Come Together (The Cityscape 3)

CHAPTER 1

THE SIZZLING WAS ALMOST ENOUGH to make me scream. Plumes of smoke spiraled up from the table. Chunky guacamole sat untouched next to a full basket of salted tortilla chips.

Tension grew between my two best friends and me as silence stretched over the tiny table. Lucy blinked finally, but the horror on her face remained. When the wait became excruciating, I repeated myself. “I’m leaving Bill.”

“You’re telling us this over fajitas?” Lucy asked, shaking her head with disbelief.

I shrugged, not casually, but because there was no appropriate way to respond to such a question. I glanced from Lucy to Gretchen, who reached out to clasp her hand over mine. I was drowning, and she could tell.

“Is this why you’ve been distant since I returned from Paris?” Lucy asked me. Her eyes cut to Gretchen. “And why don’t you look surprised?”

“I’m not,” Gretchen said evenly.

“Did something happen while I was on my honeymoon?” Lucy continued, subconsciously touching her new wedding band.

“Something happened,” I confirmed. “And that something is that I’m in love.”

Up until that moment, Gretchen had looked almost relieved. Now she gasped as a breathtaking smile broke out across her face.

“Well, I’d have to be, wouldn’t I?” I asked.

She nodded, her mass of blonde curls bouncing joyfully.

“You’re in love with your husband,” Lucy stated, straightening her shoulders. “Bill.”

“Luce.” I took a deep breath and addressed her with unwavering focus. “You and Gretchen have been my best friends for a long time. When something this big happens in my life, I want to share it with you. I’m in love with someone else, and I’m leaving Bill for him.”

She lunged against the table. “What the fuck?” she screeched.

I winced. Lucy was sweet, doe-eyed and polite. She didn’t screech, she squealed – and she never cursed. “I know it’s shocking,” I said. “I wanted you to hear it from me before I talk to Bill.”

Her mouth fell open. “You haven’t told Bill?”

I shook my head.

“Who is this guy?”

The night before, I’d leaped, literally and figuratively, for ‘this guy.’ And he had caught me in his arms, taking my weight with ease. Rain drenched us, our lips joined and relief melted the muscular arms around me. Our foreheads met. He told me he loved me. I told him he was my home.

A small smile dissolved the tension in my face. “I’m leaving my husband for David Dylan.”

Her brown eyes doubled in size, and she gripped the table until her knuckles whitened. “Excuse me?”

My smile faltered as reality slashed through the sweet memory.

“What are you talking about?” Lucy intoned. “Do you hear what you just said?”

“You’re in shock,” Gretchen said. “Just listen.”

“You knew about this?” Lucy shot back, redirecting her glare at Gretchen.

“Some of it.”

“David Dylan,” Lucy echoed. “As in, my client, Andrew’s friend, Dani’s – ” Her eyes darted frantically over the table as she tried to find the word.

“Yes,” I said softly. “Your client, your husband’s friend and the man your sister was involved with.”

“How did this happen?”

“I’m sorry to spring this on you both, but like I said, you’re my best friends.” I looked between them. “I need you now. I need you there after I tell Bill.”

“How?” Lucy repeated quietly.

“David and I have a . . . connection. I wish I could show you how I’m feeling, Luce, because it’s impossible to describe. Bill has always been good to me, and I love him, I do. I don’t want to hurt him. But with David, it’s different, it’s – ”

“Of course it’s different,” Lucy interrupted. She held up her fingers to tick off each point. “David is gorgeous. Wealthy. Charming. Experienced.” Her hands flew up in exasperation. “He knows exactly what you want to hear.”

“You set him up with your sister,” I pointed out.

“That’s something else entirely. He knows she’s not the type you just fool around with.”

“And I am?”

“No, but that’s irrelevant because you’re married. You’re married,” she repeated. “What are you doing?”

I just stared at her, my mouth hanging open slightly.

“He is a total player,” Lucy continued, her face contorting with disgust. “I set him up with Dani so he could see that there are women out there worth settling down for. But he’s not the type of guy you leave your husband for. Jesus Christ. I mean, does he think of you as some sort of challenge?”

She had pinpointed my greatest insecurity and shoved it in my face. David was a player. He had women falling all over him, and I knew he’d taken advantage of that. What made me different? Was it because he’d had to chase me? Without evidence to deny Lucy’s claims, I remained quiet and wrung my hands in my lap.

“I’ve talked to him.” We both turned to Gretchen. “I’ve talked to David,” she said, “and this isn’t a game for him. He is crazy about her. He loves her. He told me.”

My skin prickled as I thought of my David: sexy, tall and strong, with an enormous and loving heart. It gave me the strength to beat back the doubt creeping in.

“That’s utterly ridiculous.” Lucy’s voice, hard-edged, cut into my thoughts. “He’d say anything to get what he wants. What makes her different from the hordes of women he sleeps with?”

“It’s different because every time we’re in the same room, I can barely stand not to touch him, to feel him, to look into his eyes. In his arms I feel safe. I feel loved. Not the way Bill loves me, but loved in a way that I could almost open up my chest and give him my heart.”

They both gaped at me, not bothering to hide their surprise. Lucy visibly grasped at words. “Wow,” she said softly. “I never thought I would hear something like that come out of your mouth. It’s so . . . not you. It’s romantic and – and emotional.”

I sighed my relief and nodded.

“But I don’t think you’ve thought this through. You met David when? At my engagement – oh, God, I’m going to be sick. This is my fault.” She put her head in her hands.

“No, no. I met him at your engagement party, but I saw him before then, the night we went to the ballet. Remember that, Andrew’s firm had tickets? David was there, and we had this . . . I never thought I’d say this, but it was like we were meant to see each other in that moment.”