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"She wishes they were just friends," Amelia added. "The chemistry between them is hot. And Everett," Amelia said, drawing out his name, "wants tostaymarried."
"Oh.Oh,"Marsali said, eyes widening. "So this trip is—"
"His way of romancing her into giving up on getting a divorce and agreeing to stick around? That’d be my guess," Amelia said with a wide smile as she crossed her arms atop her belly and gave Izzy a satisfied grin.
"You don't know that," Izzy argued, voice muffled as she pulled a sweater over her head. "It could be a-a goodbye gesture."
Marsali rose from where she'd leaned against the side of the bed and walked toward Izzy.
Izzy faltered beneath her friend's steady stare and fought off the confirmation she saw in Marsali's gaze. "You're wrong."
"I'm not wrong," Marsali said softly. "But I wonder…why are you fighting this so hard? Do you like him?"
"Yes, but—"
"But what?"
Izzy swallowed hard and tried to formulate the words. She knew how it would sound if she said the words aloud. Knew they'd probably laugh and roll their eyes and tell her she was being silly. But she wasn't. Shefeltthis way for a reason, and she didn't want to be made fun of because of it.
"Iz?" Amelia hefted herself to her feet and waddled over to where they stood.
Izzy clutched the short leather skirt in her hand and wished…she just wished she could make sense of it all. "What do I have to offer him? I mean, he's… I think it’s pretty obvious he's wealthy,” she said, avoiding the part about googling him. “But he’s also smart. He's...he's the whole package."
"So are you," Marsali said, her pinched features revealing the seriousness of her.
"No, not like that. I don't own anything except for Betty. I barely get by, and saying I'm an artist can be loosely interpreted as me begging people to allow me to place something in their stores on the off chance it might sell."
"But you have sold your art. You’ve sold lots of it,” Amelia said.
“Not enough,” Izzy said.
“So maybe you haven't hit it big but you will. It's coming," Amelia said.
"And success isn't just about money. It's living how you want to live," Marsali added. "As to what you have to offer, Everett obviously sees more in you thanyousee in you."
"It's just painfully obvious he's out of my league."
Marsali clicked her tongue and placed her hands on Izzy's shoulders, using her hold to spin her around to face the mirror once again.
"What do you see?" Marsali asked.
"I see a thirty-two-year-old woman with a bad dating history."
Marsali chuckled and shook her head. "You are stubborn, aren't you?Iseea beautiful, talented young woman who radiates warmth and love. Someone who projects those emotions into her craft and who charmed a very handsome, successful man to the point that he walked into the wrong chapel."
"It was a mistake."
"Maybe it was, but he wouldn't be wanting the mistake to continue if you weren't worth fighting for," Marsali added.
"He just doesn't want to fail. It's a thing with him. He doesn't…he doesn't want to be like his father getting divorce after divorce."
"Izzy, you are a smart, intelligent woman. No man would stay married just to save face," Amelia said.
"He said—"
"We know what he said. And maybe on some small level he meant it," Marsali said, "but men like Everett… Honey, you might not have a large bank account, but he doesn't need that. What Everett needs—what every manwants—is someone who balances them. Who has what they don't. They want someone who brings out their protectiveness and adventurous side. Their fun side. I think you do that for him or else he wouldn’t still be around."
"That's an awfully big assumption given the fact you've only met him once," Izzy said with a halfhearted smile.
