Page 88 of Suddenly Dating
“To me? What about you?”
Harry combed his hair back with his fingers and looked away for a moment. “It was a shock to me, too,” he said.
“How do you feel about it?” she asked, and dug her fingernails into her palm as she waited for his answer.
“I honestly don’t know,” he said. “I thought—”
“She’s a great girl, Harry,” Lola blurted. “I can see why you love her.”
Harry looked at her strangely.
“You should totally get back together. I mean, it’s obvious that you still have feelings.”
“It is?”
“And Melissa, too,” she said, as she mentally tried to wrap steel bands around her fragile heart. She’d lost her footing somewhere tonight, and she had to find it again. She had set herself up for heartbreak and if there was one thing Lola knew how to do, it was to retreat from that. “I mean, I know she does. She told me at the Cantrells’ party.”
“She did?”
“She was talking about her ex, but yeah...” Lola shrugged. She glanced over her shoulder toward her bedroom. “I better keep an eye on Mallory.”
“How doyoufeel about it, Lola?” Harry asked, touching her face again.
He looked a little bewildered. But Harry understood the rules of friends with benefits and he knew that emotions weren’t supposed to get in the way. “Me?” Lola forced a smile. “Great! It’s great! What... are you worried aboutus?” She smiled and flicked her wrist dismissively. “Don’t be! Everything is cool. This wasn’t going to last much longer anyway, right?”
“Come on, you don’t mean that,” he said, and tried to draw her into his arms, but Lola resisted.
“Itotallymean it,” she said. “You didn’t think that I... that I wasfallingfor you, did you? I’ve really enjoyed it, and maybe in another place and time, sure. But I never thought this was anything more than friends with benefits. Honestly, once I’ve finished my book, I’m out of here.”
“But I—”
“I’d love to chat about it, but I better make sure Mallory is still breathing.”
Harry’s hands slid away from her. He clenched his jaw and stared at her, looking slightly annoyed. “Okay,” he said, nodding. “Okay. I’ve got to get out of here early tomorrow. I’ll see you tomorrow night?” He sounded uncertain.
“Ah... sure,” Lola said, sounding just as uncertain.
Lola left him standing there and walked—fled—to her room, where Mallory was snoring like a pack of dogs. Why couldn’t she have met him a long time ago? Before Will, before Melissa? Why did it seem she was always one beat behind?
Twenty-two
Harry couldn’t sleep. He tossed around, periodically punching his pillow into a shape that never felt right.
At four in the morning, he couldn’t take it any longer and sat up, rubbing his face. Too many conflicting thoughts were skating around in his head, crashing into each other. Not the least of which had to do with the extraordinary meeting of the legendary Everett Alden last night. Not only had Harry met him, he’d had dinner with him, laughed with him, talked music and life with him. On any given day, he would have been ecstatic about that, calling up friends to tell them about it.
Unfortunately, that once-in-a-lifetime meeting had been completely overshadowed by the surprise appearance of Melissa.
And on the heels of that, the disappearance of Lola.
She hadn’t physically disappeared, but she may as well have. She’d withdrawn from him, clearly avoiding him after Melissa had arrived. It frustrated Harry that he couldn’t read Lola. Frankly, that came as no great shock to Harry—he’d always sucked when it came to understanding women. But he’d wanted to address Melissa’s surprise appearance with her, and unfortunately, Mallory had chosen this night to drink herself into oblivion. By the time they had wrangled her inside and into bed, Lola was distant and even a little short with Harry. Nothing overt, but noticeable to him.
And then there was Melissa.Melissa.
Harry got up and went into the office to work.
He opened his computer, stared at some figures, but what he was seeing was Melissa walking through that door. His heart had hitched a little when he’d seen her. She’d looked fantastic, and he was reminded of the first time he’d met her, likewise at a party, and he’d been bowled over by her beauty.
“How did you know I was here?” he’d asked her when they’d had a moment to talk.
