"I'm so glad that we're no longer there to be seeing this every day. I'm sorry we have to go back and face it. I'd rather stay here and just enjoy our lives."
"Me, too, but we have to get this out of the way and then we'll be free."
We listened as they moved on to another story and both of us sighed.
"If Jones is dead, do you suppose they'll postpone the trial?"
"They'll cancel his trial, but they'll go ahead with hers for Derek's murder. Who knows? They might even charge her with a crime for encouraging him to commit suicide."
I sighed, wishing we could avoid returning to Manhattan as well. I didn't relish the paparazzi hounding us when we went to the courthouse to testify. I had put those memories, such as they were, behind me out in sunny California. Dredging up everything, enduring the lurid gossip about Drake and BDSM, was not something I looked forward to. Still, we had to get it over with, and so I steeled myself and decided to try to get as much enjoyment out of our trip as possible.
"You'll never guess who contacted me," I said and raised my eyebrows when Drake turned to me.
"Who?"
"Miss Priss herself – Dawn."
Drake's eyes widened. "And?"
"She heard about the trial and wanted to connect with me when I'm in town."
"You should meet with her," Drake said softly.
"Do you really think so? After what she tried to do to break us up?"
Drake leaned back and exhaled. "Honestly, if I'd been her and had her background, I'd probably have warned you off as well."
"She did a bit more than warn me off you. She threatened to expose you to my father and to the hospital administration."
"Oh, yes, that's right," Drake said and rubbed his chin, which was a bit scruffy in a very sexy way. "Maybe I'm being too nice." He turned to me, mischief in his eyes. "You should kick her ass."
I laughed out loud at that. "Nah," I said and leaned in to kiss him. "I don't feel like resorting to violence anymore. It does no one any good."
"You know I was just kidding," Drake said and kissed me back.
"I know," I said and scratched his chin and jaw. "I would have liked to at one point, but now? I just want it all to be behind us. All of it."
"It'll be behind us, soon," Drake said and while I hoped he was right, I had a feeling that we would be fighting old battles for quite a while longer.
We dropped Sophie off at my dad's and Elaine's and went right to the gallery. On the way there, I told Drake about my encounter with Sean.
"He's one of those guys," I said. "You know the type – won't take no for an answer."
Drake chuckled. "I seem to recall I wouldn't take no for an answer with you. Was I one of those guys?"
I shook my head. "No, because I wa
nted you to not take no for an answer. I was just afraid to admit it. I was afraid that if I admitted that I was attracted to you, and wanted to be one of those women in your letters to your new subs, that it would mean I was a fraud. That I wasn’t really a feminist."
Drake shook his head. "Feminists are for freedom and equality for both men and women. Freedom means being able to choose what you prefer – as long as it's legal. Too often, those who call themselves feminists think it means that women have to act and feel a certain way, but that's exactly what patriarchy did to women – and men – for ten thousand years."
I turned and looked at him, amazed at what I heard coming out of his mouth.
"Drake Morgan, MD. I could have sworn I was in a Women's Studies class and not a Mercedes SUV on the way to a gallery exhibition."
"I studied social science in college, you know. I have this stuff memorized and filed away waiting for the right time to pull it out and impress during dinner conversation."
He gave me this brilliant smile, pleased with himself.