last several months. He tried, but I was cruel.”

“Because of Davena.”

“She was a rock in my life. My mom and I have never known how to be there for each other emotionally, but it was never that way with Davena. She and her husband have been family friends since I was born. We became much closer once I moved to Chicago though.”

“It was hard, wasn’t it? Her death?”

I blinked up at him. “Incredibly, but it was only a part of my behavior the last few months. Walking away from you was the hardest thing I’d ever done, and I spent the next three months trying to forget that night, wishing things were different, wishing I could see you, talk to you, be with you.”

He rolled off the arm of the couch and leaned forward. His hands fell on my hips. “Things couldn’t be different because they had to happen this way. I had a rough time too, but things are going to be better now. Trust me.” He reclined back, sliding his hands down my legs until he was holding my ankles.

I nodded breathlessly at his sincere words and at his skin on mine. “Next order of business?” I asked, afraid that I might dissolve into an orgasm just from our proximity.

“Finances,” he said tentatively. “If I were Bill, I’d be pissed right now.”

I nodded. “We have a joint account, but he controls it. I handled everything – phones, rent, utilities – but it’s all in his name. I have my own savings. It’s not much,” I offered, “but maybe I can get some money in the divorce. Although, if I’ve learned anything from TV courtroom dramas, I know infidelity isn’t exactly encouraged.” I looked around the office and over at the view. I knew the rent there would be more than I even made in a month, maybe two. After a few moments of silence, my eyes returned to his.

“I’ll take care of you, Olivia,” he said, his expression trained on me.

I blinked rapidly but didn’t respond.

“Did you hear me?” he asked.

“What?”

“I do very well at the firm, and flipping houses is lucrative. I’ve seen to it that I’m one of the top architects in the country. My sister and I each received a hefty inheritance from our grandfather. Between that and work, I have more than enough to take care of us both. And,” he said with a crooked smile, “a family, when it comes to that.”

I shifted against the arm of the couch. It was the second time he’d mentioned family, and it made me uneasy. If I let my mind go there though, I knew I would blow a fuse, so I pushed the feeling aside for later.

I should have felt excitement about being taken care of, but it only made me anxious. Remembering the honesty policy, I said, “I feel weird about it.”

“If you didn’t, I’d be concerned,” he said, his smile still hooked at the corner. “It will take time to get used to, but just know that you don’t have to worry. I don’t care what you do with your paychecks from the magazine, rip them up for all I care. I’ll get you a credit card, and you’ll use that going forward.”

“David, living off my paychecks without having to pay rent or a mortgage will be sufficient.”

“Use that money for whatever you want. I’ll get you a card Monday.”

“We’ll see,” I decided, as if we were just making weekend plans.

“So I can buy us tickets for Friday then? To Dallas to see your dad?”

“I have to double-check with Beman, but let me get the tickets. My dad offered.”

“I’d prefer to buy them.”

“Bill thinks Dad spoils me,” I told him with a tilt of my head.

“Didn’t Bill spoil you?”

I shook my head. “He hated spending money. Anything I bought was a secret. You should have seen his face when we got the bill for Lucy’s bridesmaid dress,” I said, stifling a laugh. “He was almost purple.”

“Mmm, I did love that dress,” David mused. “It was worth every penny. Those days are over. Prepare to be spoiled.”

“Let my dad buy the tickets. He’s a little controlling, and he won’t want to seem cheap.” I narrowed my eyes as I thought. “Come to think of it, you guys have a lot of similarities.”

He nodded, but his eyes were fixated on my mouth.

“Should I be weirded out about that?” I asked.

He grunted.

“David, are you listening?”

“What? No. I’m still thinking about that bridesmaid dress,” he admitted, tugging on my ankles. I scooted forward into his lap. “Let’s skip tonight,” he said huskily.

“No way,” I whispered. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. In fact, I should get ready.”

He wrapped his arms around my lower back, pinning me to him. His lips came gently to mine, his tongue sliding along my bottom lip. I opened instinctively for him, relishing how he felt in my mouth. Before I realized it, we were enmeshed in a quickly-escalating kiss. I rocked against his hardness, groaning as our groins connected. He bent me back over his arm, and I let my head fall back.

“I want you,” he said, kissing his way down my chest.

“You have me.”

Slowly, he straightened me up and sighed. “Not yet. Tonight.”

I climbed off him and let him give me a tour of the apartment. In his bedroom, he stood in front of the French doors of his closet with my dress in his hand. He opened them to reveal an expansive walk-in closet. I jumped up and down giddily, clapping my hands, but he looked nervous. I didn’t understand why until I stepped in further and saw that the entire left side was vacant.

“I couldn’t sleep last night so, um, this is your side.”

I took the dress from him, walked over and hung my dress on the empty bar. I spotted my shopping bags from earlier in the day neatly lined up underneath.

“Oh, David,” I said, tears pricking my eyes. His long arms wrapped around me from behind. “Are we really doing this?” I asked. “Is this going to work?”

“It is, I promise. I promise you, Olivia, you are home.”

A few tears fell, and I turned in his arms to face him. I reached up and felt his face, still in awe that I could touch him without feeling anything but . . .
I love you.
I wanted to tell him, but the words caught in my throat.

CHAPTER 6

AN ENORMOUS ROCK SHOWER, big enough for several people, took up one corner of David’s bathroom. It was elemental; unrefined with rough edges but relaxing.

I knew it would take me much longer than him to get ready for the hotel’s grand opening, so I wasted no time getting started. In the meantime, David would be working out. He had informed me of this by pulling open the glass door just as I had stepped under the stream of water. I didn’t notice him at first, but when I did, I was jarred by the way his eyes ran over me. I’d been not just comfortable but confident hours earlier in the dressing room, but suddenly, dripping wet, I felt exposed in his large shower.

“Don’t cover yourself,” David said. “Let me enjoy the fact that you get better every time I see you.”

I reddened instinctively, not realizing my hands had been over my breasts. I dropped them to my sides and stood, letting the water soak me as he watched.

“Jesus,” he’d grumbled finally, adjusting his pants. “I’ll be downstairs at the gym.”

Aside from the shower, the bathroom also had a large, built-in bathtub surrounded by matching slate-colored rock. After I’d dried and styled my hair, I sat on the edge of the tub and dialed Gretchen.

“I spoke to Lucy,” she said after I gave her my new number.

“And?”

“And I guess Bill is pretty fucked up. He doesn’t know what to do with himself.”

“Should I go see him?”

“Better let it be for now. At least until he cools off. He wasn’t happy that you gave the ring back since he figured you were just getting this out of your system.”

“That was when he punched the wall.”

David appeared in my peripheral vision, post-shower, one towel scrubbing his hair and another slung low on his hips. I couldn’t resist letting my eyes wander over him, and he gave me a wolfish grin. I was wearing the only thing he had picked out himself during our shopping trip: a short, white silk robe.
Gretchen
, I mouthed when he nodded at me.

“I invited Andrew and Lucy tonight,” Gretchen was saying, “but they declined. I guess Bill is going over there to hang out.”

“Well, I’m glad he has Andrew, even if it means I don’t have Lucy right now.”

“Lucy said Bill said you fainted.”

“Oh. Did I not mention that?”

“No. Are you okay?”

“My elbows are a little bruised,” I said, inspecting my arm. “But that’s it.”

I looked up because I felt David glowering down at me. He took my arm in his hand and turned it over.

“I’ll see you tonight,” I said distractedly and hung up.

“You said he didn’t touch you.”

“He didn’t. I fainted.”

“You
fainted
?” he repeated.

“Just for a second. I was nervous.”

“What if it’s something serious?”

“I simply did not eat enough that day, and I forgot to breathe,” I said. We stared at each other until I rose from the edge to fix my makeup.

“The diet or whatever stops here,” he said. “I don’t like the idea of you not eating.”

“It’s not a diet,” I said irritably. “I don’t eat when I’m depressed or nervous. Things should even out soon enough.”

He eyed me skeptically but dropped it when his phone chimed. He picked it from the bathroom counter and cursed.

“What?” I asked, sweeping powder over my nose.

“It’s Maria.”

I instantly released the powder brush into my makeup bag and glared at his reflection. “What?” I repeated loudly.

“I forgot to cancel on her tonight.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I invited her ages ago, and with everything going on, I just forgot.” He looked up and caught my expression. “Don’t be upset.” He waved the phone. “I’m telling her now.”

“Telling her what?” I asked.

“That I don’t need her to come.”

I whirled from the counter and gaped at him. “You haven’t broken things off with her?”

“There’s nothing to break off,” he said as he typed. “I just call her when I need her.”

“Need her?” I asked with disgust.

He looked up. “For events and stuff,” he said sheepishly.

“Tell her that you will not be needing her for
anything
,
ever
again.”