I wanted to tell him, to make him feel as adored and comforted as he’d made me feel these last couple days. To give him the same thrill I’d gotten when he’d confessed his love for me.
But the words caught in my throat.
6
An enormous rock shower, big enough for several people, took up one corner of David’s bathroom. It gave the space a spa-like vibe, elemental and unrefined with rough edges but extremely relaxing.
Knowing it would take me much longer than David to get ready for his hotel grand opening tonight, I wasted no time getting started.
While I showered, David would be working out. He’d informed me of that by pulling open the steamy glass door just as I’d stepped under the stream of water. His eyes had run over my naked body. I’d been not just comfortable but confident hours earlier in the dressing room, but suddenly, dripping wet, I’d felt exposed.
“Don’t cover yourself,” David had said, and I’d realized I’d crossed my arms over my breasts. “Let me enjoy the fact that you get better every time I see you.”
I’d reddened at his compliment but had dropped my hands to my sides and let him look as water had soaked me.
“Jesus,” he’d grumbled finally, adjusting his pants. “I’ll be downstairs at the gym.”
That had been more than an hour ago. Post-workout, it was David’s turn to shower as I blow-dried my hair wearing the one thing David had thrown onto the pile of clothing during our shopping trip without having me model it first—a white silk robe that barely covered my ass.
Aside from the shower, David’s bathroom also had a large, built-in bathtub wrapped in matching slate-colored rock. After I’d styled my hair, I sat on the edge of the tub and dialed Gretchen.
“Hello?” she answered.
“It’s me,” I said. “This is my new number.”
“I was about to write you off as spam,” she informed me before telling me to wait as she updated my contact card. When she returned on the line, I asked, “Did you speak to Lucy?”
“Yep,” she said and hesitated.
“And?”
“And . . . I guess Bill is pretty fucked up. He doesn’t know what to do with himself and keeps telling Andrew he knows you’ll return once you realize your mistake.”
My heart sank. It wasn’t surprising—it’d only been a few days—but some small part of me had hoped once the shock had worn off, that Bill would start coming to terms with the reality that I was gone.
“Should I go see him?” I wondered aloud.
“Better let it be for now. At least until he cools off.” Gretchen sighed. “Andrew said Bill’s most pissed off that you gave the ring back since he thinks you’re just getting this out of your system.”
I nodded. “Yeah. That was the reason he punched the wall.”
The shower stopped, and David appeared in my peripheral vision, scrubbing his hair with one towel, another slung low on his hips. I couldn’t resist letting my eyes wander over him, and he gave me a wolfish grin.
“Gretchen,” I mouthed, pointing at the phone, and he nodded.
“I invited Andrew and Lucy to come tonight,” Gretchen told me, “but they declined. I guess Bill is going over to their place to hang out.”
“Well, I’m glad he has Andrew,” I said, “even if it means I don’t have Lucy right now.”
Gretchen hummed her agreement. “Hey—Lucy said Bill told her you fainted?”
“Oh. Yeah,” I said. “Did I not mention that?”
“No. You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Please, God—no. The air left the room as my mouth hung open. The thought was too terrifying. Too permanent. I didn’t want that. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I might be pregnant. The odds were slim to none. I was still on birth control, and aside from a few nights earlier with David, neither he nor Bill had come inside me without a condom in several months.
“No, definitely not,” I said. “It was pure anxiety.”
