“And what are you hoping for? If Michael suddenly came to his senses and said he wanted you back. Would you take him?”
She was glad that she had the excuse of tossing the capsules in her mouth and chasing them down with a healthy serving of water to give her a moment to think about the question. Would she want Michael back, now, after all this time? After everything he’d put her through?
She set the bottle back to the counter and sighed. “I wish I could tell you unequivocally no. That I would laugh my head off and send him away with his tail between his legs. But the feelings I had for him? They’re still there. We had just seemed so…ideal for each other. Both attorneys at the same firm, both dedicated to moving up the ladder. We understood when the other had to break off a long-awaited evening out for a last-minute motion that needed to be filed. I would have a lot to think about, let’s put it that way.”
“That’s fair.” He took another moment and she looked over to see he was still studying her, and she wished his face wasn’t so obscured by the shadows. She wanted to know what he was thinking. “What happened between you two, anyhow? If you don’t mind my asking.”
Ah. She had wondered if he was ever going to get around to asking her that. Grabbing the water bottle, she walked over and took a chair in the recliner adjacent to the couch. She tucked her feet underneath her, making sure she wasn’t flashing him.
“I had been working as an associate at Strauss for just over a year when Michael joined the firm. That first year had been…tough. Trying to prove to everyone that I belonged and that I could handle everything they gave me and then some. It was lonely sometimes.” To say the least, since she hadn’t felt the same camaraderie with the other associates, who all seemed to have been in the same sororities and fraternities. She’d always felt awkward when conversations turned to what fabulous location they’d
been to for vacation. “Anyhow, with my student loan payments coming due and rent to pay along with my grams’s declining health, I hadn’t wanted to take on any new debt at first and was still driving Grams’s old clunker. A green Oldsmobile Cutlass, circa 1988.”
“Practical. Classic.” She could hear the smile in his voice.
“It was, but it didn’t make it any less embarrassing that day in the parking garage when it decided to die on me. I had a line of cars behind me, waiting to exit the garage.” The horror and humiliation still twisted her gut. “I threw open the car door and for the briefest moment considered the possibility of making a run for the exit. Then I looked up to see Michael. Coming to my aid.”
She paused as she remembered how even in the stifling heat of the parking garage that July evening, which had made her own perspiration-dampened blouse cling to her skin, Michael had appeared fresh and cool with the most dazzling smile she’d ever seen. He’d later admitted that it had been the clinginess of her blouse that prompted him to ask her out for dinner that night. “And instead of looking contemptuous at my car or me, he’d smiled and offered to push the car out provided I steer.”
Dominic adjusted the pillows behind him and sat up, his arms crossed in front of him. This time she couldn’t miss the fact he was definitely shirtless. Holy Hades. Easy there, Kate. It’s just a little chest hair. On a massively hard and taut chest that she was clenching her fingers tight to stop from going over to outline. Those pecs.
She cleared her throat and swallowed some more water. “Half an hour later, my car was safely towed and we were headed to an impromptu dinner. And that’s when we started dating. I had never dated anyone like Michael before. I’d had boyfriends, of course, most with ambitions as high as my own, but none of them with the suave confidence Michael emanated. He never seemed to have any doubts about himself.” And it had been this sure confidence that immediately attracted her to him. That, and the charm of his smile. As to his attraction to Kate, that had always mystified her. She wasn’t perky and exuberant, radiating confidence like him or Payton. Yet he always told her she was beautiful and made her feel like a million bucks.
“So other than this alleged charm I’m still waiting to see, what else made you fall in love with the saintly Michael?”
Did Dominic sound annoyed? Maybe all this sharing wasn’t a good idea. How much did it reveal about her as well as her relationship with Michael? She thought about how to put her next words. “Michael took care of me, straightaway. Helped me unload my old car and get a steal of a lease on my first brand-new car. He even helped me fit in at Strauss, seeking me out for lunch and coffee, introducing me to several attorneys at the firm I hadn’t yet dared to approach. Things were just…easier with Michael.” Easier than they’d ever been in her life. He’d paid for their fancy evenings out, bought her exquisite gifts, planned luxurious vacations, and made her feel better about herself.
After all, he’d chosen her.
The room was silent, Dominic too quiet. And she was suddenly mortified at how much she’d revealed to him. She slid her legs out and came to her feet. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe I just unloaded all this on you. It’s pretty pathetic and I should let you get to sleep—”
This time Dominic slid to the edge of the bed, his legs on the floor, and took her hand to stop her. She looked down, noticing the way the sheet wrapped around his waist and what she was almost sure was the top band of his bottoms. She hadn’t realized how cold her hands were until his own warm, dry hand encompassed one.
“Kate.” He waited until she brought her gaze up to meet his. So serious. But warm. “You don’t need a guy to give you self-worth. To make you feel special. You’re worth all the people I’ve met this weekend plus some. Definitely more than that stick-up-her-ass Nicole chick.”
He raised his other hand up to touch her cheek. It was almost electric, and she started. And suddenly she realized where they were. What they were. Their present state of undress. Her mouth went dry as she thought about lowering her head, pulling his toward her, and kissing those lips that had been tempting her since she first met him.
She pulled back, taking a step to increase the space between them before she did something stupid.
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she said, trying to pretend she was unaffected by his words, by his touch, by his proximity, but her voice was shaky. “But it’s sweet of you to say it. And everything you’ve done for me this weekend. I really owe you.”
He was silent as she crossed the room, but when she paused before entering the bedroom, he said softly, “’Night, Kate.”
It almost sounded like a promise. Not a good night.
She was clearly delirious. After spilling her guts like that, the only emotion she could have engendered in anyone was pity. Not lust.
Damn, she’d almost made an idiot of herself. Although…
She couldn’t help but wonder. What would have happened? If she’d kissed him? Would he have kissed her back?
Sleep. That’s what she needed. And perspective.
Morning couldn’t come soon enough.
…
Kate sneaked a peek at Dominic seated comfortably in her grandma’s easy chair, still amazed and touched that he was there. Most people heard the words “nursing home” and visibly flinched, as if warding off images of their own imminent end, and yet Dominic had not only agreed to come but actually looked like he was happy to be here.