Come Together (The Cityscape 3)

I closed my eyes again. It was another perfect weekend. After our surf session, David and I had made love in the shower and then napped until dinnertime. Brian and Gretchen prepared a seafood pasta feast while David and I canoodled on the couch. Brian’s girlfriend watched. By the time we’d gone to bed, only Gretchen and Brian remained.

I was high on everything – David, the beach, the possibility of Gretchen and Brian – but I managed to give in to a second round of sleep.

We were still interwoven when I woke again, but he was on his back. I looked up to find him watching me. “We slept late,” he said softly.

I nodded and shifted back against his chest, not ready to separate. The thud of heavy raindrops was comforting and David plus the sheets were warm and smooth against my skin. I closed my eyes as he stroked my hair.

Suddenly he flipped me onto my back. “You’re going back to sleep?” he cried. “It’s almost noon.”

I giggled as his face hovered above mine. “I had a stressful week.”

“Were you dealing with unruly workers and asshole engineers all week? I don’t think so.”

I pouted. “I’m sorry, baby. But I was stuck in a debilitating state of sexual arousal the entire time. I could barely function.”

“Yeah, right,” he said, shifting and pulling me closer.

“Really,” I said. “It was exhausting.”

“Well, whoever left you that way should be tried and charged with stupidity of the highest degree.”

I laughed and pushed his shoulder, but he caught my wrist. His smile fell, and his face turned serious. His eyes intensified as they darted over my face. “Marry me.”

My mouth parted to suck in in a sharp breath. “What?”

He blinked, and his eyes continued scanning. “Marry me, Olivia,” he said just above a whisper.

“David, I – I haven’t even started the divorce process yet.”

“These past few weeks have been the best of my life. Surfing with you yesterday, hanging out on the beach . . . You’ve been in my life for so little time, yet I can’t imagine it without you. I want you to be my wife. Maybe it can’t be for a while, maybe you even want to wait a couple years. It doesn’t matter to me. Just tell me one day you’ll be my wife. Tell me yes.”

It was a moment every girl dreamed of, but my heart began to pound and my mouth went dry. My conversation with Jessa filtered through my mind. I’d thought we had more time, but suddenly it was simultaneously too soon and too late. Here he was, asking me to make the same promises Bill had. And I knew that with that one simple discussion we hadn’t had, everything could change. Everything.

I looked away so I wouldn’t have to see his expression. “It’s too soon,” I whispered.

“I know. It is too soon. But we don’t have to tell anyone.” He stroked my cheek with his thumb.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I – I can’t. Things are too . . .”

“Hey,” he called softly. “Olivia, look at me. It’s okay. Don’t freak out.”

“I’m not freaking out,” I said and smiled, but I could see he wasn’t buying it.

“I’m happy to be here with you now. That just came out. I meant it, but I should’ve waited.”

Coward! I screamed at myself. He didn’t deserve this, and I knew it. “David,” I started.

He looked at me expectantly. He was so open, his eyes were clear, and his love was pouring over me. For God’s sake, he’d just asked me to marry him. How would I survive if he never looked at me that way again? If this one last piece of the puzzle didn’t fit? I didn’t know how I would survive, but I knew I never wanted to find out.

“I didn’t want to ruin the weekend,” I said, “but I think there’s something you should know.”

His body stiffened instantly. He moved back to sit on his calves. “What?”

“The day you left Chicago, I went to your office to find you and apologize.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I ran into Arnaud. Your new receptionist had been in his office, door shut, and when she came out, she looked scared. Like really scared.”

“What are you saying?”

“He’s guilty. I know he is. And I think he did the same thing to her that he did to Clare. I know he’s an important part of your team, and I’d hate if I couldn’t come see you at work anymore, but I refuse to be near him.”

“Did he say something to you?”

“Well, no. I know you said that people don’t get him, but I just have this feeling. I believe Clare.”

He stood from the bed and put his hands on his hips. “Why are you telling me now?”

“You need to know before he either does something to that girl or before you have another potential lawsuit on your hands.”

He looked down at me a while, but his eyes were distant as he appeared to be thinking. Finally, he sighed. “I hear what you’re saying, and I’ll talk to him. But this is business – I can’t just go in accusing him of things.”

“I’m not asking anything of you,” I said, affronted. “I get that he’s an important part of your team.”

“You said that already.”

“Okay . . . ?”

“He really does have a fucked up sense of humor.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “I just wanted you to have the information. Do with it what you want. I’m going for a run.”

“A run?” he asked incredulously.

“I need fresh air.”

“It’s raining.”

“It’s not too bad.” I crawled over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Do you want me to come?” he asked.

“No. Everyone except us flies out this afternoon. Why don’t you and Bri get in one more session before he leaves?”

He nodded. “You know that to be a runaway bride, you actually have to make it to the ceremony, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not freaking out.”

“But you don’t run.”

“I do when I have stuff on my mind.”

His eyebrows dipped. “What stuff?” I just looked at him until defeat crossed his face. “Don’t run too far,” he said. “You don’t know the area.”

I shot my arms around his neck and pulled him close, locking him in a deep kiss. “Thanks for this weekend,” I whispered.

“Let’s blow off work and stay here a few more days.”

I smiled. “I wish I could.”

“You could if you quit,” he said hesitantly.

I blinked at him. “Quit?”

“I was going to tell you next week, but I have another work opportunity in New York,” he said. “This one is full-time, six months. And after that, who knows? It could be anywhere. We could go together, do some traveling.”

“Six months?” I echoed.

“I won’t take it if you don’t come with me, but you could if you weren’t tied to Chicago.”

At one point, I’d wanted to live in New York, but I’d given up on that idea long ago. It didn’t matter though; I loved Chicago. “What about the house?” I asked.

“It won’t be ready for a while, but no matter where we go, it will always be our home.”

“What would I do?”

“Write,” he said simply.

“That’s just a hobby, David. I don’t see it going anywhere.”

“Freelance for magazines while you work on a book. Plus . . .”

“What?”

“It would make you more available for the shelter. You could volunteer there regularly when we’re home. And when we’re not, we

ll, Chicago isn’t the only place with needy animals.”

I stared at him, my heart warming at the thought of spending more time at the shelter. Or was it that he’d known how much it meant to me? I wasn’t sure. “You’ve given this a lot of thought.”

He kissed me on the forehead. “Just consider it.”

I nodded, and when he left to find Brian, I went to Gretchen’s room. She was pacing and on the phone, so I sat on the edge of the bed to wait. She held a finger up in my direction and rolled her eyes.

“Well, you should’ve thought about that before abandoning me again,” she said calmly and paused. “Yes, if you’d stayed and talked to me like a mature adult, we would be having a different conversation . . . How am I supposed to trust you now? Frankly, I think you did both of us a favor because now . . . yes, I said favor, because now I see that this isn’t working.” She looked at me as she listened. “I’m sorry, Greg, but you only have yourself to blame. We’re not in college anymore, and you have to grow up. We can talk more at home, but I have to go now.” She hung up abruptly and flopped next to me on the bed. “Oh my God.”

“What?” I exclaimed.

“That was Greg, obviously. He said he was sorry for what he said and wanted to make sure I wasn’t mad. He didn’t even realize I’d be more pissed that he took off like that.”

I scoffed. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Right? On some level I’ll always love him, but this was sort of a wake-up call. He’s obviously got commitment issues, but I don’t think I even care anymore. Whatever we had is gone.”

I cleared my throat and picked at something on the comforter. “Does Brian have anything to do with this?”

She laughed. “No. I don’t know.”

“Did you guys . . . ?”

“No, of course not! For one, gross, and for two, his girlfriend is here. But last night we talked . . . a lot. Like, all night.”

“Really?” I asked, beaming. “And you still don’t like him?”

She hesitated. “He’s not gross, I guess. There was this brief moment where I thought he might kiss me, but . . . he didn’t, and I was disappointed.”

“Wow. Strange how one weekend can change everything,” I muttered.

“Yup. I’m hoping this rain burns off so we can hit the beach before I leave.”