“This is my friend Brian,” I said to her. “He’s one of our bachelors.”
“I’m aware,” she said with a killer smile. “I’ve already had Liv fill me in on the best attendees.”
Brian laughed boisterously. “I was just having her do the same for me. But I didn’t see you in the feature. Gretchen, is it?”
“Gretchen Harper.” Through a tiny straw, she sipped the last of the fizzy red drink I assumed was actually a Dirty Shirley. “And I was in the mag a couple years back.”
“Funny, I think I would’ve remembered.” Brian offered her his elbow. “Shall we get you a refill?”
She slipped her arm through his and said, “Always,” as he led her away.
“Don’t forget,” I called after them. “I need Brian single until the issue comes out.”
They ignored me. David, on the other hand, didn’t. Even without turning to him, I knew how he was looking at me. Penetrating and lusty with a twist of somber, and I suddenly remembered the seatbelt. How he’d leaned over to unbuckle it, his hand grazing my skin, so close to the hem of the dress he’d bought me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I came for my answer.”
The directness of his response made me pause. “I already gave you one.”
“Storming off after slamming the door in my face in the middle of an argument is not an answer.”
“That wasn’t an argument,” I said. “It was a finale. With fireworks.”
“If you felt fireworks, then I assure you, this isn’t over.”
“It is,” I told him. “It has to be.”
“Then give me what I came here for.” His eyes drifted down my leather dress and jumped back to mine. “Tell me to back off, Olivia. Say it without pleading me to stay with your eyes, without your body practically vibrating to feel my hands on it.”
I sucked in a breath but crossed my arms, even though it wouldn’t make a difference. I could close off my body to him, but nobody had ever been able to read the truth in my eyes the way David did. Telling him I didn’t want him would be a lie, and he knew that. “Just because I’m married doesn’t mean I can’t feel attracted to other men.”
“Yeah?” he asked, jutting his chin at me. “How many other men?”
None. I picked up my wine for a sip. “You’re reading too much into this.”
When he set his lips in a line, the angles of his jawline sharpened. “Why do you think I’ve pursued you since the moment I saw you?” he asked, glancing at the chardonnay. “Physical appearance has little do with it.”
I gaped at the insult. “I never claimed to be your type.”
“Don’t mistake me. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
I clenched my teeth, arousal and shock mixing with indignation at what had to be a lie. David had his pick of women anywhere he went—and plenty of practice getting them to spread their legs. “And how many women have you said that to tonight alone?” I asked. “Why don’t you go see ifAmberis willing to play, because I’m not.”
He ignored me. “Your beauty comes from something inside you. I took one look at you at the ballet, and your eyes told me a story. You were alone. You were desperate, as was I. Your vulnerability struck something deep in me.”
I couldn’t remember the last time, if ever, somebody had described me as vulnerable, let alone accused me ofdesperatevulnerability. Bill had called me cold. Hours earlier, Gretchen had driven home her point that I’d closed myself off and suppressed emotions since childhood. But I didn’t need either of them to tell me that to know it was true.
So what had David seen that night? I closed my eyes briefly, reliving those moments of looking around a crowd that included my best friends—myhusband—and feeling alone. Alien. My guard hadn’t been up in that one, single moment David and I had locked eyes.
Chills spread over my bare shoulders. I looked at him now as the truth struggled to the surface. If David fought for me, it could be game over for Bill.
Was I ready for that? To say good-bye to the life I’d not only known, but the one I’d wanted, the one I’d constructed?
“If you want something, say it out loud.”
Out of nowhere, Davena’s words sliced through me. Her death had left a wound I was trying to hold closed until I could grieve alone. But it was also the most glaring sign that life was too short not to selfishly reach for my desires when I had the rare chance to catch one.
