“Please. Don’t even think twice. So, what’s the holdup here? This sounds like a pretty great thing?” Cora probed
“Because he’s wealthier than Theo. Theo couldn’t marry me because I wasn’t the right pedigree to wed. If I wasnot the right pedigree”—I sneered and made a face as I said that word—“for Theo, there’s no way I am right for Donovan.”
Cora held her hand up in the air. “I’m going to stop you right there. And I say this with love, so make sure you take it that way, but that is such a colossal load of bullshit, Audra. Can I remind you that’s why Maverick left me in the dust? Because of our financial differences, he didn’t feel worthy enough for me. The hardest part of that was that he never once discussed any of that with me. He never letmein on that conversation. So I wasn’t even given the opportunity to tell him I didn’t care about any of that, or to explain myself at all. Don’t do that to Donovan. Don’t take him out of the discussion of your future if it’s a future you want to pursue. Plus, I’d like to interject that you know I never talk about my family’s wealth, but in this situation, I’m going to. The Clarke’s wealth far exceeds Theo’s, and not once, like ever, has there been a statement or even an insinuation of marrying for business or status. Not in my family nor any of our family friends. I honestly thought that was an urban legend until everything went down with you and him.”
“But what if there is, Cora? I can’t give my heart to him foryears, and then, when it comes time to marry, have him reject me like Theo did. I would die.”
“Of course you can’t. But he’s already 28, and I think he is doing ok, right? I mean, the thing with Theo was wrapped up in the trust, right? His parents told him he wouldn’t get it if he married you. I don’t think that’s the same for Donovan. I mean, I know little about his family at all except they’re in New York and they’ve never been here. Have you told him about your fears? Does he know what Theo did?”
“I haven’t told him the details of why of why we broke up.”
“Maybe it’s time you did,” she said bluntly.
I searched Cora’s face, and I knew she was right. The truth about my reservations would have to come out for us to have the possibility to move forward. At the bare minimum, I needed to give him an explanation for the mixed messages. Not that it justified what I was doing, but at least there was a reason.
“And you know,” she added, “you could always just ask him. A little conversation goes a long way. Not to bring this back to Maverick and I again, but I screwed myself by not pushing him to talk about what we were. I thought we were full steam ahead, but he … well, he’s in California now.” Cora’s voice wobbled a little, but she didn’t cry.
But what if I don’t want the answer either? I said to myself. No, I know I need to talk to him. “We’re actually heading to New York on Wednesday, so maybe I can gauge how well we do there, and if it’s good enough to want to keep pursuing, then we’ll have that conversation.”
“Whaaaat?? You’re going to New York? With him?! Um, that’s exciting news! What are you going there for? Jules takes off for New York on Wednesday, too. She won that award, and the celebration is at some swanky place. Well, it’s for her and acouple of other people, too. But her team won the top accolades!”
“That’s right, I forgot about that! We are going because there’s some celebratory dinner for his sister, who passed the bar on her first attempt. Then he said we could do whatever I wanted to. l’ll have to connect with Jules for sure.” Jules was a marketing phenom. She was winning awards at twenty-five that most people couldn’t even dream of achieving before forty.
“And to be clear, he invited you to dinner with his family? Figure out your shit and talk to him, you knucklehead. He is entitled to a say in this before you put all the bad scenarios in your mind. In the meantime, let’s pack some bags for you. Because you’ll be staying somewhere that isn’t here for a bit. Let’s get you New York ready.” She did a funny dance move with her arms pumping. “Seeing as I have nothing to do today, let’s finish up here, get pedicures, and shop for a dress at that new clothing boutique that will blow Sir Donovan right out of the water… if you don’t blow him first.”
Laughter bubbled out of me.
“Wait, have you?” Her look became serious. “Are you guys hooking up?”
“No, I’ve pretty much jumped him three times. First, I pulled him into a kiss in front of Theo. I’m still not sure if that was a good move or a bad one. I mean, good because the man can kiss like, I don’t even have the words. But bad because I’m pretty sure the message I was trying to get across to Theo hit the mark, and I’m positive that’s contributing to all this bullshit. Then, in the pool last night, I literally mounted him, Cora. I’m talking ankles locked behind him, and told him I just wanted him to kiss me, nothing more, and he did. And it was fucking hot. After we were back inside and getting ready for bed, I asked him to sleep with me, but not for sex, just becauseI wanted someone with me. Which was the honest to God truth, but we kissed in bed, and before I knew it, I was on top dry humping him and pressuringhimto go further.”
“You didn’t!” Her mouth was agape at my story.
“Oh, I did. Some may say begged. And he rejected me because he said that he wanted more than one night of orgasms with me, and crossing the ‘just a kiss’ rule I put in place might push me away. I was pretty desperate for his dick, which seems gigantic, by the way, so I wouldn’t have stopped once we were underway, but somehow he knew I would regret it when the sun came up.”
“Damn, girl.”
“Damn.” I muttered, and hit my palm on my forehead. “So that’s what I have going on. On that note, let’s pack me up and get started on blowing him … out of the water.”
We moved quickly and efficiently through my house. She suggested I take everything of value and she would store it in her middle apartment until we figured things out. So I took about half my clothes, most of my daily use and special use products, and all my sentimental items like photo books and jewelry. We ended up stuffing Cora’s SUV full of stuff and taking two trips to bring it all over. By the time we were finished, we decided that dress shopping took precedence over pedicures, so we went to the boutique.
diLusso opened its doors three months ago. It had been on my list to check out, but I just hadn’t yet. One side was all dresses, from cocktail ones to sundresses, and the other side was regular clothes. It seemed like a super cute shop.
Cora, ever the businesswoman and socialite, introduced herself and told the woman, who looked to be in her early 40s, that she was opening Grá down the street in a month. They became instant friends and chatted while I perused the aisles.The woman, Tori, came up and gave me some recommendations on dresses that she thought would look good on me. I realized I didn’t quite know what kind of dinner we were having with his parents. Did I need to be super formal? Cocktail dress? Low-cut sultry cocktail dress? Probably not because it was with his parents. Backyard BBQ sun dress? I decided to cover all my bases and get a couple of different ones, but my favorite was the cocktail dress Tori picked out for me. It was a black, off-the-shoulder number, that screamed timeless and graceful elegance. The fabric panels crisscrossed over my chest to fit my waist, stayed tight through my hips, and then flared out. Normally, I shied away from dresses that hugged my hips like that, but I felt like a movie star in this dress. I figured I could dress it up or down with my shoes and jewelry. As soon as I stepped out of the dressing room, both of their eyes popped out of their heads.
“Holy shit, Audra. You need this dress in every color. I’ve never seen something more perfect on you,” Cora said.
“Wow,” Tori said, “you look stunning. I hope you’re going somewhere special in this one.”
“Yeah, you look fucking delicious, Audra. Who the fuck are you trying to impress?”
That voice had us all turning around. Theo had entered the boutique, and since everyone was so focused on me, none of us heard him come in. My stomach dropped initially, but then I channeled the rage I had earlier in the day. Who the hell was he to follow me around and show up like this? “I bet you’d like to know, you prick,” I sneered.
“Oooh, there’s a new fight in you, Audra. But I bet I can guess who you’re trying to impress. Moving from one rich guy to another, eh? Bit of a gold-digging move there, don’t you think?”
Cora stood up. “Do I need to remind you that you broke up with her almost three years ago, asshole? You have no business here, Theo. Get the hell out.”
“What if I’m searching for clothes for my new girl? A girl that I can actually marry because I couldn’t marry yours,” he said to Cora as he pointed at me. Both he and I knew exactly what he was doing with his words, and they still hurt.
