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She’d been the coward.
That stopped now. If Gideon didn’t want her—didn’t love her—he could damn well tell her to her face. That was the only acceptable reason for him dumping her. Anything else they could work past as long as they were together. Lucy would make him see that. The man might make her fumble her words a bit, but she’d power through it to get the truth out.
Her phone vibrated and she almost ignored it, but the only way to make her Dumpster fire of a day in court worse was to ignore a call from her client or one of the partners. But when she dug it out of her purse, it was the last number she expected to see there. Roman?
Lucy frowned and answered. “Hello?”
“I owe you an apology.”
She blinked. This situation kept getting weirder and weirder. Roman had never called her before, and she couldn’t think of a single reason he’d have to call her now. Unless... Her heart lodged in her throat. “Is Gideon okay?”
“What?” His shock seemed genuine and then he laughed, breaking her tension. “Shit, I guess I owe you two apologies. Gideon is fine last I saw him, which was yesterday. I should have realized you’d think the worst.”
Lucy let loose the breath she’d been holding. “Okay. Sorry. I just thought...”
“Logical. I should have considered it.” He cleared his throat. “Look, I fucked up, Lucy. I never asked your forgiveness for not telling you about Jeff, and then I went and compounded the issue by letting my guilt prod me to give Gideon some truly shitty advice.”
She’d known that something had happened while Gideon was with Roman to push him into action, but she didn’t hold it against him. Any of it. “Gideon’s strong-willed. He wouldn’t have been pushed into doing something he wasn’t already considering doing.”
“Still.”
She smiled at the stubbornness in that single word. It was no wonder the two men got along so well. They were cut from the same kind of cloth. “Consider yourself forgiven.”
“I’d actually like to make it up to you. Before you tell me it’s not necessary, know that I realize it’s not necessary and that’s how good apologies work.”
Amusement curled through her, though she wished he’d get to the point so she could hang up and call Gideon. “What did you have in mind?”
“What are you doing right now? A friend is doing a soft opening of his restaurant and I have a table reserved so we can talk.”
“Right now?” She looked around. “I guess that works.” Damn it, she wanted Gideon, but if she was going to get him to come around, it wouldn’t hurt to have Roman on her side. Maybe she could use the lunch to mine for information. The thought buoyed her disappointment a bit. “Text me the address, please.”
“Will do. I’ll meet you there.” He hung up before she could ask him any further questions.
Lucy frowned. Strange. Her phone pinged almost immediately and she frowned harder because she recognized the address. It overlooked Central Park, though it used to be owned by someone else. It must have cost a small fortune—or large one—to purchase. She set the information aside and stepped to the curb to flag down a cab.
The ride was blessedly short, all things considered. Lucy kept looking at her phone, but now that she was going to meet Roman, she didn’t want to call Gideon until afterward. Just in case he wanted to talk immediately. Her stomach did a slow flip-flop. Please be willing to meet with me.
To her surprise, the restaurant was actually the top floor of the building. After getting off the elevator, Lucy stood in the entranceway for a solid thirty seconds, just taking in the opulence of the place. It screamed wealth with its polished white-marble floors and subtle gold accents. Nothing déclassé, but there all the same.
A well-dressed man strode over, a practiced smile on his handsome face. “You must be Lucy. This way, please.”
She followed, taking in empty table after empty table. “I thought this was a soft opening?” Surely there should be some people there. Good Lord, did Roman invite me here to shove me out a window? She pushed the thought away. Hysterical was what it was.
“It is.” He chuckled. “Just a very soft opening.”
That wasn’t an answer at all, but she allowed him to lead her into what appeared to be a greenhouse. The air warmed enough that she unzipped her jacket. Flowers of every color and shape lined the walls. There were even trees in the corners, which made her smile despite everything.
She was so busy looking at the foliage that she didn’t realize the man had left—or that she wasn’t alone—until she turned around and found Gideon standing in the doorway. Lucy froze. “But—”
“I’m sorry for the cheap trick. I wasn’t sure if you’d agree to see me if I called.” His dark eyes drank her in and she actually felt his longing even across the space between them.
