Forbidden Love

17

Lourde

Iwoke up Saturday morning in Barrett’s bed with a rose beside me and a note.

Gone for a run… minx x

Memories of last night came flooding in. Holy hell, a vibrator… and in there. I didn’t think life could get any better—mind-blowing sex for starters and a man who was truly and utterly amazing, who loved me for me.

He’d given me a lifeline, an escape from the clutches of the Diamond name. He’d given me the confidence to move out, not give up on my dream to work and carve out a purpose that I never could as a Diamond woman—working wasn't something my mother and grandmother ever did. Supporting husbands and the family and organizing social events that had Manhattan’s finest flocking was what they did, but that was not enough for me.

I pulled the flower to my nose—the velvety dusty pink petals brushed against my skin while the sweet fragrance filled my nostrils. Throwing the sheets off, I leaped out of bed and strode out of the bedroom. Never had I ever felt so complete.

While preparing two yogurt and granola bowls for breakfast and waiting for Barrett to return, I decided to call Pepper. Maybe this time, she’d actually pick up my call.

“Hey, Pepper, finally!”

“Oh, hey.”

She sounded off. “You all right? Where have you been? I’ve tried calling.”

“Yes, I know, sorry. I just had the flu, so lying low.”

“Since when?”

“I think all that boozing at your party hit me over the head the next day.”

“So you’ve been to Soho? I thought you might go back to the Hamptons and get your things after you know what happened with Jake.”

She laughed. “Hell, no. I organized a carrier to send them back home.”

“Do you need me to come by and make you some soup or something?”

“No!” she yelled out.

“Okay, I know you’re stubborn, but geez.”

“Thanks, hun, but I’ll be fine.”

“Hey, by the way, what happened to you at the party? You just disappeared.”

“Oh, did I?”

“Yes, Grace and I were worried.”

She laughed, but there was a nervousness to her laugh I couldn’t ignore.

“Did you get lucky, Pepper Little?”

“Okay, fine. Don’t ask me his name because I couldn’t tell you I was that drunk.”

“Oh, hell to Jake then!”

“Jake, who?” she teased out, and we both laughed.

“Well, you best get better because next weekend is the ball, and there will be some gorgeous men there.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss the annual ball for anything!”

“Speaking of the ball, Finigan is going.”

“Finigan, the man your mother set you up with a few weeks ago, Finigan?”

“How many other Finigan’s do we know, Pepper?”

“True. And how do you know he will be there?” she asked in an accusatory tone.

“I bumped into him the other day in Brooklyn.”

“Interesting, and how did he react to the news of you and Barrett?”

“He asked if we ever stood a chance.”

“Oh, bless him.”

“And he said he thinks I’m a rare and special breed.”

“That’s sweet apart from the animal reference.”

“Pepper, come on! It was kind of sweet, actually.”

“Wait, do you like him, Lourde?”

“Of course not. I’m in love with Barrett.”