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She wrinkled her nose and sniffed, looking up at Lydia with watery eyes. “If you’re stupid, then we’re stupid together. We both got duped.”
“Men,” Lydia spat, hot tears leaking from her eyes. “Why do we even try? I think I’ll take your approach from now on. I’m off the market. Officially. I swear on the Queen of England, that’s how serious I am.”
Emily’s eyes went wide as she regarded her friend with a small smile. “Okay...”
“No, I mean it.” Lydia hiccupped. “Just you wait.”
She tried to hide her disbelieving smile behind her hand. She’d believe it when she saw it.
“Don’t worry, the apartment is still yours,” Lydia said, swiping her hand across the quaint room. “I think it’s about time I had some change. Some people dye their hair after a break up. Lydia Ryan rents a new high rise apartment. That’ll be my coping mechanism.”
Emily’s jaw fell open as she regarded her friend with shock. “Wait, no. You can’t give up your apartment. You just broke up. And besides, I didn’t complete the deal. You said four dates. I only went on three.”
“By my count, you went on four.” Lydia held up four fingers. “First was Lorenzo’s, second was at his parent’s home, third was the coffee date, and fourth was the big breakup scene at Linex. You held up your end of the bargain. I intend to hold up mine.”
“But I could never afford it now,” she replied, biting her lower lip. “I’m unemployed, remember?”
“You’ve got six months to figure that out,” Lydia said with a small smile. “And if I know my best friend, she’ll be back on her feet in no time. Don’t make me threaten you. Take the apartment.”
Emily swallowed, feeling a wave of nerves and excitement wash over her. She looked around at the creamy white walls and the cozy fireplace and knew in her heart that this place belonged to her. She needed it. And it needed her.
“Has he said he’s sorry, yet?” Lydia asked, glancing innocently down at her lap.
Emily forced a laugh. “Who? Mister-billionaire-who-lies-for-a-living? About a million times. But I haven’t replied.”
She wrinkled her pert nose. “Are you going to give him a second chance?”
“A second chance?”
“Well, yeah.” Lydia glanced up at her. “What he did was a jerk move, but I think Michael really cared about you. The boy made a mistake, but maybe that wasn’t his only mistake. Maybe it was falling for you?”
Emily scoffed at the idea. She’d spent the whole day going over all the ways Michael had fooled her, she hadn’t even considered that he might actually have feelings for her. But now, coming from her best friend in a posh British accent, the words were having an effect.
A flicker of doubt lit in the back of her mind. Could Michael have really cared for her? She’d convinced herself that the steamy scene in her office had been nothing but a part of his devious plan to detract information from her, but this had been different from their usual interactions. The Michael Knight she knew had a great poker face. The man she’d nearly kissed that day had been nearly undone by emotion. Maybe, just maybe, there was something there.
“He was using me,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest with a grimace. “I don’t know if I can forgive that.”
“Well, weren’t you sort of using him, too?” Lydia asked, raising her eyebrows. “I mean, the only reason you were going out with him in the first place was to get my apartment. It doesn’t make what he did right, but maybe it makes you more likely to forgive?”
Emily’s frown melted from her face. Of course, Lydia was right. She had been using him, too. Not to the same degree, but she wasn’t entirely blameless. She wouldn’t have been in this situation to begin with if she hadn’t wanted the apartment so badly.
Lydia’s phone went off, causing her friend to scramble across the room at record speed and snatch it from the dining table. She stared at the phone, her dark eyes going wide.
Holding it up, she pointed to the screen. “It’s him.”
“You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” Emily said in a low tone.
Lydia took a deep breath, glanced down at her screen, and answered it. She held it up to her ear, listening for a full minute, before bursting into tears again.
“I love you, too, darling,” she said between sobbing breaths. “Let’s never fight again, okay? Of course, I still want to marry you.”
Emily chuckled to herself as Lydia took the phone call into the kitchen. She helped herself to the ice cream, digging out an extra-large chunk of chocolate. It was nice that things had worked out for her friend. She was happy for her. She really
was. Maybe two months was long enough to find your soulmate. She couldn’t judge.
After all, she’d found herself falling for Michael Knight in even less time. But then again, look at what happened there. She’d been hoodwinked by a professional. Maybe her own judgement was flawed.
She glanced at her phone, tempted for one second to unblock Michael’s number and listen to his messages. But the sharp pain that lanced through her chest made her decide otherwise. If she allowed herself to hear his voice for one second, she might never recover.
