by Dena Blake
“Hey. I didn’t know you were coming here after the game,” Izzy said.
“How was your night?” She rubbed her eyes.
“It was good.”
She glanced at the clock; it was after one a.m. “The game was over hours ago. Where’ve you been?”
“We had a drink afterward, and then I took her home,” Izzy said.
“Did you sleep with her?” She didn’t know what she was thinking when she’d set this up. Nancy was so much more charming and daring than Mel was.
Izzy seemed to balk at the question. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“No.” She bolted up. Jealousy raced through her, and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.
“Then why did you set me up with her?”
“I didn’t set you up with her.” Fuck! I did set you up with her.
“It sure seemed that way.”
“I just thought the two of you might hit it off. You know, become friends.”
“You thought I could have something platonic with a woman who looks like that?”
“Isn’t that possible?” She pinched her forehead with her fingers. The reasons seemed unimportant now. All she could think about was Izzy and Nancy, together. She felt like retching.
“That’s like trying to convince me we’re just friends.”
Mel’s gaze snapped to Izzy. Had she been that obvious? She scanned her eyes. Oh, God, she had been.
“Besides, with that outfit you were wearing, I’m surprised you even made it to the game.”
“I didn’t wear that for him.” She saw the curiosity in Izzy’s eyes. “I wore it for me. I like to look nice when I go out.”
“Well, you certainly succeeded.”
“You think so?” Mel’s voice became quiet.
Izzy shook her head. “I can’t believe you don’t know how beautiful you are.” She sat down on the couch next to her. “Listen, Mel. I know we’ve both been avoiding this, but that day behind the restaurant.” Izzy took her hand and fiddled with the wedding ring on her finger. “I felt my whole world shift.” Her eyes skittered nervously as she gazed into Mel’s eyes. “And I thought you felt it too.”
She’d felt it, and she’d done her best to ignore it.
“I was really looking forward to going to the game tonight with you. Then you pawned me off on your friend.” Izzy raked her fingers through her hair. “Your gorgeous friend. So I went. Forgive me if I had a good time.”
“She’s not that gorgeous.” She jumped up and rushed out of the living room.
“Well, she’s certainly not ugly.” Izzy hopped up and was right on her heels. “Why did you leave me with her?”
“I have no fucking idea why I did it.” You weren’t supposed to sleep with her!
“What about Rick? The man is so into you, it’s ridiculous.”
“That would be a big surprise to his boyfriend. The guy who was having the party in the club room,” she said in a sing-song tone.
“Wow.” Izzy stopped short. “I didn’t see that one coming.”
“You actually think I would sleep with one of my clients?” Mel spun around, and suddenly they were too close.
“I don’t know what to think, Mel.” She snaked her arms around Mel’s waist. “You keep sending me all these mixed signals.”
Mel’s heart pounded. “I didn’t want you to miss the game, and I had to deal with Rick. I don’t know what else to tell you.” Yes, she did. She’d wanted to be with Izzy tonight too. Leaving her with Nancy was just crazy stupid.
“Just tell me what you want, Mel.” Izzy moved closer, and their lips were so close Mel could feel her heated breath brush across them. “Is that so difficult?”
“Yes. Right now it is.” She turned her head and let her cheek brush Izzy’s as she fell into her. She trembled. “I don’t know what I want.” That wasn’t true. She wanted Izzy. If she stayed there another minute, she’d have her. “I’ve got an early day tomorrow.” She shrugged out of Izzy’s embrace, grabbed her bag, and took off out the door.
Izzy followed her out and watched her drive away. She went back inside, slid down onto the couch, and dropped her head back against the cushion. It hadn’t been an awful night like she’d thought it would be. She’d actually had a good time with Nancy after the initial getting-acquainted shock wore off. She’d found she and Nancy had more than a few things in common, not the least of which were their feelings for Mel. She remembered Nancy’s words clearly. “You’d better be careful with her. She doesn’t let people in easily, and she doesn’t sleep with people she doesn’t love.”
Even without the not-so-subtle warning she’d issued early in the evening, Izzy could tell Nancy’s feelings for Mel were more than platonic. She’d learned a lot about Nancy; information about them both seemed to be free-flowing. Surfing, biking, she even liked to snow ski, and she seemed to know as much about basketball as Izzy. She’d had a pleasant time, but at the end of the night when Nancy had asked her to come in, Izzy had politely declined.
She’d walked Nancy to the door of her house and had even kissed her on the cheek. But while the evening had been nice, Izzy couldn’t—no, she wouldn’t sleep with the best friend of the woman she really wanted to be with. She didn’t know what the hell was going on. All she’d wanted was to spend the evening with Mel, and it seemed like that was what she’d wanted too.
Chapter Twenty
The teakettle whistled and Mel flipped off the stove. She reached up, took two cups from the cupboard, and dropped a tea bag into each one before pouring the steaming hot water into them. Mel had hibernated in her room all day Saturday and hadn’t even showered until her mom had let herself into her room this morning and insisted she clean up and come down for tea. Thankfully, daylight savings time had ended, Mel had needed the extra hour to recover from her restless night.
Her mother cut two thin slices of pound cake and placed each on a plate. “Is something bothering you, dear?” Cecilia asked as she set a slice in front of Mel and sat down next to her at the table. “It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Shouldn’t you be out enjoying it?”
“Do you believe everyone has a soul mate in life?” She twisted the fork in her cake, making it crumble.
“I believe everyone is born with the instinct to recognize their soul mate.”
“Really?”
“I was young once.” Cecilia lifted an eyebrow. She must have seen the look of surprise on Mel’s face.
“I just never thought of you as one to leave anything to chance.” She mashed the crumbs with her fork and slid it into her mouth.
“Oh, I didn’t, dear. My life was thoroughly planned out. I couldn’t afford to leave anything to chance. I accepted that a long time ago. Your father has been good to me. Now you, on the other hand, are a successful young woman. You don’t need to settle for someone who doesn’t make you completely happy.” She blew on her cup of tea before taking a sip.
“Do you think I settled with Jack?”
“I didn’t say that. But I do know life is sometimes one hurdle after another. Don’t you think it would be better if you could come home to someone who helps you clear those hurdles rather than someone who watches you stumble over them?” Cecilia cut a corner of her cake and ate it.
Izzy’s dimple-pricked smile filled Mel’s mind. “To someone who smiles when you walk in the room and you know their smile is just for you.”
“Precisely. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity or the courage to act on their instincts.” Cecilia covered Mel’s hand with hers and waited for Mel to look at her. “We both know you’re not one of those people.”
“No.” She shook her head. “No. I’m not. But I did something that may push someone away.” She’d never really confided in her mother about her love life, and it felt odd doing it now.
“And you’re regretting it?”
“I can’t make any demands on anyone. I’m still married.”
“But you’re upset because what you did may have ac
tually worked.”
“Well…yes. I guess I am.”
“How do you feel about her?”
“I’m not sure. It’s still new. I just know how good it is when we’re together.”
“Not like how you feel when you’re with Jack.”
“No. Not even close.” Mel drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Have you talked to your brother lately? Perhaps he can give you some assistance.” Cecilia’s subtle direction didn’t go unnoticed as she picked up her half-full cup of tea and strode into the living room.
Mel also hadn’t missed her mother’s gender reference earlier. She’d said, “How do you feel about her?” Mel’s anxiety had immediately vanished when she’d heard it. When had her mother become so accepting of lifestyles outside the Catholic faith? When had she become so accepting of her? Maybe she’d been that way all along. Mel had never thought to ask. She’d just assumed her mother wouldn’t approve. Cecilia had always said she’d baptized her children Catholic because it was a whole lot less work to be baptized that way rather than to convert later in life. Her mother knew this from experience, having converted from Episcopal, aka Catholic light, to Catholicism before she’d married Mel’s dad.
Mel took her cell phone from her purse and hit the icon for her favorites list. Mike was right at the top. She touched it and waited for him to answer.
“Mike, it’s me.”
“Hey, sis. What’s up?”
“I want you to go ahead and have the divorce papers changed the way we discussed.”
“Already done. It’s a good settlement. He’d be an idiot to reject it.”
“You’re not going to try to convince me to work it out?”
“I’ve known Jack for a long time, sis. I never have liked the way he treats you. I can’t, in good conscience, advise you to go back to him.”
There was silence on the phone.
“You need to find someone who appreciates you, Mel.”
“Someone who makes me happy,” she whispered into the phone.
“Yes. Someone who loves you more than he loves himself.”
Like Izzy does. Her body tingled. “I’ll be by to sign them tomorrow.”
She didn’t care if Jack agreed to the divorce, now that she had consciously freed herself from him. She would have absolutely no guilt involved the next time she kissed Izzy.
*
Mel closed her eyes in the shower and let the water run over her head. She hadn’t gotten much sleep thinking about the basketball game. She wanted so badly to tell Izzy how she felt, but she couldn’t. She’d thought keeping Izzy occupied by setting her up with Nancy had been a good idea at the time, but now she regretted it. She’d not only let Izzy know how great Nancy was, but also that she was totally unattached. Did Nancy have a good time? Maybe she didn’t like Izzy. Her mood perked. Maybe she had a horrible time.
Mel was still thinking about the whole situation when she got to the office. She tapped on Nancy’s desk as she passed by. “Come talk to me.”
Nancy trailed her into her office. “What’s up?”
“Close the door, please. Did you have a good time last night?” She slid her purse into the desk drawer before crossing the room and settling into one of the club chairs in the corner.
“Sure. You know me. I can have fun with any beautiful woman.” She followed Mel and sank down into the other chair.
“You think she’s beautiful?”
“I’d have to be blind not to see that.”
“Did you…”
“Sleep with her?” Nancy smiled. “No. I didn’t sleep with her.” She reached over and squeezed Mel’s hand.
“Didn’t you two get along?”
“We got along just fine.”
“Then why didn’t you go to bed with her?”
“I would never sleep with my best friend’s girlfriend.”
She whipped her head around. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Cut the crap, Mel. She may not be your girlfriend now, but she will be as soon as your divorce is final.”
She blew out a short breath. “I tried to stay away. I really did.”
“Don’t stay away, honey.” Nancy pulled her lips into a soft smile and shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before.”
Mel looked at her curiously.
“Your eyes light up when you talk about her. Plus, she’s all you talk about.”
“That’s not true.”
“’Fraid so.” Nancy nodded, pinching her lips into a concerned smile. “If it’s any consolation, she’s certainly smitten with you.”
“You think?” Her voice rose.
“Well, let’s see. What did we talk about last night? You, the restaurant, you, the game, and then more you. On top of that, she didn’t even make a play for this.” She threw out her hands and motioned down her body. “Not to mention all the women who stopped by our table to say hello to her last night.”
“How many women?”
“Let’s see, there was the brunette, the redhead, and two, no, three blondes.”
“Five women stopped to talk to her last night while she was having a drink with you?”
“Yeah. She seemed a little embarrassed, but she totally blew them all off.” She shook her head. “She’s definitely into you.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to do.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know what to do? Grab her and stick your tongue down her throat.”
“God, Nancy, you’re so crude.” Mel’s cheeks heated.
“That’s what you want to do. Just admit it.”
She nodded. “I want to do more than that. I want to rip her clothes off, but I can’t. Jack would have a field day with it.”
“You need to at least tell her the whole story about you and Jack. You owe her that. If you want her to stick around, you have to be honest with her.”
“So, you’re not going out with her again?”
Nancy shook her head. “No. I’m not going out with her again. I’ve heard enough about you.”
*
Mel told the hostess her name and that she was here to meet someone. The hostess motioned for her to follow her and led her to the table where Jack was sitting. She had been surprised when Mike had told her Jack wanted to meet for dinner and talk. The last time she’d seen him, he wasn’t agreeable at all.
“Thanks for coming.” He stood up and pulled out the chair for her, then sat back down. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I’m not afraid of you, Jack.”
“I don’t want you to be.” He shifted in his seat. “I want to apologize for that day I came to your office. I was way out of line.” Mel didn’t know what was going on, but it wasn’t like Jack to apologize for anything. “Your brother had me served with the divorce papers. I had my attorney look at them, and I’m ready to sign.”
“What’s going on, Jack? The other day you wanted half of everything, and today you’re just going to sign the papers?”
“I was angry, and after I thought about it, I realized I was being irrational. You deserve to keep what you’ve earned as much as I deserve to keep what I’ve earned.”
“Have you made some six-figure book deal I don’t know about? Mike can find that out in discovery, you know.” She raised an eyebrow.
“No. There’s no book deal or anything else like that.”
This is too easy. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Look, Mel. If we draw this out, it will just cost us both a lot of time and money and…” He pressed his lips together.
“And what?”
“And Steph and I want to get married.”
“You want to marry Stephanie? What. Is she pregnant?”
“Twelve weeks.”
“I thought you didn’t want children.”
“I never said that. The time was never right.”
“And now it is? How are you going to go traveling around the world and be a father at the same time?”
“The station has offered me a permanent position on the morning show.”
“But you never—”
“I know, Mel. The baby changes everything. I don’t want to be like my dad. I’m not going to miss all the firsts. I want to be right there when they happen, every one of them.”
Stunned, Mel didn’t know what to say. Jack’s eye twitched as he waited for her response. She thought about letting him suffer, making him pay dearly, but she didn’t have it in her. He was so…happy. She hadn’t seen him this way in years. Half of her bubbled with anger and wanted to slap the smile right off his face, while the other half wanted to throw her arms around him and tell him she was thrilled for him.
She sat quietly for a moment, watching him steel himself for her reaction. She dropped her napkin on her plate, got up, and rounded the table. He stood up, fumbling out of his chair. Mel pulled him into her arms. The smell of his cologne filled her head, and her eyes welled. She was probably never going to be this close to him again, and that was all right. Now she knew everything was going to be the way it should be.
She pushed back from him. “Okay.”
“Okay?” He blew out a breath.
“Yeah, okay.” She smiled and relief washed over her. Mel couldn’t believe how good it felt to let him go. She slid back into her chair, picked up her glass of wine, and held it up. “To new beginnings.”
“To new beginnings.” He clinked his glass with hers.
Mel took a sip, set her glass back on the table, and looked across at Jack. She picked up the knife and moved it to the right of the spoon, picked up the spoon and moved it to the right of the knife, then popped back up out of her chair. “I’m sorry. I need to go.”
She couldn’t wait any longer to start her life with Izzy.
Chapter Twenty-one
Izzy lay wide-awake in bed, staring at her stucco-dimpled ceiling. Her shift at the restaurant had been a disaster. She’d sent the wrong dishes to the wrong tables, chicken Parmesan went out without cheese, and she’d even forgotten to add pasta to a few plates. She couldn’t get Mel out of her head. The woman was in her thoughts constantly, and she couldn’t prevent it. She’d had serious relationships before, but she’d never had a woman monopolize her thoughts so completely. She’d always been able to push them away at work. Now she didn’t have the slightest idea how to handle her situation.