I nodded, thinking about the gorgeous bouquet of yellow orchids that had been delivered to my office, along with a handwritten apology, both of which I’d wanted to chuck into the trash, but for some reason, couldn’t bring myself to. I had plenty of anger about the way Avery had disparaged me and my business, but in the midst of that was a confusing amount of hurt. It wasn’t as if we actually meant anything to each other. We were two people who met at a wedding and had a one-night stand. There was nothing special, nothing life-alteringly different about that.
So why couldn’t I get him off my mind? For one, I was off the whole ‘love’ thing. It wasn’t happening, wasn’t for me. Second, Avery wasn’t a one-woman man, which was indisputable. Nevertheless, he’d definitely done a heck of a job of making me feel like I was the only one in the world during our time together. Maybe that was the problem. The divorce, and the events leading up to it had left me feeling vulnerable, and susceptible to Avery’s well-rehearsed act.
But could anyone act that well?
I was confused about most of the things I was feeling, but I could say with certainty the intense connection we’d shared that night wasn’t something that could be faked. And that was… terrifying. The whole purpose of spending the night with Avery had been to free my mind, so I could move forward from my divorce openly, honestly, and happily single. However, that’s not what was happening. Instead of feeling fierce, and free… if I didn’t know better, I would swear I was heart broken, and not over my cheating husband.
“So you’re gonna sit here and ignore me?”
My head popped up when I realized Des was talking to me, and if her raised eyebrow was any indication, she had been for a while. “I’m sorry, Des. I wasn’t ignoring you, I zoned out. Can you repeat what you said?”
“I said, enough about my idiot brother, I want to know what happened between you and Rafael. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Groaning, I leaned back in my chair, trying to think of a way to avoid turning this into an argument. “Come on, Des, you know how you are. You would have gone into full on super-protective-friend mode, and you wouldn’t have been able to focus on your wedding. I wasn’t about to do that to you. Besides, I’m fine. My marriage was over well before I signed those documents… hell, before it began. Like you said, you told me Rafael wasn’t going to do right, and I should have believed you. But I’m okay.”
“So, are you gonna start dating again?” Des asked, not looking convinced.
I lifted my head to grimace. “Absolutely not. I’m done for sure this time. No exceptions, no special circumstances, I’m done. I’ve gotta accept my fate.”
“Your fate?”
“Mmhmm. I think I’m just one of those women that are meant to be single, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I like helping people meet their match, so I’m going to live vicariously through you guys, and avoid the headache.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Why not?” I shrugged, throwing my hands up in defeat. “It’s the truth.”
“It’s not. You deserve love like anybody else.”
“Can we talk about something else, Des? How was the honeymoon?”
“Don’t you ‘how was the honeymoon’ me. I want to know how on earth you ended up telling Avery about the divorce before you told me.”
I blew out a heavy breath before I lied. “We ended up talking at the reception, and I was a little emotional, so it came out. It wasn’t a big deal. I had just signed the papers before I left for the Maldives, so it was still fresh, and I needed to vent. Obviously I chose the wrong person for that, since he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
“Well, at least somebody told me. I can’t belie— ”
“Again, how was your honeymoon?”
Desiree paused for a second to roll her eyes before answering. “The honeymoon was beautiful, but the wedding isn’t the most exciting thing that’s happened this month.” She stopped, sitting back in her chair with a teasing smile.
“Oh, come on Des, spill the beans. What are you talking about?” I urged, resting my elbows on the desk. I was happy for the change of subject.
“Well,” Desiree started, crossing her legs in a dramatic flair. “The day we got back from the honeymoon, I didn’t feel well. I figured it was jet lag or something, so I didn’t think anything of it. Well, then I realized my cycle was super late, but I hadn’t noticed because I was so busy with the wedding, and—”