Page 32 of Lucas & Melissa Falling in Love
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to end our affair, should have let it peak and run its course. One night hardly counted as an affair, did it? More like a one-night stand. Or it would have been if it hadn’t been for our trip to Cold Spring. We hadn’t made love again, but we’d bonded somehow, in too short a time together.
Returning to the guest room, I shivered and settled under the goose down comforter where I’d spent that night with Lucas, knowing I would dream about him.
And I did, all night long.
* * *
After only twodays of phone calls and a half dozen refusals of George’s offer of a job at Regal Corporation in their finance office, I landed a job at CitiCorp in their commercial lending department. I would start first thing the following Monday, January third. Burton may be an insecure snob, but I decided he wasn’t so mean after all when he’d easily recommended me for the job at his company and hadn’t put up a macho fuss when he’d found out I was dating Willie. I’d just received the email from Burton with the job offer as I was having morning coffee with Margo and George.
I raised my coffee cup and said, “Thank you Burton.” Then I took a bracing swig.
“This is cause for a real celebration,” Margo insisted after I announced the news. “Let’s go shopping. I’ll buy you something new and decadent to wear for your date with Willie. Do you know where you’re going for dinner?”
Trying to squeeze my mind shut to the thought that Lucas had called me decadent once, I automatically said no.
“I’m not letting you buy me a thing. Leave a girl some pride. Besides, I still have good credit, albeit reduced limits on all my cards. I’ll buy myself a new dress.”
“How about your work wardrobe?” Margo read my mind as it scanned what I had left and it was meager, barely enough to get me through the first week.
“You’re right. I’ll need some banker suits. But I’m buying everythingmyself.”
“So now you’re going to become aterribly interestingbanker?” She teased me using Lucas’s line, but I could tell it was partly a test.
I laughed. It was a good imitation of resigned good-humor, but I felt the crack in my heart.
“That’ll be me for the duration. Until I save up some money, make contacts, work my way up. Then I’m thinking hedge fund manager or venture capitalist.”
“Hey, slow down,” George said as he stood, still wearing his robe, to pour himself more coffee. He gestured to ask if anyone else needed a refill. We didn’t. He re-joined us at the kitchen table. “You might have better things to do in a few years. Like me and Margo.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Margo blushed her pretty pink blush and my stomach dropped to the soles of my suede boots.
“Are you—?”
“NO, no, I’m not,” Margo rushed her words. “But we did decide to start trying for a baby. I’m so excited. And nervous, Lissy.”
I hugged her and my heart beat fast. I was happy, the grin automatically formed on my face, a real one.
“Wow, maybe we should be celebrating you—”
“Not yet. Don’t jinx it. Today is your day. The start of round two of Melissa Cooper, young, cool, beautiful and successful professional.” She raised her mug of coffee and I clinked with her. George reached in and clinked too.
“I hear Willie is taking you somewhere special tonight.” He gave me that mischievous look he had, boyish and charming and totally innocent.
How would he know that it tied my stomach in knots to think about a special date with Willie? And not in that good anticipation way.
Willie was no Lucas.Damn, was I going to forever compare worthy men to a flash affair with an Uber driver?
Maybe it was true I didn’t have that spark with Willie—yet. But it might develop, over time. Willie had everything else I wanted, didn’t he? He was nice, fun and good-looking and he worked in a corporate job in the contracts division of the Regal Empire. He was well-off and smart and ambitious and knew all the same people I knew. And if I made it work with him, I’d really be part of the Regal family, part of Margo and George’s family.
I would belong legitimately to that Big Apple high society where I knew my birth father had belonged. Where I would have grown up if he hadn’t given me up, made my birth mother give me up all those years ago.
* * *
Willie tookme to Tavern on the Green in Central Park, which was lit up and still adorned with spectacular holiday regalia. If that wasn’t enough of a sweep-me-off-my-feet gesture, he picked me up in a limo.
“It’s the company limo, but George insisted. You know how he is.”
“Yeah. A romantic all the way.” I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or miffed that the limo had been George’s idea. It was troubling that George seemed to be as interested in me dating Willie as Willie was. I knew George was worried about Willie being disappointed if I wasn’tthe one, and to a lesser extent, Margo would be disappointed too. But Margo was more worried about me.
