“I’m sorry, David.” He shook his head. “We go back a long time, but I can’t advise a client to enter into that type of agreement no matter how in love she thinks she is.”
I wondered if that was true or if Jerry had reservations because of David’s history. But it was clear to me, by the way David tensed beside me, and from the time we’d spent together, that my trust in him meant something. It meant a lot. And despite all the times I’d deprived him of it, he’d still fought for me. So I said, “Let the bastard have it all.”
Both pairs of eyes cut to me.
“What’s the next step?” I asked Jerry. “Getting Bill to agree to six months?”
“Uh.” Jerry looked at us with an expression somewhere between confused, delighted, and reluctant. “Yep, that’s the next step.”
“It’s decided then,” David said.
“All right.” Jerry picked up the paperwork again. “Mind if I take a few more minutes with this?”
“Sure,” I said.
As he sat at my desk, David turned to block me from Jerry with his body. He placed his hands on my cheeks. “Thank you,” he said.
“I trust you.” I held his gaze. “Completely.”
His thumb moved over my cheek. “You don’t know what that means to me.”
I beamed at him.
“What’s that smile for?” he asked.
“It feels good to be . . . out in the open.”
“It feelsamazing. I’m sorry I left you in bed this morning, but I wanted to finish up at work in time to drive you home tonight.”
I hesitated. “Actually, Davena’s husband—”
“Mack.”
“Yes . . . Mack. He called earlier and wants to go for dinner. I haven’t seen him since before everything happened.”
David smiled warmly. “That sounds nice.”
I wanted David to meet Mack, but after telling my friends, my office, and most importantly, my dad, the past couple weeks had been a lot. “I understand if you don’t want to come.”
David studied my face before responding. “I’d like to,” he said. “But won’t it be uncomfortable showing up with a man who isn’t your husband?”
I didn’t have the first clue what I’d say to Mack. He’d recently lost the love of his life—would he understand my choice to leave Bill? No playbook existed for this kind of thing. “It definitely will, but I’d like you to be there. I think you understand how important Mack is to me, how important Davena was. They’re my godparents.”
“Then I’d be honored to meet him,” David said. “What time should I pick you up here?”
“Dinner’s at seven-thirty, and I want to change first, but it’s close to the apartment.”
Jerry alerted us that he was finished, so I walked them back to the lobby. I’d hung my head on our way in, so this time, as we zigzagged through the office, I grasped David’s hand. He was my boyfriend, and that was what couples did. After a look of surprise from him, I was rewarded with his wonderfully perfect boyish grin—now, one of my favorite sights in the world.
At the elevator bank, Jerry averted his eyes as David swooped in for one last kiss. “See you tonight,” he said.
I left them in the elevator bank and returned to the lobby, where Serena and Jenny blockaded me from passing.
“We need details,” Jenny demanded.
“Like,now,” Serena added.
I sighed to hide my amusement. “You two are incurable gossips.”
