Come Together Page 6

  “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.”

  “All right, but it’s not necessary. And I’m not saying that over a text message.”

  I blanched, trying to think of a response. “You need to . . . to . . . Why do I even have to tell you this? Is this a joke?” I asked, turning back to the counter.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, coming up behind me and encircling my waist. “We’ve been friends for years, so I’d rather say something like that in person. But I’ll call her tonight. She won’t care, it’s not like she was my girlfriend.”

  “Tonight? Promise?”

  “Promise.” He inhaled and with a
moan, said, “Goddamn, you smell amazing.”

  I studied his eyes in the reflection. They’d always told me the truth, and they conveyed nothing but sincerity now. I relaxed in his grip.

  “Why do you women wear this shit anyway?” He picked up my eye shadow palette and examined it. “You look perfect right now. Just go like this.”

  “In my robe and no makeup? I think I might get a few looks.”

  “Jealous looks. This robe was the best purchase of the day.” He slid his hand over the front of it, but I shook my head at him. “All right,” he said, releasing me. “You can put your dress on, only so I can take it off later.”

  He stepped aside and pulled aftershave from a hidden cabinet. I was instantly transported to Lucy’s office, to the first time we’d kissed, as the familiar, irresistible smell wafted over to me.

  When he’d left the bathroom, I finished applying my makeup and slipped into my dress. I stepped back to study my reflection.

  I hadn’t realized how long my golden brown hair had become. It now sat a few inches below my shoulders. I’d parted it off to the side and curled it into a soft wave. The Versace column dress I’d picked was almost the color of my skin; tight, long-sleeved and shimmery, it had a high back and a deep ‘V’ that plunged down the front. I opted for dark pink lipstick and rosy cheeks since I was otherwise colorless. Mascara in Noir was carefully applied to my lashes, darkening my green eyes. Despite my four-inch heels, the dress still grazed the floor.

  David entered the bathroom, one hand fumbling with his cufflink until he looked up and paused in the doorway. In the mirror, I watched his eyes skim over me, his hands drop to his sides. “You’re beautiful,” he said. “Turn around.”

  I smiled and turned against the counter. He whistled low and came to me, pinning my hips against the counter and taking my face in his hands.

  “A nude dress?” he whispered. “Do you want me walking around with a hard-on all night?”

  “That’s the idea,” I said between breaths.

  He brushed some hair from my face, and a ‘V’ creased his forehead. “There will be photographers there tonight.”

  I sighed. “I figured. I don’t think I’m ready for that. It would be tasteless considering everything that’s happening.”

  He frowned and rubbed his thumb along the hollow of my cheek. “I was looking forward to showing you off.”

  “Showing me off? Maria’s a hard act to follow.”

  He released me, stepping back suddenly. “What?”

  “I’m teasing,” I said. “But, come on, David. Maria is like Gisele 2.0 . . . . She’s stunning.”

  “Are you – what? Are you kidding?”

  “Um.”

  “Olivia, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. You must know that.”

  “You’re sweet,” I said with a shy smile.

  He took my shoulders and turned me to the mirror. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he kissed the top of my head. His fingers trailed my neck as he pulled my hair into a loose ponytail. “Nobody even compares. I’m not blind. I know Maria is beautiful, but she’s nowhere near you, honeybee.” His hands complemented his words as he slid them down and over my backside, inspiring a burning need within me. “I had to know you the moment I saw you. Anybody would be lucky to have you.”

  I stared at his reflection. “I only care that you want me.”

  “I want you, all of you, any way I can have you. And anywhere,” he murmured, kissing my neck.

  I was speechless. David was in another league with sharp, defined features, jet-black hair and heavy eyebrows. His razorblade jaw was softened by the cleft in his chin, the fullness of his bottom lip. He could’ve been a movie star, and he was telling me I was beautiful? I searched his chestnut-brown eyes, finding only honesty.

  “Now, tie me up, would you?” he asked, tilting his chin in the air to expose his undone bowtie.

  I turned, fashioned the tie into a bow and patted his chest.

  He grabbed my wrists and kissed one of my palms. “One of the best and worst nights of my life,” he murmured, resting his forehead against mine.

  “Tonight?” I asked, alarmed.

  “The night of the bowtie. You don’t know how badly I wanted you but was scared to death of driving you away.”

  I melted into him as I remembered how I’d done up his bowtie right before our first kiss; an electric, amazing and terrifying first kiss, after which I’d gone home to my husband.

  “I love knowing that my bowtie is the only one you’ll be tying from now on.”

  I loved knowing that too, and I showed him with a kiss to rival our very first one.

  ~

  David and I fought again in the car. He insisted on sneaking out with me, but I ordered him to walk the red carpet and receive the praise he deserved for his work. He was grumbling irritably when I’d slipped out of the car right before we approached the photographers.

  Since Gretchen hadn’t arrived and I didn’t know anybody at the party, I headed straight for the lobby bar to order our drinks. I promptly canceled David’s whiskey, deciding that he’d probably have mingling to do and that I might not see him for a while. I pulled out my new phone while I waited and checked my e-mail.

  From: Bill Wilson

  Sent: Sat, November 10, 2012 05:48 PM CST

  To: Olivia Germaine

  Subject: Hey

  Tomorrow will be hard. I guess I feel like Sunday is our day. Was. This has been a lot to process. I still feel a little like I’m in a nightmare. Andrew caught me up on some details. I’m worried about you & don’t trust this guy AT ALL. He has no relationship history. I worry that he thinks this is some sort of game?

  I get that we have things to work on. I feel like I’ve been a good husband, but I’m willing to listen to whatever it is you think went wrong. You’ve always been hard to get through to though, so I hope you realize it takes two.

  You know how I feel about therapy, but I’ll do it for us. Forget this guy, Liv, he’s a player. Come home, let’s work this out. It’ll take time, but I know I can forgive everything one day.

  Bill

  I thanked the bartender and took a long sip from my wine. After a beat, I finished it off and ordered another.

  “Thirsty much?” asked a familiar voice.

  I turned and smiled. “Mr. Brian Ayers.” My new friend always looked handsome – even during our first meeting on Lakefront Trail when he was mid-run. He was a long way from athletic clothes tonight. Now he wore a trim, deep purple velour tuxedo, a silver button-down shirt and a matching striped bowtie. I couldn’t help but smile at his quirky style. As if it wasn’t Brian enough, he’d topped his outfit off with stark white tennis shoes. He leaned in to kiss me on the cheek.

  “No date tonight?” I asked.

  “Nah.”

  I raised my eyebrows at him, and he shrugged. “Not feeling anyone lately,” he explained. Brian’s blue eyes and long blond hair were even brighter against his tan. I knew not just by his looks or the muscular arms hiding under his blazer that he’d be a catch for most girls.

  Brian and David were longtime friends, and I wondered if Brian knew about us yet. If he did, he didn’t give anything away. I was considering mentioning it when I noticed Gretchen and Greg walk in. They were heading to the bar before they even spotted us.

  “Hel-lo,” Gretchen called, practically running over to me. “Greg, get me a drink, honey?”

  “Nice to have someone to order around, eh?” Brian asked as Greg walked away.

  She glanced at Brian, and her face soured. “Oh. Didn’t see you there. Can you excuse us?”

  “Certainly,” he said, rolling his eyes behind her back. I was aware the two weren’t particularly friendly – something to do with Brian turning down Gretchen’s advances – but it surprised me that they still weren’t over it.

  “How’s it going?” Gretchen whispered once she had me alone.

  Bill’s e-mail was fresh in my thoughts, but it
was easy to refocus my attention on my day with David. “Sort of amazing,” I gushed with a big smile.

  “You look fucking amazing. You’re, like, glowing in this dress. Tell me everything.”

  “You might flip out,” I said.

  “Tell me.”

  “He took me shopping and pretty much bought out the whole store.”

  “Shut up. Who?”

  “The dress is Versace,” I said, waving a hand over myself. “But there was Prada, Chloé, McQueen – just come over, and I’ll show you everything.”

  She made a noise from the back of her throat and closed one eye as if to brace herself. “Shoes, too?”

  “Yep.”

  “Please tell me the sex is bad.”

  “We haven’t done it yet as a couple. He wants to wait until we get back tonight so it’s special or something.”

  “Oh, God,” Gretchen said as her eyes rolled up into her head. “He’s perfect.”

  “What’s that?” Greg asked, handing her a drink.

  “You. You’re perfect, sweetie,” Gretchen said, pecking him on the lips.

  “Where’s David?” Greg asked.

  “We came in separately because of the photographers. I’m sure he’s circulating.”

  “I’m going to check in with work,” Gretchen said, leaving us at the bar.

  “How are you?” Greg asked, rubbing my back. “Gretchen told me everything.”

  “All things considered, I could be a lot worse. How about you? Work it all out with Gretchen?”

  “Hope so, Livvy. I told her that once we’re more settled, I want us to move in together.”

  “How does that make you feel?”

  “Great,” he said, exhaling audibly.

  “It’s okay to be nervous about that, Greg.”

  “I’m not.”

  “All right, just don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I warned.

  “Greg.” I heard David’s deep voice just as his arm rested across my shoulders. He stuck out his other hand to shake Greg’s hand.

  “Hey, man,” Greg said, grinning. “Welcome to the family.”

  David was also grinning, but it was directed down at me. “Right,” he said. His hand slid under my hair, lifted it and let it fall onto my back. “I missed you out there. Next time I want you by my side.”