I didn’t think so, but I was willing to bet both of them had made mistakes. They’d made a commitment. I wanted to commit to loving William like that, but it seemed like either he or I kept getting in the way. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be.
I lifted the torte, pulled the trash out of the pantry, and dumped the whole thing inside.
With a flick of the lights, the condo went dark and I crawled into bed alone.
***
I snapped awake when my phone dinged, alerting me I had a new text message. I glanced at the time, just before seven in the morning, and then read the text. I already knew who it would be from; no one else would text me this early. No one else I knew was awake this early.
Are you up?
No, but I needed to get up anyway. I hit Send and sat, pushing the hair out of my eyes. I really hadn’t expected William to text me. Maybe things between us weren’t over. But I just wished we could figure out whether we were together or not. I was so tired of wondering where I stood with him.
Are you okay?
My finger hovered over the phone as I thought about my reply. Was I? Not really. I was frustrated and heartbroken and missing him already. I wanted him back, but I was tired of the drama. I started to type, changed my mind, and decided to be honest.
I don’t like fighting with you.
Neither do I.
I took a deep breath. Might as well get to the point. I don’t like being shut out.
My words seemed to hover on the screen forever. Finally—
I understand.
I shook my head. Do you really?
Yes, really.
I wasn’t quite sure if I believed that. Maybe William thought he understood, but I wasn’t certain our two interpretations meshed. But should I push it more now? He decided the question for me with another text.
I don’t like you kissing other men.
He was doing his own pushing. I sighed and typed.
It didn’t mean anything. It hadn’t meant anything more than goodbye, but I guess if I saw a picture of William kissing someone else, I wouldn’t have liked it either. I waited for his response. And waited. And waited. Finally, his reply appeared on my screen.
I know. But I still hated seeing it.
Apparently he had decided to believe me. Before I could type a reply and mention how he had seen it and that we really needed to talk about that, he texted again.
Your torte looked good last night.
Ah, so he was changing the subject and had seen my dessert. I smiled. That was William. Steering the conversation the way he wanted it to go and always thinking about food. I had other things on my mind. So did you. I threw the torte out.
Heresy. Another cake wasted. I should have stayed.
Was he regretting walking away now? If he’d stayed, maybe we could have worked everything out before it got to this point.
I missed waking up with you.
I sighed again. He always knew how to melt my heart. Me too. But before he thought all was forgiven, I typed, I’m still mad at you.
Ditto. Truce?
I hesitated, and he must have sensed it because his next text came fast and furious.
I want you in my bed tonight. No talking. No fighting. Just us. You’re mine, remember? I need to remind you...
I knew what that meant. I closed my eyes as a delicious shiver ran through me. How could I say no to that? What time should I come over?
***
I lounged in bed for a while longer, then got up and showered and took my time getting dressed. I was meeting with Hutch Morrison in a few hours and I wanted to look chic but effortlessly so. I checked the weather and the day was supposed to be sunny and cold, so I went with a short black metallic tweed pencil skirt, a black silk blouse, black tights, and these cute stretch, suede, over-the-knee black boots I’d picked up on sale but hadn’t worn yet because of the snow. The boots had a high heel and I knew I’d regret it if I had to walk on any icy patches, but I liked how they made me feel powerful. I put on my makeup and had just finished straight-ironing my hair when I heard a knock on the door.
“Amazing,” I muttered to myself. For the first time in days, Beckett hadn’t bailed on me. By the time I reached the door, Beckett already had it open and had stuck his head inside.
“Anybody home?”
“Come in,” I called, while Laird greeted him with yips and excited jumps.
“Look at you,” Beckett said, nodding appreciatively. “You look ready to break some hearts. Love the boots.”
“I was going for sophisticated and powerful.”
“You nailed it. I’m impressed”. Beckett eyed me from head to toe. “You look sexy and on trend and not at all like a substitute math teacher. You’ve been paying attention. Very good.”
“You’re such an ass sometimes. You know that, right?” I laughed in response as I twirled around so he could see my back.