Page 72 of Tomorrow Belongs to Us
“You make a lot of mistakes when it comes to men, and this, with Lance Turner, is the biggest one.”
“You don’t believe me about his wife, but I’m trusting my intuition. He and that woman didn’t talk like a happily married couple. She was so cold.”
“Why do you think that might be?” asks Arla.
“Huh?” I pull out another dress. It's a hot red number, long, with sequins and a low back.
“Why do you think his wife isn’t happy?”
“Because she is an uptight, insecure woman who doesn’t want to be divorced.”
“I wish you wouldn’t do this.”
“Can you please try to be happy for me?” I snap. “I didn’t get the promotion, I need to get Preston off my back, and if Lance is going to be my plus one, just for the one evening then—”
Arla snorts. “Are you going to have sex with him this time?”
“Shuush!” I glance around, hoping no one has heard. “Nothing else is going to happen. Let me have this one evening to bow out of the company with my head held high. Everyone knows Lance in this town. He’s my trophy boyfriend.” I hold up the dress to show Arla. “What do you think?”
“I think you're making a big mistake.”
Chapter 27
MEGAN
I suggested we can get a cab to the hotel and back, but Lance offered to pick me up from my place.
So, I let him.
I have butterflies in my stomach when he arrives, even though I remind myself that this isn't a date and that I have no feelings for him; that I'm not attracted to him.
Who am I kidding?
He’s super punctual, arriving dead on the hour, and when I open the door, his jaw tightens. His eyes sweep over me fast, but don’t make it down past my waist. My heart dips in dismay as I wait for a reaction, for a compliment, for his words. For anything, but he hovers in the doorway refusing to come in.
He doesn’t like what I’m wearing.
His eyes lock with mine and I search for approval. Desire. Lust. Instead, I find a blank slate.
“Come in,” I urge him, as I scamper around the room, looking for my heels. I’m so nervous, I rush around the living room, my insides sinking. I try not to compare myself to Vivian, but I’m aware that I lack in the glamour department. I can do slutty, or business. There’s no in between.
“I'm fine where I am.”
I glance over my shoulder, and that’s when my breath fists in my throat. I see him properly for the first time. He's wearing a tux, and his blue eyes are glistening. I’m sure he knows just how good he looks.
Because he looks soamazing.I've never seen Lance in a tux before and so I am blown away. “You… you clean up well,” I manage to say, sliding into my heels. I think that’s what I said, because common sense disappears.
“Thank you.”
My ears are still straining to catch the compliment.
He really doesn’t like what I’m wearing.
I didn't wear the slit-to-the-hip dress in the end. Arla said it made me look like I was a high-class hooker. It was too sexy and I didn't want to project that kind of image. Not with Lance. I was aiming for elegance.
Like Vivian, but better.
I ended up buying a dark blue full length dress with a jewel studded high neck at the front and a cut out diamond shape on my back. Nothing too revealing, just a little bare back. It’s classy and elegant and I feel like a million dollars in it. Or I did, until Lance showed up. He’s not said one word, and I start to feel uneasy.
