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The smell of another woman’s perfume.
It was an unfounded fear. I’d never seen any evidence that Brendan was stepping out on me, but I wasn’t touching him. I hadn’t in three months, and Brendan liked sex. Could I blame him if he found it somewhere else?
“Worked late. Had a drink with Gordon,” he muttered. Even in the dark, I could hear him stripping out of his clothes. My heart ached. I wanted him to touch me, but he didn’t anymore. He hadn’t since I’d burst into tears when he tried to kiss me.
“More than a drink.” I was picking. I should have left it alone.
His sigh cut through the thick silence like a knife. “I’m going to sleep on the couch.”
As the door closed, I buried my head in the pillow and hoped it muffled the sound of my sobs.
My phone rang just before dawn. Even in the pitch black and still struggling through the haze of sleep, I knew instantly who was calling. Who always called at the most inappropriate times.
Cindy.
Groaning, I rolled over and squinted as the screen lit up. Professionally, I knew that I shouldn’t take her call, but personally, I liked Cindy. The way I’d up and left wouldn’t have been easy on her.
“Hello?” I said groggily.
“Jillian!” Cindy wailed. “I’m so sorry to call you this early, but I just had to talk to someone. Please don’t hang up on me!”
“Breathe, Cindy.” Pushing the tangled mess of hair out of my face, I sat up and pushed a pillow up behind me. “I’m not going to hang up on you. What’s going on?”
“Patrick Galloway asked me to be his date for some fundraiser gala event, and I accepted. I don’t know what I was thinking! Steven is going to be so mad when he finds out!” Her labored breathing grew more intense, and I was worried that she was going to pass out.
Patrick Galloway. I knew the name, but I wasn’t sure why. Actor? Singer? Movie producer or director? “Cindy, you and Steven broke up six months ago. He has no right to voice his opinion about who you go out with now, remember? And even if he did, you’re the only one who gives it any power.”
“Right.” She sniffed. “I’m supposed to be living my life without him. Oh, Jillian, I really do need to see you. Can’t you just pop by the city for some lunch on Saturday? You always calm me down, and I need to put on my best face at the awards show.”
“Are you nominated for anything?”
There was a beat of silence. “Jillian, I can’t believe you’d even ask. Of course I’m nominated. My work in Summer Skies was excellent.”
I hadn’t even seen the movie, but I didn’t want to tell Jillian that. “You don’t need to have lunch with me. In fact, you don’t even eat the day of the awards.”
“Well, of course I won’t be eating.” She sighed loudly. “Jillian, please. You’re my friend, and this is a big night for me.”
Boundaries, I reminded myself. We were working on boundaries. On the other hand, it would be nice to spend the weekend in the city and get away from Brendan for a few days. Since the hoedown last weekend, things had been tense between us, and I only had myself to blame.
The truth was, with the exception of Dennis and some of the women who seemed to hate me on sight, the night had been fun. Dancing in his arms, I’d been dangerously close to slipping back into my old self. The old self that had always just melted against him. We were supposed to be friends, and I had been ready to jump his bones.
I needed to control myself, and some distance would help with that.
“Normally, this is something I would advise against, but I could use a break here. I’ll check into a hotel Saturday morning and meet you for lunch around noon. How does that sound?” I didn’t want to head back to my apartment. I wasn’t ready for all the questions Danielle would no doubt have for me.
The actress squealed with delight. After saying goodbye, I hung up and settled back in the pillows. Through my window, a small shaft of light filtered through as the sun rose. I could have gotten at least another hour of sleep, but I was wide awake. Sitting here alone in the dark would only invite more flashes of memories and what-if questions that I didn’t want to entertain.
Instead, I got up and dressed quietly. I figured the rest of the house wouldn’t be up yet, but as I opened the door and stepped out, I immediately ran into Brendan.
A half-naked Brendan.
He didn’t see me. Running his hand through his hair, he navigated the dark hall while he muttered quiet oaths under his breath. I’d never known him to be a morning person, and from the looks of things, he hadn’t changed much.
