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n in her eyes. That look would haunt him forever. “This can’t be washed away with an apology.”
“No, it can’t. But she’s a reasonable woman. And she has a heart of gold. And unless I’m way off, I think she cares about you. I think she has for a while now.”
Dane recalled the day he’d gone to her apartment, the soft kiss they’d shared. The way she’d melted against him as she’d admitted to being attracted to him. That had been before Kinks. “It won’t matter. She won’t forgive me for this.”
“She looks at you differently than she does Mac and me. She always has. Besides, do you really think she didn’t have a clue who she was with the other night? She’s worked for us for two years. If you ask me, Lydia had at least some idea. She might not have been conscious of it, but deep down she knew who she was moaning and writhing for. I’d bet money on it.”
Could it be? Had she suspected and still gone through with it? It seemed too much to hope for. “I don’t know, Trent. That sounds like we’re trying to assuage our consciences to me.”
He shrugged. “We’ll see. Give her a few days then go talk to her. Explain what happened. Make her listen to you. See how she reacts.”
Dane hated the idea of waiting. He wanted to go to her now. He needed to talk to her, to tell her it wasn’t some damned stunt. They hadn’t been trying to play with her feelings. Dane had wanted her so badly he’d let himself believe it would all work out. He’d been an ass.
“And if she doesn’t forgive me?” Dane said, admitting the unthinkable.
“Then tie her to the bed and make love to her until she does.”
“You’re a damned Neanderthal.” Even so, Dane thought Trent’s idea had merit. If all else fails he’d kidnap her and show her how good they could be together. Just the two of them. He could spend hours loving her.
If she didn’t shoot him first.
His cell phone rang and Dane grabbed it, hoping it was Lydia. “Lydia?”
“No, it’s Mac. She’s home safe.” Mac paused, then added, “She’s really upset, Dane. I’m worried about her. She shouldn’t be alone.”
“Are you outside her apartment now?”
“Yeah.”
She wouldn’t want to see any of them, but maybe Dane could reach one of the friends she always went to lunch with. “I’ll take care of it.”
Mac sighed. “This sucks. We really screwed up this time.”
Dane couldn’t have said it better. “I’ll fix it,” he vowed. Please, God, let me fix it.
Lydia had cried herself dry. The only other time she’d done that was when her father had died. Her entire body ached and like a bad movie, the image of that electric bill fluttering to the floor kept zipping through her mind. She still had a hard time reconciling the three men she’d made love to with the three lawyers who made her life crazy. How blind can one person be? Now that she knew the truth it seemed so obvious. She’d been a fool. And they’d played her like a fiddle too. They must have had a good laugh afterward. The thought had her throwing the tissue box across the room. “Assholes,” she ground out. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Lydia jumped.
“Go away!”
“Lydia, it’s us, open up.”
What were Roni and Jeanette doing there? “I’m not up for the company right now, Roni,” Lydia called back.
“Don’t make me use my key.”
Lydia had given Roni a key to her apartment when she’d gone on vacation one year. She’d needed someone to look after her plants. She tried to muster up some irritation at being forced into letting them in, but Lydia knew she’d only wallow in self-pity if left to her own devices. She got up from the couch and strode to the door. When Lydia flung it open to find Roni and Jeanette both staring at her with worry, a bag of groceries in Roni’s hands, Lydia’s anger boiled over.
“Dane called you, didn’t he?”
Roni frowned. “He called. He was worried and didn’t want you to be alone.”
Lydia crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her two best friends. “Did he tell you what he did? Did he share that little tidbit with you as well?”
Roni pushed her way inside and went straight to the kitchen. Jeanette pulled her in for a hug. All the starch went right out of her. And here she’d actually thought she was all cried out. Go figure. She pulled out of Jeanette’s arms and went back to the couch. Socrates jumped onto her lap and purred, then curled into a ball and fell asleep.
“He told Roni what happened,” Jeanette said. “Roni called me. I’m sorry, sweetie.”
Lydia shrugged and started stroking Socrates. “I shouldn’t have gone with them. It’s partly my fault.”
