Page 8 of Suddenly Dating
“Youhaveto keep it a secret,” Sara said, as if that were a perfectly normal condition. “Because Zach and I are both banned from going since we had that big fight—” She waved her hand. “Never mind that. I can’t go, but you can. It’s agreatplace. The renovations cost us a half-million dollars. Are you interested?”
“No,I’m not interested,” Lola said. But she was interested, more than interested. She thought she might actually be drooling. Forget the beach—she had a sudden image of herself sitting in some swank house on Lake Haven, pounding away at the keyboard in the throes of writing her novel. “This sounds absolutely nuts, this no-one-can-know thing, Sara. But... tell me more,” she said, leaning forward.
Three
May
Melissa broke up with Harry for the last time on a Thursday night.
He was supposed to be at a huge event she’d orchestrated for a cosmetics firm that was launching a new line of products. She’d worked hard on it. “Everyone in New York who is anyone is going to be there,” she’d gushed to him a few days before. “Some of the New York housewives, and theToday Showpeople, and you know, just everyone.”
Harry had every intention of being there. He’d even told his foreman he was knocking off early. But then the scaffolding under a section of his bridge had collapsed, which meant the long braces couldn’t go up. The project had already been delayed and was costing him thousands of dollars, so he couldn’t very well walk off and leave that situation. He’d texted her, told her he’d meet her there.
This is really important to me,she’d texted back.
I know. I’ll be there.
But he wasn’t there. He’d tried, God, how he’d tried. There was just no way he could get to the event in time.
He was waiting for her at half past ten when she came home.
“You smell like... body odor,” she said, wrinkling her nose as she dropped her purse on the table.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Great,” she said with an insouciant shrug. “Fabulous. Bella Cosmetics was very happy, and my boss says I’m going to start getting bigger accounts.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m beat,” she said, and started for the bedroom.
“Lissa, I am so sorry,” Harry said, coming to his feet, intercepting her. “You wouldn’t believe what—”
She held up her hand to stop him. “Don’t even try, because you always say that.” She put her hand on his arm. “Harry? I need to tell you something. I’m moving in with Lexi for a little while. I think we both need to take a break and reassess where we’re going with this relationship. We’re just not headed in the same direction anymore.”
Harry’s chest tightened with anxiety. He didn’t want to lose her, but he knew he’d really blown it. He rubbed his gritty face with his hands, trying to think. “I don’t know how to make you understand,” he said helplessly. “I’m committed to you, baby. I’m committed tous. I want to give you the kind of life you deserve, but I need time to get my company off the ground, and unfortunately, there are going to be days like this.”
“I think you’re kidding yourself,” she said softly. “There are so many days like this that I’m not sure if you have any money left at all.”
“I don’t,” he agreed. “But I got an offer on the apartment this week. We’ll find a place that will work temporarily—”
“No.”She sighed, and pressed her fingertips to her temples. “Look, it’s not that you’re always late or smell like a gym half the time. It’s not even that you’re trying to build this construction company. It’s that I want something different than you. It’s really not you—it’s me.”
“Come on, Melissa,” he said, and brushed her cheek. “You really didn’t just say that, did you?”
“If the shoe fits,” she said, shrugging a little. “I need some time to think about what I really want. And I can’t do that being mad at you all the time, you know? It’s not fair to either one of us.”
Now Harry really panicked. She sounded sane and reasonable. Not furious, as he would have expected. She’d really thought this through.
“I’m going to Lexi’s for now,” she said, and started for the bedroom.
“Please don’t do that. Please stay. We can work through this. Just hang in there. Be patient.”
“I’ve been patient.” She disappeared into the bedroom.
Harry stared at the bedroom door as his whole body deflated. He’d been trying to keep it all together for months now—go after his dream, be the man Melissa wanted him to be—and suddenly it felt as if it was all falling apart. He followed her into the bedroom. His mind was racing so fast he couldn’t even think of what to say.
She already had a bag open on the bed. “I’m not officially breaking up,” she said, as if that helped anything. “I just need some time to think, you know? I’ll come back for my things this weekend.”
“You can’t go tomorrow?” he asked incredulously, gesturing to the bag on the bed.
“No. Because you will start to kiss me, and I’ll be weak and we’ll have sex, and I’ll love you all over again, and then tomorrow, when I wake up, you will be gone back to that...job,”she said, sounding disgusted, “and I’ll be in the same place I am right now.”
