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He opened the cabinet, got down the whiskey, and took a long slug right from the bottle. I just stood there not knowing what to say.
“Jesus fucking Christ, these women in my life,” he muttered before he took another gulp of whiskey and then capped the bottle.
“Austin, I’m sor…”
He whirled around. “Don’t you fucking dare say you’re sorry. You hid so much from me.”
I clenched my fists and felt my face heat with anger. “I hid things from you? Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? You never told me about your engagements or the other woman getting pregnant. I opened up to you more than I have anyone else.”
Austin pointed at me. “This is the last time I want to see you. I can’t forgive you.”
“You can’t forgive me for getting pregnant and not telling you I had a miscarriage? Did you ever think what it was like for me to go through that alone? I was devastated. I wanted little almond so much.”
“Little almond?”
“That’s what I called our baby.”
“I’m leaving. Don’t contact me again.”
I stalked after him. “Go fuck yourself, Austin. It’s better we don’t have contact. You’ve shredded my heart enough. I hope you’re happy.”
“I am. I’m going back to everything good.”
He ripped the letter out of my hand as he passed by, and then he was gone.
I didn’t have the holiday spirit but forced myself to spend time at Kurt’s apartment with Marc and some other people. I tried to smile, but it had been two gloomy weeks without any contact with Austin. I counted each day when I got out of bed and hoped the further away I got from his loss, the better I would feel. I told Marc what happened between us and he wanted to go to Los Angeles to kick Austin’s ass.
“How are you doing?” Marc asked as he handed me a glass of wine.
“Horrible. I miss him, and he’s getting married in three days.”
He patted my shoulder. “It’s time to move on. I have a friend I can set you up with.”
I laughed because it would be a long time before I dated again. “Thanks, but no thanks. I think it will be a while before I’m ready.”
On the day of Austin’s wedding, I spent most of it holed up in my office keeping myself busy with work even though it was Saturday. Charles and the attorneys hired by Charge asked me to write everything I could remember about my altercation with Dirk Benson and Thomas Pelter. They needed ammunition in court.
What made it worse was that some of the women Dirk assaulted suddenly had murky memories of the things he did. I couldn’t understand. Even Diane wasn’t entirely sure of what he’d done to her. It was curious, and I wondered if they were afraid for their jobs. As CEO, I could assure them they wouldn’t be terminated.
Austin’s wedding day ended with me indulging in too many glasses of wine and falling asleep on the floor in my living room. When I woke up the next morning, my mouth felt like I’d been eating sand, and I had the beginning of a headache behind my eyes.
Marc talked me into going to Times Square with him to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. I don’t know why I agreed because the weather was frigid, and it meant standing out in the cold for hours. I was pleasantly surprised when he ushered me into the Marriott, which faced the festivities. We had the perfect view without freezing our tails off.
A close friend of his had several people watching from the windows, and when midnight struck, I reluctantly kissed Marc in a lingering kiss. I knew he wanted to date me, but I wasn’t right for anyone. He noticed how tense I was after he released me.
He put his arm around my shoulders. “How are you doing?”
“About the wedding?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll get over it. We’re not friends anyway. That chapter is closed.”
“I’m sorry. You’re leaving for vacation in a few days, right?”
“My annual trip to the Maldives. Sun, sand, and peace. I’ve needed it for a while.”
“How’s the shit with the lawsuit going?”
