Chapter 12

12

L IZ

The heated edge of a stare makes my cheeks warm.

I look around before a group of people chatting by the door leading to the tent outside catches my eye.

The man staring at me tilts his chin slightly. His azure eyes couldn't be more telling.He gives me that famished look I know so well.

Next to him, James Sexton and Lex Harrington talk to Tiago Rossi.

Pam is nowhere in sight.

She might be at the table, nursing her drink.

As he had promised, he showed up with her.

Honestly, nobody cared. No one has paid much attention to her anyway.

People who know David Moore have regarded her as just another woman on his arm.

In a way, that's exactly what he wanted.

Not having people pay attention to her or him and the direction of his gaze when he's looking at me, like now.

I hold his stare, although I shouldn't.

Any of the men standing next to him could shift their eyes to us at a moment's notice, and our staring at each other could get us in trouble.

"Hey. There you are," a woman says, and I quickly peel my eyes away from David to face Dahlia and Eve.

Dahlia is the one talking.

She wears a long pink dress, while Eve rocks a blue-green dress that sets off her eyes.

"We were looking for you," Eve says.

"Me?" I ask, a little puzzled.

"Yeah. There's ice cream in the kitchen. A whole cake of ice cream," Dahlia says. "And we thought you might be interested in a slice."

"Uh… An ice cream cake?"

My eyes must be glinting since they start laughing.

"Come on," Dahlia says, looping her arm through mine. "You'll think about it later. I want a slice. Lex doesn't like sweets, and I rarely have company when I treat myself with ice cream. I thought you might like it too."

"I do. I sure do. Don't they bring it to the table?"

"It's not for the party."

"Okay."

We walk into the vast kitchen, chatting and smiling, and I forget about David.

We find plates, silverware, and the cake Dahlia has talked about. She cuts a slice for each of us.

"It looks delicious," Eve says, her eyes on her dessert.

A beautiful diamond ring sparkles on her finger, and I can't help myself and ask.

"Have you set a wedding date?"

Sinking my dessert fork into the layered cake, I focus on the dessert.The flavors of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and whipped cream mix in my mouth.

"Mmm… This is better than an orgasm," I say before she has the chance to answer.

We laugh around the kitchen island before she speaks.

"Sometime next year. In the summer, most likely."

We're all busy tasting the delicious cake while several staff members enter and exit the room.

"Let's go into the reading room. Anyone else wants a slice?" Dahlia asks, and we both say yes.

We fill our plates with ice cream cake and move the party to the reading room.

Frankly, I'm not that familiar with Thea's house, so Dahlia leads the way.

We find a nice room with a comfortable sofa and two armchairs, the nocturnal view of the backyard lining the windows.

The guests are still scattered around the backyard while servers in sleek uniforms carry trays and offer them drinks.

Somewhere inside the tent are Mom and Pam. Not together, of course.

I so hope not.

"How do you like Colorado?" I ask Eve. "After living in New York," I add, aware of the fact that she was born and grew up here.

She leans back into her armchair while I set my empty plate on the coffee table.

"It's great," she says.

"You don't miss that life?"

Shaking her head, she chews on her dessert.

"Not in the slightest." She shrugs."It's different. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy that I've spent a few good years over there. I think you owe it to yourself to have that experience," she says, sliding her dessert plate onto the table as well. "Have you considered living there?" she asks me.

"Um… No, not really. I like a lot of things about New York, in theory. And I'd probably want to have that experience, as you just said. I wouldn't mind to get lost in the city."

"That's what it is," she says, smiling. "That's part of the allure," she goes on. "I went to college there. I worked there. I dated there. It was a disaster," she says, amused. "It had its charm. And then… Things had gotten to a point where they could no longer progress. I wanted a house? Well, I needed to move out of the city and commute. I wanted a man for something more serious? I needed to rely on luck. It was exhausting."

"You were lucky," Dahlia interferes. "With your man," she says in response to Eve's questioning look.

"Yeah… I was. I can't deny it. But it took a long time to get that lucky."

"Is it luck?" I ask, my curiosity ignited.

Our plates are on the coffee table, our backs pressed against the luxurious pillows adorning the armchairs and the sofa.

"I think it is," Eve says.

"And you? What do you think?" I ask, moving my eyes to Dahlia.

"It definitely is. And not only on our part. The same goes for them. You just need to meet the right person at the right time. That's luck in my opinion."

A few moments of silence pass, voices and laughter echoing outside before I find myself speaking.

"So, you say… Someone like…"I stop, pretending that I'm thinking."David Moore, for instance––I'm only asking about him because everybody else is married. Is he a bachelor because he hasn't met the right person?" I ask with fake cluelessness in my voice.

Smiling, they look at each other.

And maybe I'm projecting––because my cheeks are warm––but I think they blush as well.

"David, David…" Dahlia murmurs, entertained. "He's a special type of man."

"What's so special about him?"

Dahlia tilts her eyes in Eve's direction.

"She knows more about him."

Eve pushes out a chuckle.

"No, I don't."

"You talked to him," Dahlia says.

"You talked to him too," Eve replies.

My eyes move back and forth between them as their dialogue has the speed of a ping pong ball.

"What's with him?" I ask.

Dahlia shifts her focus to me.

"You know his history."

"Yes, I do. Everybody does," I say, pretending I'm not invested in our exchange. At all.

I whip my eyes to Eve, hoping she knows more about this story just because she's best friends with Rain Sexton.

They have been childhood friends, so she must know more about Rain's old life.

"What does that mean?" I ask when neither of them speaks.

"He has sworn off serious relationships," Dahlia says.

"What about the woman he is with tonight?" I ask, playing dumb. "Is she his girlfriend or something?"

"I don't think David has ever had a girlfriend. Maybe when he was a teen," Eve says.

"Something happened to him?" I ask.

"He was married," Dahlia says.

"So I've heard. Things didn't work out with that woman?" I go on.

Dahlia shrugs.

I know that story too. Everybody knows it.

Rumor has it his connection to Rain had something to do with his divorce. No surprise there.

"She left with a ton of money. And she was wealthy too."

"Out of spite?"

"It wasn't an amicable divorce, for sure. And no one thinks it was love either."

I crash back in my seat and try to superimpose the image of the man I know on the character drawn by that story.

I have a hard time imagining David in a relationship. Even more so him being married. And no matter how much I try to envision that married man, it feels like my imagination is not up to the task.

Was he married to someone like Rain? Was the woman someone like me? Like Pam? Or someone I can't even portray in my head at this point?"

"Has either of you seen his ex-wife?" I ask, curious.

Dahlia looks at Eve.

"No. She lives in another state."

"Wasn't he living in New York at some point?" I ask, pushing it––I know.

"He was seeing Rain in New York and doing business there, but no," Eve says, and a kernel of suspicion glints in her eyes.

I quickly realize that asking about him no longer feels random, so I drop it.

"Well, he might be the exception, but I totally agree that luck plays a role in their lives too," I say, intending to run my investigation someplace else.

Someone's phone pings in the room and it's not mine.

Dahlia looks at her cell phone.

"Rain is looking for us," she says. "Well, um… Thea is looking for us, but she is busy inside the house. We have to go, but I have to use the restroom first," she says, pushing to her feet. "Wait for me, okay?"

"Go," Eve says, smiling.

Anticipating an awkward silent moment, I rise to my feet and move to the window, where I soak in the view.

What a lovely sight.

The place looks marvelous, ready for the wedding celebration, and it's nice to see all these people patiently waiting for it.

I remember Thea saying Ed's house was too big and no one wanted to live in it, so they needed to look for a different place.

Turns out it wasn't about the house being too big.

It was just a house made for a bigger family.

I imagine Thea's kids playing with Rain's little girl. What a story. And if things go all right, more kids will run around that lawn one day.

I find the story so engrossing that I miss the moment Eve walks up to me and stops by the windows overlooking the backyard.

"It looks great, doesn't it?" she says quietly as we both look outside.

"Yes, it does."

"It's going to be a fantastic wedding," she goes on, and it dawns on me I've never thought about it myself–– getting married someday.

I've already been too much of a Nosy Nancy this evening, so I keep it simple.

"Yes. And I'm so happy for them."

A few couples walk down the alley, and one of them is David and Pam. A lump lodges in my throat.

They look like a couple. Well, they have their backs tuned to us, so it's easy to misunderstand things.

They don't hold hands or anything.

Their body language says nothing.

Their connection is dull and flat.

I understand the arrangement and can see how him showing up with her ends any speculation.

However, bringing someone to a friend's wedding is no small thing.

"She is one of them," Eve says as if reading my mind.

I move my eyes to her.

She gestures in their direction.

"Sabina."

"Sabina?"

"The woman accompanying David."

I like Pam better.

"Oh, Sabina. Yeah. I had no idea who you were talking about. She's never been introduced to me. She seems like a nice woman," I say, removing any negative emotion from my voice.

Eve gives me a smile.

"You don't have to hide from me."

My heart stops.

"What?"

"You like David."

I look at her, livid.

She touches my arm.

"We all liked David at some point."

"Dahlia didn't. And Thea didn't."

She gestures dismissively.

"You know what I mean. He is stunning," she argues.

"You liked him too?"

"He was on my short list when I was spectacularly failing at dating and looking at my other options. He was friendly toward me, but we never moved past that point. If you ask me, the man is not into relationships, period. But in this case, I think there's also something else. After having that affair with Rain, he never wanted to hook up with someone in our circle again."

Oh… Is that good news? Bad news?

He's not doing that, yet he's making an exception for me?

Or he's keeping me a secret ‘to protect me' when he, in fact, abides by that rule, and that's the real reason?

"Was it because of Rain?"

Our eyes connect, and she searches mine before fully grasping the meaning of my question.

"Oh, you mean, um… He doesn't do it because he has feelings for her?"

I nod.

"Yes."

"No, no… They are good friends. Plus, that is an old story. They both moved on. You can tell."

"Yes. Of course I can tell. Then, why?"

"One, because he's not dating. And he probably thinks it's the honorable thing to do not to get involved with someone in his circle. He doesn't want to lead anyone on, especially someone close to his friends."

My heart sinks.

"Isn't he leading that woman on?" I ask, tense, although thinking mostly about myself.

Her focus goes to Pam.

"She's in it for the money," she comments. "And he gives her nothing to fall in love with."

Other than the money––I comment in my head.

Is he giving me something to fall in love with?

In a flash I get a brief review of last night.

I liked him at the door, knocking, waiting, holding a bottle of wine, and showing up unannounced after spending the evening with me.

He felt like an old friend who stopped as if I was some kind of safe haven.

I enjoyed our conversation and the fact that he wanted a dim room as if that would make us feel closer to each other.

We brought up some important topics, having no problem negotiating a new deal.

He seemed honest when explaining the role ‘Pam' would play in our story.

So far, I have no reason not to believe him.

I liked that David a lot.

As much as I liked the man who went to the pharmacy in the middle of the night and tended to my wounds before keeping my legs draped over his lap, the way he did last night.

I even liked how he took me last night.

How he derailed me into finding myself in front of him on my knees.

I didn't mind it for a second and loved that shift and break in our routine. It was like a comminuted fracture in my expectations.

I found it sexy. Outrageous. Overwhelming. Yet, such a turn on. In a sense, he took away from me the softer version of himself.

And after giving in to him, he wiped out that impression that he had handed me something real.

To paraphrase Eve, he'd given me something to fall in love with before taking it away from me.

"It's probably smart," I say, abandoning my ruminations.

She looks at me.

"Not to give her anything," I say. "Especially if it's an arrangement, and they both know it won't last."

"Yeah. Of course."

Footsteps ring in the corridor as Dahlia approaches the room.

"Anyway," Eve says quickly. "David is a riddle, and if you happen to solve it one day, I'm sure you'll be in for a big surprise. It's just a feeling," she adds as Dahlia pushes the door open.

"I'm done," she says, and we all head back.