Chapter 23

23

E LIZABETH

We look like just another couple pulling up in a relative’s driveway with a bottle of wine, a bouquet of roses, and a gift card in an envelope.

We both wear jeans, boots and winter jackets.

The tip of my nose gets cold when we climb out and glance at the house.

Slightly bigger than mine, the place is adorned with lights. The windows are lit, and we can see a woman inside, busy setting the table.

This must be Julie’s aunt.

He told me about her on our way over.

We hadn’t talked much about anything else before he signaled that we were nearing our destination.

Despite having mixed feelings about being an official couple, I'm less nervous now.

In a way, I’m happy we’re doing it by joining Julie and Miranda for a cozy dinner.

Without flinching, David shows me to the entrance.

He opens the door and invites me in without ringing the bell or calling out their names to tell them we are here.

It’s like he’s home.

“Julie,” he finally calls out, closing the door and setting the gifts on a wall table next to the door.

He points to a door nearby.

“We can leave our jackets over there.”

I open the door and pick up a hanger for mine before handing him one.

No one shows up while we drape our jackets over the hangers and place them in the closet.

He removes his shoes, and so do I when the woman enters the small hallway.

“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I thought Julie was back.”

She hugs David before shifting to me.

“You must be Elizabeth,” she says with a smile before hugging me as well.

“I’m Miranda,” she says, stretching her hand out. “Julie’s aunt.”

Our hands connect, and her focus shifts to him.

“I told her to buy a case of water this afternoon. She forgot, so she had to go back.”

The headlights of a car sweep the windows, summoning her attention.

“That must be her.”

David and Miranda start chatting, and soon after, Julie walks in. She wears sweatpants, her pink locks pulled back into a ponytail.

“Let me get that,” David offers, and I sense a familiarity between them that is more than normally seen between co-workers.

He picks up the case of water and takes it to the kitchen while Julie turns to me.

“Hey,” she says with a glint in her eyes. “I’m so happy that you’re here.”

She stops from hugging me at the last moment. I had a feeling she almost wanted to hug him as well.

“I’m happy too,” I say evenly, still a bit awkward about the whole situation.

David returns and moves his eyes between the two of us.

“Let’s go into the dining room,” Miranda says, heading in that direction.

You can tell she likes to entertain her guests.

The food is on the table, and she went the extra mile with the eye-catching fall centerpiece.

The next hour is exactly how David had described it.

Once we start eating, it feels like a familial reunion, and I find myself studying his features against Julie’s.

I’ve heard stuff about her. She can be tough, abrupt, and simply obnoxious.

No part of that persona is present at the table.

And maybe that’s what I see on her face. She seems exuberant and optimistic, and she smiles a lot.

I almost see a dimple when she grins from ear to ear.

Her dimple reminds me of David’s while her blue eyes seem copied and pasted from his face.

Other than that, it’s hard to find much resemblance. But there are things. The way she tilts her chin down and raises an eyebrow like him.

The glint in her eyes when she jokes about something.

Some parts of him are woven into her face. Am I the only one seeing these things?

Or am I going mad?

Eating my greens, I look around the table.

David surely doesn’t seem to notice.

Neither does Julie’s aunt.

I think I’m too taken with Julie’s charm, which also reminds me of David.

I need a drink.

I curl my fingers around the long stem of my glass, and David stops me from bringing it to my lips before filling it for me.

“How’s the food?” Miranda asks.

“Mmm… It’s delicious,” I say after sipping wine.

“Save room for dessert,” she says, pushing out of her seat.

“I’ll help you,” Julie tosses at her, following her aunt into the kitchen.

Once we are alone, David slides his hand under the table and cuffs mine.

“Are you good?” he asks.

“Yes. Yes, I am,” I say a bit stiff.

“Something’s wrong.”

The conversation’s slipping, and I have no intention of going there.

Sharing with him how fascinated I am with how he and Julie have things in common is not something I want to get into right now.

But I need to say something.

“Julie is nice. And Miranda is nice, too, but Julie is different than how she is at work.”

“She’s supposed to. She’s my little attack dog,” he jokes.

Maybe that’s what it is.

You know how people who spend too much time together borrow from each other’s features.

Well, it’s mostly husbands and wives.

And it’s usually a decade or so of living together, but what do I know?

I remember when he said his assistant was young.

Almost nineteen or something.

She surely holds her own for a nineteen year old. I could learn a thing or two from her.

I place my hand on his.

“Do you remember when you said you’d teach me about money and stuff?”

His eyebrows slide up, and rightfully so. This came out of nowhere.

“You just thought about that?” he asks.

I smile.

“Sort of.”

“Okay… Yes. We can do that.”

“When can we start?”

“Anytime you want, but probably not tonight. I have plans for you,” he says, flashing a lustful smile that is short-lived as Miranda and Julie return from the kitchen with dessert plates and a chocolate cake.

ELIZABETH

The cake was absolutely delicious. It was worth the trip to Miranda’s house.

The entire evening was amazing.

Away from his suits and high-profile job, David looked like a happy man.

I got wrapped up in that vibe and reveled in every moment we had spent over there, but I couldn’t wait to get home and spend some alone time with him.

Naked and tucked under the covers, I wait for him to return from the bathroom. Lit candles line the window sill, and a soft tune plays in the house.

The door opens, and he enters my bedroom, tall, muscled, and with a towel wrapped around his hips.

I fold the covers and tap the mattress next to me before beckoning him to me.

A knowing smile lines his lips when his back meets the pillow. He smells like cool mint and spicy cologne.

“Thank you for this beautiful night,” I say, propped on an elbow, running my fingers over his chest.

I place a kiss between his pecs, my eyes connected to his.

“They felt like family,” I say, leaving a trail of kisses, moving down to his groin.

He slides his hand into my hair and stops just as I’m about to unwrap his towel.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he says, his voice a bit tense.

No smile on his face.

I stop and tilt my head up.

“There’s something wrong?”

“No. There’s nothing wrong,” he says, smiling. “Come here,” he adds, showing me next to him.

I pull up and lie on my side to face him.

He shifts as well to face me.

“What is it that you want to tell me?” I ask, my eyes tilting to his lips.

He slowly strokes my hair as my gaze hovers over his face.

“Julie is not exactly a stranger to me.”

I turn to stone.

Is he saying what I think he’s saying? Or is it something much worse?

The easiness with which she handles him. Their closeness.

She is his attack dog.

Was she more than that?

Why would she be so fond of me, though?

And what was I seeing on their faces at the dinner we just had? Nothing seems to make sense now.

The waiting is painful.

“Julie is Anna’s daughter.”

I look at him, thunderstruck.

Think, Elizabeth. Think.

I wish it were that simple.

What?

Wait, what again?

Is she…? How is she…?

Why is he…?

“That’s it?”

He nods.

“I wanted you to know this because you would have eventually found out.”

My mouth hangs open.

“Why, um…?”

I pause while he waits for me to continue.

“What about her father? Isn’t there a father?” I ask, not knowing exactly what I’m asking.

He takes a long breath.

“Yes, there was a father. They both died in a car accident. She was killed instantly. He died a few hours later at the hospital.”

“Did you get the chance to talk to him?”

“He was unconscious. So no.”

He looks at the ceiling for a moment.

“There was something else. We weren’t on speaking terms when that happened. And no one had notified me.”

He brings his gaze back to me. And I just know that behind his calm expression, more things are to be shared.

“Did you know him?”

He nods.

“Is he the man she left you for?”

He tips his head again.

“Her husband was my best friend. Ned Sutton.”

I freeze.

The picture.

The man in the picture.

The bouquet in her arms.

David and the other man.

He continues.

“He was my best friend. I served in the military because of him. And then he stole my woman.”

“Was he in the military, too?” I ask as if it just crossed my mind.

“Yes, he was.”

A few moments pass.

“That’s why I was so damn mad when her betrayal happened. I thought she’d missed me and sought comfort in someone else’s arms. She actually wanted his money. She told me that. But I didn’t want to believe her. I couldn’t believe her. The pain paralyzed me. It fucked my brain up.”

I pull my mouth closed.

He doesn’t say another word, and I can’t suppress my curiosity so I speak again.

“So… Miranda is Anna’s sister?”

“Yes.”

I almost vomit the next few words.

‘She doesn’t look like Anna.’

Luckily, I stop myself from blurting it out.

“How did you two become so close? Were you close back then?”

“No. Not really. Once Anna and I broke up, I did not have much to hold onto. I didn’t know she had a little girl. We hadn’t kept in touch. We couldn’t. She expressly had forbidden me to call her sister or try to meddle in her life. And I had no longer considered Ned my friend. So I stayed away from him and our mutual friends.”

He sucks in another long breath.

“But things changed later on. I changed since marriage had taught me a lesson or two. When all was said and done, Anna and Ned were no longer here, and I was no longer the mad man who’d fucked with his life just to prove a point, so I looked for Miranda. One time I traveled over here, I went searching for her. It wasn’t hard to find her. Not many things had changed about her. The only difference was that she was no longer alone. A young woman lived in her house, and I felt compelled to help her find her footing in her life. I knew how hard it was for me and didn’t want her to go through tough times.”

I stay mum as I wait for him to continue, convinced he will tell me more.

“Julie and I had a lot in common. Much more than she knew.”

A sad smile tugs at his lips.

“I lost my parents in a car accident when I was a young boy, and I had no family left growing up. But, like her, I lucked out. The woman who took me in was nice and did a good job raising me. I wanted to do the same for Julie. Help her overcome the obstacles. The hurdles of life. Pay it forward in a way. Be there for her. I also wanted to forget about my dark past. Miranda and Julie had nothing to do with what had happened to me. That’s why they consider me family.”

I feel like this is another lost opportunity to come clean and tell him about the pictures that had taken me to Eleanor Winston’s house and made me meet Sylvia and find out things about his past.

Maybe those bits of information are to be forever buried, never to be brought to life.

Julie is Anna’s daughter.

I need some time to process this.

“She is very fond of you,” I say.

He smiles.

“She’s a good kid. Besides…” His voice shifts as he brings his hand to my waist. “You are very fond of me too. I am just a lovable person,” he says with self-deprecating humor.

I give him a smile and kiss his lips, my fingers splayed over his cheek.

Holding my hand to his face, I look deep into his eyes.

“I love you, David…” I say slowly. “You know that.”

His smile dissolves into a pool of sharp awareness, his eyes twinkling.

“Yes, I do. I love you too,” he says and locks my lips, pulling me into his chest, my hand already untucking his towel.