Come Together (The Cityscape 3)

“I always follow my gut, Olivia. It’s how I’ve done most of my business. It’s how this happened.” He motioned between us, and I nodded in agreement. “It’s why I bought the house,” he concluded.

I extended a leg and rubbed the inside of his thigh. “Thank you for the home. I don’t think I ever said thank you.”

He caught my foot in his hand and massaged it gently. “Do you accept the terms of the honesty agreement?”

“I do.”

“Next, what birth control do you use?”

I blinked at him. “The pill.”

“We need it to be the Fort Knox of pills, considering my plans for you.”

I nodded slowly.

“That was a joke,” he said. “Why do you look scared?”

“Toward the end, Bill and I fought a lot about birth control. He was pushing me to go off it.”

“Pushing you?” he repeated. “How?”

“He wanted kids,” I said blankly. “And he didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t ready.”

David’s eyes flashed with anger. “You think he loves you, but it’s not true. If he did, he’d never pressure you into something like that. He’s a coward.”

I blinked at him again. David couldn’t know what it meant to hear him say that after all the fighting Bill and I had done over it. I momentarily wondered if I should elaborate on the subject, but Bill had exhausted the topic of children for me. It was the last thing I felt like discussing, so instead, I said, “It was definitely a sore spot in our relationship.”

“When was the last time?”

“Last time what?”

“You and Bill,” he said, swallowing.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I just do. I want to know.”

I sighed and looked out the window at the city. “Bill and I haven’t been intimate much lately. He was respectful because I was grieving over Davena, but he didn’t know, couldn’t know, that my feelings for him . . . changed. After you. Or rather, I began to notice how they were different.”

“When?” he prompted.

“We only did it once since . . .” I let my gaze drift back to him. “I’m sorry, isn’t this weird?”

His jaw was set, but he said, “Go on.”

“Only once since you and I did. And that was, I don’t know, a couple months ago maybe.”

“Jesus. It’s a good thing I was around to take care of you.” His face fell serious. “But I’ll tell you right now, that will never happen around here.”

“It’s been difficult these last several months. He tried, but I was cruel.”

“Because of Davena.”

“She was a rock in my life. My mom and I have never known how to be there for each other emotionally, but it was never that way with Davena. She and her husband have been family friends since I was born. We became much closer once I moved to Chicago though.”

“It was hard, wasn’t it? Her death?”

I blinked up at him. “Incredibly, but it was only a part of my behavior the last few months. Walking away from you was the hardest thing I’d ever done, and I spent the next three months trying to forget that night, wishing things were different, wishing I could see you, talk to you, be with you.”

He rolled off the arm of the couch and leaned forward. His hands fell on my hips. “Things couldn’t be different because they had to happen this way. I had a rough time too, but things are going to be better now. Trust me.” He reclined back, sliding his hands down my legs until he was holding my ankles.

I nodded breathlessly at his s

incere words and at his skin on mine. “Next order of business?” I asked, afraid that I might dissolve into an orgasm just from our proximity.

“Finances,” he said tentatively. “If I were Bill, I’d be pissed right now.”

I nodded. “We have a joint account, but he controls it. I handled everything – phones, rent, utilities – but it’s all in his name. I have my own savings. It’s not much,” I offered, “but maybe I can get some money in the divorce. Although, if I’ve learned anything from TV courtroom dramas, I know infidelity isn’t exactly encouraged.” I looked around the office and over at the view. I knew the rent there would be more than I even made in a month, maybe two. After a few moments of silence, my eyes returned to his.

“I’ll take care of you, Olivia,” he said, his expression trained on me.

I blinked rapidly but didn’t respond.

“Did you hear me?” he asked.

“What?”

“I do very well at the firm, and flipping houses is lucrative. I’ve seen to it that I’m one of the top architects in the country. My sister and I each received a hefty inheritance from our grandfather. Between that and work, I have more than enough to take care of us both. And,” he said with a crooked smile, “a family, when it comes to that.”

I shifted against the arm of the couch. It was the second time he’d mentioned family, and it made me uneasy. If I let my mind go there though, I knew I would blow a fuse, so I pushed the feeling aside for later.

I should have felt excitement about being taken care of, but it only made me anxious. Remembering the honesty policy, I said, “I feel weird about it.”

“If you didn’t, I’d be concerned,” he said, his smile still hooked at the corner. “It will take time to get used to, but just know that you don’t have to worry. I don’t care what you do with your paychecks from the magazine, rip them up for all I care. I’ll get you a credit card, and you’ll use that going forward.”

“David, living off my paychecks without having to pay rent or a mortgage will be sufficient.”

“Use that money for whatever you want. I’ll get you a card Monday.”