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“She told you, not Noah?”
“I confronted him on the phone yesterday.”
“Lucian, I’m not sure what to do. I’m conflicted.”
“Do you love him?”
“You know I do, but he betrayed me.”
“Vivian can be very manipulative and seductive.”
“You can’t blame her for everything. He had free will and chose to give in.”
“I know. I’m just so pissed at him. I can’t believe what he did. Does Megan know?”
“She’d string him up by his balls, so please don’t tell her. Are you staying with her tonight?”
“She asked me too. I like her.”
I lean in and kiss his cheek. He’s so different from his brother. We peek into the hallway, making sure that no one sees us. The apartment is empty when we get inside and I breathe a sigh of relief. At least I don’t have to explain where we were. I’m sure Noah would figure it out and be angry at Lucian.
Forty-five minutes later and the moving men are tipped and have left us in a fully furnished apartment. Megan is directing us like minions to put dishes in cabinets, towels, and sheets in closets and wiping a thin layer of dust from the tables. Many hands make light work and by the time noon rolls around, the apartment is done except for a few pictures needing hanging.
She calls for pizza, and we sit around on the couches eating off paper plates and toasting with glasses of soda. Noah is sitting across from me and keeps glancing up hungrily at my cleavage. The problem is that so is JC. Maybe I should’ve buttoned my shirt. I look down and creamy halves of each breast are visible between the vee of my shirt. The push-up bra I wore accentuates them.
Hunter is the first to leave. He needs to meet some of his buddies in the park at two. Megan is practically sitting on Lucian’s lap and I announce it’s time to go and JC agrees. I’m sure the minute the door closes behind us, they’ll be in bed together. I kiss my sister and Lucian with promises to come for dinner soon. Noah scowls at me.
The elevator ride is an awkward silence, and so is the walk back to our apartment. Megan lives just twelve blocks from Noah and I and sixteen from JC. If we all got along, we could hang out but that’s not going to happen. It’s evident to me that Noah is jealous and JC looking at my cleavage hasn’t been lost on him.
In front of our building, JC hugs me goodbye, and I can see the frown on Noah’s face as he holds me longer than necessary. I tell him I’ll see him at the office on Monday. Another awkward elevator ride and we arrive in our apartment. Noah is on me the minute we walk through the door.
“Why did you wear that shirt? He wants to fuck you,” he barks.
“Are you serious? Suppose he does want to fuck me? I’m not going to act on it. How dare you. Just because you’re guilty about what you did, stop it. It doesn’t make me any more forgiving when you act like this.”
I want to forgive Noah, but I’m not sure I can yet.
“How long will it take?”
“I don’t know. I need time. I told you that, and you think I’m like a light switch, turning off and on. It doesn’t work that way. I need to trust you again.”
We go our separate ways. I head out to the terrace, and Noah goes to his office. Our distance is apparent, and I don’t mean geographically. I’m not sure we can get back to where we were.
Chapter 22
Two weeks later, things still aren’t great. Noah begs me to forgive him, and I tell him I need time. My feelings for him haven’t changed; I still love him but in a different way. That way is some good and some bad. We haven’t slept in the same bed all that time.
Work has leveled off now that summer is in full swing. JC still looks at me with sadness, but he’s trying to forget by dating. On July Fourth, we met by accident in Central Park, the woman that was with him looked very much like me, except she was taller and thinner. She wasn’t his type and I think it was a last-minute thing since she kept calling him Cameron.
It’s Friday, and I’m excited because Olivia is finally moving back to New York. I need some girl time with my best friend. Her brother, Matty, who’s a real estate agent, set her up in an apartment in my sister Megan’s building. How convenient for her to be so close to me. Matty even took care of getting it furnished as a homecoming present, but Olivia doesn’t know this.
I went with him to select a couple of couches, end tables, lamps, a dresser, a bed, and a few other items. Once again Noah’s jealousy got the best of him and he snapped at me when I got home two hours later than expected. These days he doesn’t trust me alone with any man who is funny since he’s the one who cheated.
I’m not sure how long I can deal with this or if I even want to. We’ve done little about the wedding. Virtually all our preparations have stopped. We’re getting married in three months, and nothing has moved forward. I know Noah wants to marry me still, but even he hasn’t mentioned anything. I have a fitting for my wedding dress tomorrow, just in time to take Olivia with me.
When I get home from work, Noah isn’t there. He didn’t tell me he would be out, which he usually does even with our current circumstances. I text him but receive nothing in reply. I’m not going to worry because sometimes he likes to take a run in the park with his headphones on.
I decide to change my clothes and have a sandwich for dinner. When it’s warm out, I prefer not to cook. I could live on convenience food the whole summer if I needed to. Three hours go by, and I still haven’t heard back from Noah. I’m just about to call Brice to see if he’s had contact and the door to our apartment opens.
