Cityscape Affair Series: The Complete Box Set

by Hawkins, Jessica

  “But since the moment I saw you,” I continued, “I’ve felt something that I didn’t think existed. Real and true love. I didn’t recognize it at first because I didn’t know what it was.”

  “Give me all the shit,” he said. “Everything you’ve been through. I will take it. Let it go.”

  I nodded. “I want to let it go.”

  “So do it,” he said gently. “You’re there, just do it.”

  My face contorted as his words ran through my mind. Do it. Let go. He said I’d been strong. He knew the load I carried, and he wanted to take it. I wanted to give it to him. I had to love him fully, without a single reservation, or I would lose him now—and I refused to let that happen.

  I surprised him and myself by throwing my arms around his neck. “I trust you. For you, only you, I can do it,” I whispered and cried into his shoulder. I cried because the little girl in me, my thirteen-and-a-half-year-old self, could let go. She could finally trust someone enough for me to love—and to let him love me without condition. I cried because I thought I’d never know what it meant to open myself and be at the mercy of another person—pleasure, pain, and all.

  His arms tightened around me as he stroked my hair. “That’s it,” he said. “At your most vulnerable, you’re strongest. You can handle anything. But you don’t have to do it alone anymore. Not as long as I’m here.”

  “All I ever wanted was to let go,” I said into his neck. I pulled back and looked into his sweet, chestnut-brown eyes. With tears streaking my cheeks and my nose running, I said, “I love you.”

  “I know,” he replied, running his thumbs under my eyes and wiping away the wetness. “I’ve always known.”

  * * *

  From over the rim of my wineglass, I watched David poke at a steak on the grill as he and my dad talked very masculine things I didn’t care about.

  I had done it.

  I’d taken the plunge, and though the fears that came with this kind of love would never fully leave me, for the first time since I could remember, they were soothed by a new inner peace. And blissful happiness.

  David had broken through something in me with his words, his eyes, his unrelenting love. How had he known there was a girl in me who couldn’t let go? Who’d been hanging on to something for so long, she couldn’t remember a life before it? David was the only thing I wanted, and if it didn’t last between us, at least I would have these moments with him.

  He looked over at me and winked, and I wondered if I’d ever seen a more beautiful sight than that.

  It was a perfect night in Dallas, and the sun set over us as we sat at the patio table and cut into our steaks.

  “So,” my dad said, “what happens next with Bill?”

  I sighed as my bliss bubble popped. Peace was always fleeting. “Well, he’s been clear about the fact that he’s not going down without a fight. I guess that means we’ll be going to court.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” my father said. “I always knew he had a little weasel in him.”

  “Dad,” I admonished. “I’m in the wrong here. Because I was unfaithful, he wants me to pay.”

  “It’s an empty threat,” David said. “Illinois is a ‘no fault’ state, meaning that infidelity will have hardly any impact on the division of assets. I talked to my lawyer.”

  “You did?” I asked.

  “Of course.”

  David was in the driver’s seat now, and I wondered if Bill had any idea what he’d be going up against. I twisted my lips. “Do you think Bill knows that ‘no-fault’ thing?”

  “Olivia, of course he does,” David said. “He’s a lawyer, for Christ’s sake. He was just trying to scare you. What sorts of assets do you two have?”

  “Not much, I guess.” I shifted in the cushioned, rattan chair. “I mean, he’s been making more since he started his new job, so there’s a little money there. But we rent the apartment. We own a car, furniture, and share a bank account. The car’s in his name.”

  “Do you have any debt?” David asked.

  I shook my head. “Dad paid for all my school, and Bill’s student loans are minimal. He was—is very frugal. We were pre-approved for a loan to make an offer on the Oak Park house, but that’s it.”

  “I didn’t know you’d made an offer,” Dad said. “Thank God they didn’t accept it.”

  My fork stopped midway to my mouth.

  David also froze, then turned to look at my dad.

  “What?” Dad asked.

  “They didn’t accept Bill’s offer because I bought the house,” David told him.

  My dad’s face scrunched. “I’m sorry—what? Why?”

  “I bought the house out from under Bill,” David said. “For Olivia.”

  Dad drew back. “That’s a little extreme, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir. But I always trust my gut, in business and otherwise.” David squeezed my leg under the table. “And my gut told me Olivia would eventually come around.”

  No amount of struggling could suppress the smile that broke out over my face. I really hadn’t allowed myself to think too much about the Oak Park house. At first, it’d been upsetting that he’d bought it behind my back. Then, it’d represented a life I wanted but might not let myself have. Now, I knew. David and I belonged there, just like I’d envisioned.

  “Well, well. There’s that smile,” my dad said. “I haven’t seen that in too long.”

  “Dad,” I said, embarrassed.

  “Bill never made you smile like that. Not that I ever saw. Honestly, it . . .” To my horror, my dad stopped and sniffled. “It brings a tear to my eye.”

  My chin quivered, an automatic response to seeing my dad cry for only the second time in my life. The first had been the night I’d spent in the hospital.

  “No, no,” he said, wiping his face with his napkin. “No more tears. Let David finish his thought.”

  David hesitated, clearly at a loss for how to proceed. I couldn’t help but laugh through the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry, honey,” I said to him. “What were you saying?”

  “Um, well . . . how attached are you to the car and the furniture?”

  “God, I hate that piece of shit car,” I said.

  “I offered Bill the Shelby for your thirtieth birthday this year,” Dad said. “He wouldn’t accept it. Said it was impractical and too expensive to park and maintain.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you kidding? Bill knows I would’ve loved that, but he’s stingy. And proud.”

  “So then your share of the bank account is the only real problem,” David continued. “Right?”

  “I taught you to always have your stash of savings,” my dad said. “Right, Olivia?”

  I cleared my throat. “Well, yes. But my personal savings is . . . not much, really. Most of my money is in our joint account, which I don’t have access to right now. Bill canceled my cards.”

  David’s face changed instantly. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “It happened a few days ago,” I said. “Anyway, my savings aren’t enough for a divorce lawyer.”

  “Mr. Germaine—” David started.

  “Harvey,” my dad interrupted.

  “Harvey,” David said with a nod, “I know you’ve been through a divorce.”

  “Two,” I interjected.

  “I want Olivia out of this marriage as quickly as possible,” David said. “If it were up to me, it would already be over. I’d like to just wipe the slate clean.”

  “David,” I started, “what—”

  “I don’t know if she told you,” he interrupted me, “but Bill was unnecessarily rough with her.”

  “Pardon?” Dad said, leaning forward in his seat. “Is this true, Olivia?”

  “He just grabbed my arm,” I stammered.

  “And left marks,” David added.

  “His pride was hurt,” I said. “He’d just learned that David was the one who bought the house.”

  My dad ran his hands over his face. “Christ.”
r />   “David broke his nose, though,” I said quickly.

  David rolled his eyes. “Trying to make a good impression here,” he said under his breath.

  My dad laughed darkly. “Fine. What are you asking me for, David? Money?”

  “No, sir, just some backup if Olivia plans to fight me on this. I’ll get her out, no matter the cost. I’ll pay to have everything taken care of as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, it looks like six months is the soonest the divorce would become official, and that’s if Bill is compliant.”

  “David, I can’t ask you to do that,” I said, my eyes wide.

  “You didn’t. I’m saying,” he continued, turning back to my dad, “I want to do it. I want to spare her the pain of a long-drawn-out process. Let Bill keep everything—the money, the car, the furniture, whatever. No alimony. I have more than enough for the two of us plus a family.” David looked at me. “And just so you feel secure, Olivia, you’ll keep your salary at the magazine like we discussed. Put it in savings. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “You’d do that?” my dad asked.

  “In a heartbeat. But I need your help.” David glanced at me. “Because Olivia will tell me no.”

  “You’re right,” I said adamantly. “My answer is no.”

  “I tell you, sugar, divorce is a bitch,” Dad said. “I’d hate to see Bill drag you through the mud when there’s another option.”

  I looked between the two of them, speechless. David worked hard for his money. Even if he didn’t, this wasn’t his mess to clean up. “This is my problem, David. You shouldn’t have to—”

  “It’s our problem, Olivia. Remember what we just talked about?” he said slowly. “You’ve dealt with a lot from Bill. I know he’s been hard on you. Let go, and let me take over from here.”

  Let go. It was what he’d asked of me not an hour ago, and I’d agreed. This was David’s way of telling me I didn’t have to do this on my own. “So we’re just going to let him have everything?” I asked.

  “Do you care?” David asked.

  Not if it meant getting out unscathed. I didn’t feel any particular attachment to the items in our apartment. “No,” I said carefully. “I hate to put you in that position, though.”

  “Don’t look at it that way. This is what we talked about,” he said, staring me down. “Giving up control. Letting me help. It’s nothing for me.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “This is no longer just about you. It involves me, too, and this is how I’m going to handle it.”

  I closed my mouth and stopped my gaping. That was it, then. “Okay,” I agreed.

  David nodded once. “Okay.”

  My dad reached over to shake David’s hand. “You’re a good man, David. I think I might be happy that you’re looking after my girl.”

  * * *

  After the sun had set, our bellies had been filled, and the dishwasher ran in the kitchen, I stood by the front door with David. “I wish you’d just stay here instead of the hotel,” I said, running my hands over the fabric of his sweater. The soft cashmere, as always, was the perfect complement to the muscles underneath.

  “Believe me, I want to,” he said. “I’m feeling . . . restless.”

  I tugged on the waistband of his pants. “Stay then. We broke through some huge stuff earlier. Now, we should get to celebrate.”

  David shifted feet, definitely fighting himself. “It’s not appropriate,” he said, “and I don’t want to make your dad uncomfortable.”

  “You’re such a gentleman,” I teased.

  “Would a gentleman do this?” he asked, squeezing my ass to pull me against him.

  I responded with a lustful groan as his length pressed against me in all its glory. A carnal need blossomed in me. “I can’t wait,” I said with finality. “Sex. Now.”

  He laughed and brushed a piece of my hair from my face. “If I can, you can. This time while in Dallas is about me getting to know your dad.”

  “Wait, what?” I exclaimed, trying unsuccessfully to push him away. “Don’t tell me you plan on abstaining the whole time you’re here.”

  “Sorry, baby, but we’re not goddamn teenagers,” he said. “We can handle a few days of self-restraint.”

  I grumbled to myself as he took my hand and led me outside and to a car parked at the curb. “How do you like my rental?”

  “I hate it,” I said with a pout, and he roared with laughter.

  “Don’t take your sexual frustration out on the car.” He leaned in to give me a sweet kiss. “Thank you.”

  I cocked my head. “For what?”

  “Tonight.”

  I smiled reluctantly and squeezed his hand in mine. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

  “Try to stop me.”

  I turned away, but he pulled me back by my hand for another series of pecks. He let go finally and smacked me on the ass. “Bye, gorgeous.” He hit the key fob as he walked away, and the car beeped.

  “David?”

  He looked at me over the roof. “Yeah, baby?”

  “I love you,” I said.

  He stared at me a moment before responding. “I love you, too.”

  I curled into my sweater and headed back into the house. I’d finally told him how I felt, but it wasn’t nearly the truth. I didn’t just love him. That wasn’t a strong enough word. Whatever it was, it’d taken root a long time ago, and tonight, it’d finally bloomed. But now, it wasn’t just something that lived in me. It was part of my being.

  18

  The distinct aroma of brewing coffee lured me from my sleep the next morning. My dad sat at the kitchen table and barely acknowledged me as he browsed The Dallas Morning News.

  I poured myself some coffee and tried to seem casual. “So, what do you think?”

  “About what, kiddo?” he asked, eyes on the newspaper.

  “David.”

  He paused, folded down a corner of the paper, and looked at me over it.

  “Please be honest,” I said. “With Bill, you kept your feelings to yourself. The best way to protect me now is to tell me the truth.”

  He considered this a moment. “I’ve dealt with a lot of people over the years, and I’m a good judge of character. I like David. Thing I like best is that he adores you. That, and I can see he’s strong enough and smart enough to make tough decisions. You don’t get as far in business as he has by pussy-footing around.”

  I twisted my lips. “Do you like him because he’s a good businessman or because of the person he is?” I asked.

  My dad chuckled. “He’s a good guy. And Bill was, too. The difference is that Bill didn’t quite know what to do with you.”

  I blushed at the first thing that came to mind—the biggest change to my life since meeting David. Mind-blowing sex. He knew exactly how to handle me in the bedroom.

  “You up for a run?” Dad asked.

  I wrinkled my nose. “A run? Like exercise?”

  “Yes, Olivia, like exercise. Call up David and invite him.”

  “You want to go for a run with my boyfriend?”

  He bristled. “I don’t see any reason why not.”

  The reason why not was that he’d never done such a thing with Bill. “I think he runs,” I said, tilting my head. I was pretty sure he’d mentioned jogging the lakefront with Brian. “But I doubt he brought anything with him.”

  “I have shoes he can borrow.”

  I shook my head before I fell into a fit of giggles. My dad only stared at me with confusion. When I could speak again, I gasped, “He’s . . . a size . . . fourteen and a half.”

  “Oh. Big feet.”

  “Yeah.” Enormous. I smiled as I shook my head again, picked up my phone, and dialed David’s number. “My dad wants to go for a run with you,” I said when he answered.

  “Are you coming, too?” he asked.

  “Me? I’m going for a breakfast burrito.”

  He laughed. “I’ll be right over.”

  T
he smartest thing I’d done in my old apartment was grab a bikini. It’d been too long since I’d been poolside, and I was happy to park myself in the Texan sun while David and my dad sweat it out on their jog.

  I was sufficiently relaxed and reclined on a latticed lounge chair when they returned. I waved from across the backyard. My dad excused himself to shower, and David followed the perimeter of the pool until he was standing over me.

  He bent at the hip and crooked a finger under the string between my breasts, pulling up slightly. “Nice bikini,” he remarked before straightening up again.

  I lowered my sunglasses and checked him out. He wore only red and white basketball shorts, having already peeled off his shirt, and the planes of his chest glistened with a sheen of sweat. I wrapped my hand around the back of his knee and ran it up the opening of his shorts. “Hi.”

  “How long have you been out here?” he asked.

  I shrugged, and slid my hand back down his thigh. “As long as you’ve been gone.”

  His eyes scanned my body. “Won’t you burn?”

  “I’m wearing sunscreen.”

  He picked up the sunblock from the side table and examined it. When he seemed to deem it suitable, he held it out to me. “Put more on.”

  I pouted. “But I’m trying to get a tan.”

  “You’re beautiful the way you are. This shit,” he waved in the general direction of the sun, “causes skin cancer.”

  “But—”

  “More,” he cut me off.

  I sighed and took it from him. I squirted some onto my stomach and chest and began to rub it in, careful not to miss anywhere that might give me funny tan lines. I lifted the band of my bottoms and smoothed it under. When I looked up, David watched from under heavy lids.

  “Perv!” I cried. “You just want to ogle me as I slather it on.”

  He grinned. “A perk.”

  A perk if he got to act on what he saw. But since he’d imposed abstinence on us, and was trying to be good . . . that meant I got to have a little fun.

  I took my time massaging a handful of lotion over my thighs. “Gosh, it’s going to be a long few days, isn’t it?” I lifted my left leg, rubbed down my shin, and made my way back up.