Anger flashed in David’s eyes. “You think he loves you—if he did, he’d never push you into something like that. He’s a coward.”
David couldn’t know what it meant to hear him say that after all the fighting Bill and I had done over the topic. I momentarily wondered if I should elaborate, but Bill had exhausted the subject of children for me. It was the last thing I felt like discussing, so instead, I said, “It was definitely a sore spot in our relationship.”
David went uncharacteristically quiet, watching me. Finally, he asked, “When was the last time?”
“Last time what?”
He swallowed. “You and Bill.”
I bit my lip, flashing back to Bill’s constant interrogations the past month. What good would it do, giving David that information? “Why do you want to know?”
“I just do. I want to know.”
“Are you going to hold it against me?”
“No.” He squeezed my ankle. “I’m sorry if that’s what you’ve been dealing with.”
I sighed and looked out the window at the city. “Bill and I haven’t been intimate much lately. He was respectful because I was grieving over Davena, but he didn’t know, couldn’t know, that my feelings for him . . . changed. After you. Or rather, I began to notice how they were different.”
David waited for me to continue.
I let my gaze drift back to him. “We only did it once since . . . isn’t this weird?”
Though he appeared to be clenching his teeth, he slackened his jaw and said, “Go on.”
“Only once since you and I were together at your apartment. And it was, I don’t know, a couple months ago maybe.”
“I’ll tell you right now,” he said, “that will never happen around here. If anything, I’ll need you to tell me if I’m being overbearing in the bedroom.”
I couldn’t imagine I’d ever ask David to stop. I pulled my knees to my chest, hugging them. “It’s been difficult these last several months. He tried, but I was cruel.”
“Because of Davena?”
“She was a rock in my life. My mom and I have never known how to be there for each other emotionally, but it wasn’t that way with Davena. She and her husband have been family friends since I was born. We became much closer once I moved to Chicago, though.”
“It was hard, wasn’t it? Her death?”
I blinked up at him. “Incredibly, but walking away from you was debilitating, and I spent the next three months trying to forget our night together, wishing things were different, wishing I could see you, talk to you, be with you.”
He rolled off the arm of the couch, leaned forward, and put his hands on my knees. “Things couldn’t be different because they had to happen this way. I had a rough time, too, but it’s going to get better now. Trust me.” He reclined back, tugging my legs free, sliding his hands down until he held my ankles.
I nodded breathlessly at his sincere words and at his skin on mine. “Next order of business?” I asked, afraid I might melt into a puddle of desire just from our proximity.
“Finances,” he said tentatively. “If I were Bill, I’d have an axe to grind right now.”
I’d thought the same thing. I’d left almost everything behind, and after the way Bill had shut off my cell service, I had a bad feeling he might not stop there. “We share a joint account, but he controls it,” I said. “I paid the bills—phones, rent, utilities, et cetera—but it’s all in his name. I have my own savings. It’s not much,” I offered, “but maybe I can get some money in the divorce. Although, if I’ve learned anything from TV courtroom dramas, I know infidelity isn’t exactly encouraged.” I looked around the office and over at the view. The rent for this place had to be more than I even made in a month, maybe two. After a few moments of silence, my eyes returned to David’s.
“I’ll take care of you, Olivia,” he said carefully.
What exactly did he mean by that? I blinked rapidly but didn’t respond.
“Did you hear me?” he asked. “Money isn’t an issue. I’ve seen to it that I’m one of the top architects in the country. I own property and a business. My sister and I each received a hefty inheritance from our grandfather. Between that and work, I have more than enough to take care of us both. And,” he added with a crooked smile, “a family, when it comes to that.”
I looked down. It was the second time he’d mentioned family, and it made me uneasy. If I let my mind dive into the specifics of what that could mean, though, on top of everything else—I might blow a fuse. I pushed the feeling aside for later.
I should’ve felt excitement about being taken care of, but it only made me anxious. Remembering the honesty policy, I said, “I feel weird about it.”
“If you didn’t, I’d be a little concerned,” he said, his smile still hooked at the corner. “It’ll take time to get used to, but just know that you don’t have to worry. I don’t care what you do with your paychecks from the magazine. Rip them up for all I care. You’ll never have to pay rent or a mortgage again. I’ll get you a credit card, which you’ll use going forward.”
