Page 119 of The Fine Art of Faking It
She wasn’t sure if it was the winter air or Davis’s obvious disinterest that chilled her more under her vegan leather jacket.
She jogged up the steps behind him. “So how was work today?” she asked. Was it weird that she missed talking to him about work and business and life? No. Normal people who weren’t sleeping together could talk about regular things, couldn’t they?
“It was fine,” he said, holding the door for her.
He couldn’t even slam it in her face like a jerk. Like she would have been tempted to do if their roles were reversed.Damn polite bastard.
“How was your day?” he asked, falling into step next to her.
“It was… entertaining. The Magnolia twins—have you met them, yet?”
He shook his head and waved at the librarian behind the desk.
“Well, they’re celebrating their fiftieth birthdays and a divorce, and they got into an argument in the hallway with Mr. and Mrs. Hadad over—get this—80s hair bands.”
“Mmm,” he said, gesturing for her to go ahead of him on the stairs to the second floor.
“Yeah, the Magnolias are huge fans of Cinderella, and the Hadads felt that Def Leppard was a better representation of the best of the 80s.” She was blabbering, nerves overtaking her mouth and making it work like a ventriloquist’s dummy. And she couldn’t stop the words from vomiting forth. “I’m thinking there’s some leftover astrological apocalypse vibes going on. It could explain a lot of things.”
“You mean, like us?” His tone was neutral, almost friendly. But the connection they’d shared was painfully absent. It was like chatting with a next-door neighbor.Nota man who had brought her to orgasm on the tasting room floor at midnight.
Rather than letting her answer, Davis rapped his knuckles on the conference room door and opened it at the brisk, “Come in.”
They filed into the room. The full committee was in attendance and looking somber. Bruce, in a snowflake embroidered sweater vest, gestured toward two folding chairs at the front of the room. The whiteboard had been wiped nearly clean. No more Eden + Davis = Love. The only thing that was left was the fundraising bar graph filled in to $250.
Gingerly, Eden sat and crossed her arms over her chest. Nerves skated through her veins. Eva and Gia were avoiding eye contact with her, but Ellery offered her a sad smile and a little wave.
Gordon and Rainbow were, thankfully, dressed. Wilson and Bobby had their heads together over a committee binder. Amethyst looked as though she were stress-eating a cupcake.
“Eden and Davis,” Bruce began. “It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that your match has been canceled.”
“Canceled?” Eden repeated. Davis had no reaction next to her.
“Yes. I’m afraid it’s come to our attention that this is no longer a fit match, and we cannot in good conscience proceed. To do so would be…”
“Disastrous,” Ellery filled in.
Bruce nodded, his shoulders slumped. He pulled a handkerchief from his pants pocket and blew his nose noisily.
What did this mean? Had she won? What about the public breakup? The plan? Eden’s mind was a whirl of confusion.
She raised a tentative hand. “May I ask what prompted this decision?”What did it even matter?The Beautification Committee no longer had a perfect record. And she was free of Davis Gates.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss committee business,” Bruce hedged.
Bobby rolled her eyes. “Oh, for Pete’s sake! Eden, do you love Davis?”
Did orgasms and friendship equal love? What? No!She was losing her damn mind. Just being next to him was confusing her.
“I do not,” she said carefully. “But I don’t hate him anymore. In fact, I think we’ve gotten to be quite friendly.” Naked, thrusting, coming. That kind of friendly. That wasn’t love. And neither were their quiet evenings in front of the fire talking about plans and taxes and guests and customers. It wasn’t the way her heart flipped over in her chest when he smiled at her across a room or the way he took her hand in his.
No, love was something else. Wasn’t it?
“There you have it,” Bruce said, rubbing his eyes as if to ward off a migraine.
“You can’t have a love match without love,” Gordon waxed poetically.
“You both are free to go,” Ellery announced.
