It was far too easy to see why Peter had assumed she was here over a man. Because she had sat on this same barstool many other times as she bemoaned yet another failed relationship. Wendy had stated after her last breakup that she couldn’t understand why Gwen kept allowing history to repeat itself. The thing was, Gwen had no idea what she was doing wrong. It wasn’t like she was picking bad boys each time, knowing they’d screw her over. She dated men who, for the most part, were gainfully employed, educated, and stable. For some reason, they just never wanted to stick around—with her, that was. Several had gone on to marry shortly after leaving her and were now minivan-driving super dads. Heck, maybe she was a required course for men to take before they got married.
Wendy gestured impatiently for her to explain her latest dating disaster. Slumping her shoulders because she knew that her sister hated bad posture, Gwen told her about the first night with Dominic. She left out the fact that they’d had sex for pretty much the entire night. In this instance, it was better for Wendy to believe that she had lost her common sense only that first time and not her morals and inhibitions along with it. “So, everything had been going so well between us up until the last week. I mean, I tried to hold back and not get attached to him. . . .”
“But you are,” Wendy added quietly. “Honey, didn’t you think it might be a bad idea to get involved with someone at work? You’re going to have to see him every day. Think about how awkward that’s going to be now.”
Rubbing her watery eyes, Gwen asked, “So, you think it’s over?”
“Isn’t that why you’re here, Gwenie? You know that both Peter and I love you and we’re thrilled when you come to visit, but we’d sure like to see you happy sometimes when you’re here.”
Laying her head on the bar, Gwen relaxed as she felt Wendy begin to stroke her hair soothingly. They may be only a few years apart, but her sister had always been a mother figure in her life. Their mom was wonderful, but Wendy was the one Gwen turned to for advice and support. “I know I haven’t been with Dominic for long, but I—I love him, and more important, I love who I am when I’m with him. It’s like he only sees the best parts of me and nothing else. I’ve never been involved with a man who made me feel so good about myself.”
“You’ve never told me that you loved someone you were dating before,” Wendy said, sounding surprised. “I always thought that was strange, considering you were so upset when the relationships ended.”
“I think I was more upset over the fact that the same things kept happening to me than actually saying good-bye to the person I was dating. I know a woman shouldn’t define herself by a man’s opinion, but after a while, you have to start thinking that there is something wrong with you. I mean the whole ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ thing really doesn’t hold much water when it’s used more than a couple of times.”
“But it was them,” Wendy huffed out. “You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and have a big heart. Probably the only truthful words those jerks said to you was that it was them. A real, worthy man would kill to have you. These little wimpy shoot-heads of the past can take a flying leap off a tall building!”
“Shoot-head?” Gwen smirked. “Is that the same as shithead?”
Wendy picked up a placemat from the bar and threw it at her. “Yes, smartie. If I let myself become comfortable with tossing around curse words casually, before I know it, I will have dropped the F-bomb on some unruly student in my class and then my husband will be forced to fire me. Do you think I’d really give the man that much satisfaction?”
“Point taken,” Gwen agreed. For a moment, she let herself imagine being in a small classroom with Maddy and Megan all day. Of course, they’d more than likely be the ones doing the cursing.
Straightening her spine in what Gwen knew was her war pose, Wendy cracked her knuckles before saying, “All right, let’s figure out what to do about this guy who you’re in love with. You say that everything was great until the last week. Can you think of anything that was a turning point? And if your answer pertains to anything between the sheets, I don’t need to know details—well, unless they’re really good ones. . . .”
“I heard that,” Peter yelled from the other room. Both Gwen and Wendy covered their mouths as they giggled.
Gwen didn’t need to think about it. She knew when things had changed with Dominic. “Well, it started off when we watched Monster-in-Law.”
“Oh, I love that movie,” Wendy sighed. “You mean, he actually watched it? That’s a love story, so why would that have put him off?”
“I don’t know. Even though he grumbled a little at first, he seemed to really get into it. He was yelling at Jane Fonda’s character and shouting warnings to Jennifer Lopez. It was so unbelievably cute that I could barely concentrate. Then after it was over, it was like he was embarrassed or something. He couldn’t leave fast enough, which is unusual because he normally wants us to spend the night together, at either his place or mine. I think that was the first time that he clearly wanted to go—alone.”