“So you knew he visited your dad?”
Her breath froze.“You knew?”
“No!Are you kidding me?Me?Keep a secret?Come on, Lara.”
That much was true.
“I didn’t find out he had any interest in BHI until Thursday when we had our monthly meeting.I’ve missed some updates, so I wasn’t in the loop.Your dad kicked Connor out, right?My big brother wouldn’t have liked that much.”
“I started thinking about what you’d said.”
“And…?Give me the details.Where are the negotiations stalled?”
Lara remembered what he’d said about loyalty and protecting their relationship.Keeping it from Erin was a huge test.She settled for telling parts of the truth.“He wants me to live with him.”
“He’s a neat freak, but other than that, he doesn’t do anything weird like leave toenail clippings in the bathtub.”
Erin had had a boyfriend in college who’d done that.After she’d seen it, she’d been unable to shower.After putting her clothes back on at two a.m., she’d called Lara to pick her up.Since then, they’d judged all men by that standard.
“So why can’t you live with him?”
“The marriage will have an end date.”
There was so much silence that Lara thought the call had dropped.
“So you don’t mean for this to be a long-term thing?”
“No.I never did.He’s okay with that.But I thought we’d live separately.”
“He wants the appearances.Shit, Lara.”
Erin understood.Over the years, they’d shared their frustrations.Erin knew her better than anyone else did.
“I was hoping you’d cracked his shell, that he wanted to have a real marriage.”
“No.He was clear that there’s no love involved.But he wants me to move in.”
“This is kind of like putting your life in limbo, isn’t it?You can’t date anyone else, and you have to be with a man who doesn’t love you but acts like he does.”
“That’s a good way to explain it.”
“Well, crap.So you’re thinking about BHI and nothing else.”
“And it will be good for Donovan Worldwide.Connor will buy the communications division, at a more than fair price.And the patents.”
“You know, Lara, you’ve made a lot of choices in your life because they were the best for your dad.Maybe you should start making ones that are the best for you.There’s a whole world out there.You don’t have to do this.Don’t set yourself up to be miserable.”
“On the other hand, it’s only for a few years,” Lara replied, serving as her own devil’s advocate.“Fewer years than college.”
“But no spring breaks,” Erin quipped.
“It’s not like I’ve been dating much anyway.”
“So?That doesn’t mean you should put your life on hold.This didn’t work out the way I envisioned it,” she said.“I’m not happy.”
Lara agreed with that.Then she saw Connor coming in her direction.“I need to go.”
“I’ll see you at my mom’s later.Oh, by the way, did you know your mother called my mother?This is getting really weird.”
