The Best of Friends

by Susan Mallery

  Still on one knee, he opened the box and showed her the beautiful diamond ring nestled in dark purple velvet.

  It was a fairy-tale moment, she thought sadly, staring into his eyes. She loved him more than she had ever thought possible. If she said yes, she would have everything she’d ever wanted. And more.

  And it was the more that made the situation impossible.

  He’d gone to so much trouble to find the perfect house. He’d listened, which was a miracle, and remembered, which was even more amazing. He was caring, sweet, affectionate, and he’d waited long enough to be sure of what he wanted.

  Her. He wanted her.

  She reached for his hand and drew him to his feet. “I’ve had a crush on you since I was in high school,” she whispered. “I couldn’t seem to fall for anyone else because I kept comparing them to you, and they fell short of what I thought you would be. Then you came home and I broke my wrist and we actually got to know each other. You turned out to be even better than I’d imagined.”

  He smiled then, obviously happy with the words. He pulled the ring out of the box and reached for her hand.

  “No,” she said, tucking her hands behind her back. “I can’t marry you. I love you, David. Believe me, this is hard to say. There’s a voice in my head screaming that I can’t be doing this. I can’t let you go. Except I have to. I’m leaving, and I’m never coming back. It’s not just about the job. It’s about my life. I can’t live it in the shadow of your family.”

  His smile faded. “You won’t marry me because of my mother?”

  “In part. Because of her and Rebecca, but mostly because of me. Because of who I am around them. I’ve wanted to break free a dozen times. This is the only way.” She felt tears on her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I do love you.”

  “Not enough.”

  She thought about what life would be like with Elizabeth a scant five miles away. With Rebecca’s dramatics and Elizabeth’s pronouncements.

  “Your mother would never let this happen,” she continued. “She’d find a way to talk you out of it.”

  “If you believe that, you don’t think very much of me.”

  “Actually, I do. I think the world of you. I wish you the best.”

  “Don’t start,” he said, shoving the ring in his pocket. “Don’t tell me to be happy with someone else. That’s bullshit.”

  “No, David. That’s loving you.”

  She raised herself up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek, then walked out. She had a little trouble getting her car door open, probably because she was crying so hard. Then she started the engine and drove away. Back to the real world, where girls like her didn’t get the handsome prince, and the glass slipper never really fit.

  Twenty

  DAVID DROVE BACK TO the office, mostly because there wasn’t anywhere else to go. Getting on a plane was the easiest solution. Get on a plane and fly somewhere far and dangerous, and get lost for a few months. Then, when he was better, he would return and face all this.

  Except he didn’t want to be anywhere else, he just didn’t want to be here. Not without Jayne.

  He pulled into his underground parking space and took the elevator up to the office level. Dammit all to hell, how could she tell him she loved him, then walk away? Who did that? If she really loved him, she would…

  The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor, but he didn’t get out. They closed again.

  If she really loved him, she would change her life for him? Deal with Elizabeth? He knew his mother, and Jayne was right. Elizabeth wouldn’t accept the engagement graciously. She would do everything in her power to come between them. While he didn’t completely understand Jayne’s relationship with his mother, he knew it was complicated and difficult, and he understood that Jayne’s survival was at stake. She wouldn’t have uprooted her entire life otherwise.

  The elevator stopped in the parking garage again. When the doors opened, Marjorie Danes stepped on, looked at him, and glanced toward the closing doors. As if wondering why he didn’t get out.

  She was shorter than Elizabeth, and rounder. Not elegant, not expensively dressed. She looked close to her age—something remarkable when one was over forty in Beverly Hills. But there was a kindness in her eyes, and when she smiled, warmth filled the small space.

  “Do you hate me?” she asked by way of greeting. “You probably do, and I suppose you should. But I’m hoping we can put a time limit on that. I’d like to get to know you. Blaine can’t stop talking about you. He’s just so proud.” She paused as the elevator began to move. “I never meant to be the other woman.”

  She shrugged. “I’m not really other-woman material, you know. Blaine and I were friends for years. After my husband died, he helped me with my finances. Helped me to understand them, mostly. I liked him. He’s a good man. Funny, which was nice. It sort of evolved after that. Slowly. I knew I was in love with him, but he was married, and I was fine being in the background. Then one night he came to dinner and didn’t leave.”

  David flinched.

  She laughed. “Don’t worry. I promise not to discuss details. There are few things that can clear a room faster than talk of old-people sex.”

  They reached the fourth floor. This time David followed her out. She touched his arm.

  “I was happy with the affair. But one day Blaine said that he wanted more. That he wanted us to be together always. I’m not saying I don’t have responsibility. I do. I’ll take all of it. I’m saying we didn’t want to hurt anyone.” The smile faded. “Isn’t that what criminals always say? So that doesn’t work. I suppose I want you to know I’m sorry for the pain you and your family are going through. But I can’t be sorry I love Blaine. He’s a blessing, and at my age, you get pretty excited by blessings.”

  She paused in the middle of the hallway. “Now I’ve been doing all the talking. Mostly because I’m nervous. Do you want to say anything? You can call me a bitch if that would help. I won’t like it, but I’ll understand why.”

  Marjorie was earnest and sincere, David thought. Excluding Jayne, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d observed those two qualities in the same person. Looking at her slightly rumpled appearance, he understood Elizabeth’s rage and Rebecca’s confusion. But he also understood why Blaine had sought solace in her company. He could see exactly how friendship had blossomed into something more. He also believed that Marjorie would have accepted a long-term affair, but that his father could never treat the woman he loved that way.

  Elizabeth was the true victim, he reminded himself. The abandoned wife. While he felt sympathy for her, there was also a part of him that knew she had earned her fate.

  He bent down and kissed Marjorie’s cheek. “I look forward to getting to know you better.”

  She bit her lower lip. “That’s it? You don’t want to take me up on my offer to call me a bitch?”

  “Maybe later.”

  She smiled again, and this time it was bright enough to light the whole building. She practically glowed with happiness. David ignored the stab of envy, the one that told him he wanted what his father had—a chance with the woman he loved.

  Marjorie linked arms with him. “Blaine told me you’re dating Jayne Scott. She’s lovely. I’ve always enjoying talking to her. I go to the breast center where she works. A few years ago, I had a callback after a mammogram. Talk about frightening. I phoned Jayne, and she was so warm and helpful. She was there for my follow-up. She’s very professional, but kind. She made me feel better. It turned out to be nothing, but I’ve never forgotten how she reassured me.”

  The sense of emptiness and loss returned. He wanted to go somewhere and lick his wounds in private. He didn’t want anyone to know what had happened, yet he found himself saying, “I asked her to marry me.”

  Marjorie beamed at him. “How wonderful. Such babies you’ll have.”

  “She refused.”

  Marjorie stopped and faced him. “I find that hard to believe. I’ve seen her looking at you, David. Th
ere’s love in her eyes. She watches you like a woman who…” She blushed slightly. “Let’s just say I know the feeling.”

  “She’s leaving Los Angeles. Mostly because of my family. I understand the reasons, but if she loves me…” Back to that again. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t change my mother.”

  “Elizabeth would be a problem. Jayne isn’t at all the sort of daughter-in-law she had in mind. Now, one of Prince Andrew’s daughters might do for her, although they’re a little young for you.” Marjorie tilted her head. “Is Jayne’s largest objection Elizabeth? She doesn’t have any problems with you?”

  “Not that she said. She told me that she loves me but couldn’t live in the shadow of my family.”

  “Where is she going?”

  “Dallas.”

  “Texas,” Marjorie said with a sigh. “I have family there myself. Mostly in Houston, but a few cousins are in the Dallas area.”

  “She has a new job, and she’s sold her condo here.”

  “She sounds determined,” Marjorie said. “Someone who will stand up to you. You need that in a woman.”

  “It doesn’t do me much good if she’s twelve hundred miles away,” he growled.

  “No, it doesn’t.” She patted his arm. “Have you considered it’s not your family that’s the problem, but her proximity to them? Part of loving someone is wanting what is best for that other person. I would never have asked Blaine to leave Elizabeth. It wasn’t my place. I suspect Jayne would never ask you to change anything about your life for her. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come up with the idea on your own.”

  She was right, he thought, the pain easing enough for him to think. The problem was Elizabeth and, in part, Rebecca. Jayne was willing to move halfway across the country to escape his mother. Why couldn’t he do the same?

  “You’re brilliant,” he told Marjorie, then kissed her on the cheek again. “I need to talk to my dad.”

  “Of course you do. I’ll go downstairs and amuse myself looking at jewelry. Blaine wants me to pick out something for myself, and I’ve never found the time. Will an hour do?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  “Just invite me to the wedding.”

  “Promise.”

  Jayne emptied the last of her towels into the large box, then went hunting for more items to fill it. Packing was a whole lot more work than she’d realized. When she’d moved into her condo, she’d had almost nothing. A dozen boxes and an end table. Her possessions had grown since then.

  The movers were coming on Monday. She would get the last of her packing finished, then watch her stuff be loaded Monday morning, including her car. She would fly out first thing Tuesday morning and start her new life in Dallas. Honestly, the move couldn’t come soon enough.

  Her weekend of packing had started with a call from one of Elizabeth’s so-called friends wanting to know if the rumors were true. Had Blaine left Elizabeth for dowdy Marjorie Danes? Jayne had no way of knowing, not that she would have said anything if she had. Still, she couldn’t forget the question, and she wondered if it was possible. Marjorie had always been someone Jayne liked, and she had a feeling the other woman could make Blaine happy, but to leave Elizabeth after all these years? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  After lunch, she tackled the rest of the kitchen. She would live on takeout and use paper plates for the last twenty-four hours. About two o’clock her doorbell rang.

  For a second she thought about not answering it. She didn’t want to speak to Rebecca again or see Elizabeth. But when the bell rang again, she found herself dutifully walking toward the door and pulling it open.

  Her visitor was both better and worse than she’d imagined. Better, because it was impossible to look at David and not feel immediately better about everything, and worse, because there was no way she could be with him.

  He looked happy enough as he walked into her condo, leaned in, and kissed her. Then he glanced around.

  “You’re nearly packed,” he said. “I was hoping I could help. I wanted to get here sooner, but there was a lot to do. I should have sent someone over. Talk about being a clod. I’m sorry.”

  She cleared her throat. “That’s okay,” she said cautiously. “I didn’t expect you to help me leave town.”

  He looked happy, which was weird. And confident, which was expected. Her lips were still tingling from his kiss. She briefly wondered if he would be open to a farewell night of hot sex. Something for the road, so to speak. Dangerous, yes, but definitely worth it.

  “Can we sit down?” he asked.

  She motioned to the living room. “Help yourself.”

  He walked into the small space, but instead of sitting, he walked to the dining area, then back.

  “I’ve been to Dallas. That’s where I was most of the week. Blaine went with me. We looked at retail space and office buildings. It’s nice. I like it. Marjorie has a lot of family in Texas. Mostly in Houston, but she’s been to Dallas a lot. She showed us around. Have you had Tex-Mex? It’s great.”

  He wasn’t making any sense, she thought. “Why would you go to Dallas? And with Marjorie?” Oh. The rumors must be true. “Blaine left Elizabeth?”

  “Yes, and I think she’s the only one who’s surprised. It’s kind of strange being around my dad right now. He’s crazy about Marjorie. But it’s good, too. You know? For both of them.” He moved toward her. “I thought about what you said. About my family. I get it. You can’t stay here and be yourself, and I can’t convince you to try. But I still love you and want to be with you.”

  Talk about perfect and heartbreaking at the same time. “David, I—”

  “No. Let me finish. Blaine and I have found space for the offices. And the perfect retail spot opens at the end of the month. We’ll need about six months for renovation. And it will take a while for the company to move out, so I’ll have to go back and forth at first.”

  He stepped in front of her and took her hand in his. “Jayne, I love you. I’m not giving you up because of my mother. If you need to live in Dallas, then I’ll move there. Worden’s can be run from anywhere in the world. Blaine and Marjorie are coming as well, but I didn’t think either of them was the problem.”

  She stared into his eyes, not sure what to think. What to believe. The words made sense individually, but when strung together as a sentence or a thought, they were unintelligible.

  “You’re moving the company?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “For me?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. I love you.”

  He kissed her then, his mouth warm and firm, yet gentle. It was as if he put all his love into that kiss. Warmth washed over her and through her, heating her from the inside.

  “I want to be wherever you are,” he said. “It’s not about location. It’s about you and me. I’d do anything for you, Jayne. Just tell me what you want.”

  Talk about impossible to refuse, she thought, as she flung herself to him and hung on, vowing never to let go. The enormity of what he was doing stunned her, as did the proof of his love.

  “You’re the best man I’ve ever known,” she whispered.

  “I know.”

  She laughed, then found herself crying, then kissing him because that made the most sense.

  “You’ll marry me?” he asked after a few minutes. He was already guiding her back toward the bedroom.

  “Yes.”

  “In Dallas?”

  “Anywhere but here.”

  “Good.” He grinned and pulled the diamond engagement ring out of his pocket. “This is for you. But only if you promise to take your clothes off.”

  She laughed. “I seem unable to tell any Worden no.”

  “Lucky me.”

  Rebecca drove around the city until she was lost. As Los Angeles covered hundreds of square miles she’d never explored, that didn’t take long. The streets got more narrow, the houses smaller. There were beat-up cars on blocks and graffiti covering houses.

&nb
sp; Every few miles she made random turns, not sure where she was going or what she would do when she got there. She only knew she couldn’t go home.

  Her phone rang again, but she didn’t answer it. Only one person called these days. Her mother. Elizabeth wanted them to live together in the Worden house and have part of it converted to a studio where Rebecca could work. Elizabeth wanted to take over her marketing, to run the Rivalsa brand, as she had taken to calling it.

  David and her father had left nearly two weeks ago, for Dallas, of all places. Elizabeth had told her. They were moving the whole company there and settling permanently. Marjorie Danes had gone as well. Blaine had given Elizabeth permission to live in the house in Beverly Hills. He was being financially generous in the divorce, something that made Elizabeth both grateful and bitter.

  Neither her father nor her brother had called her, Rebecca thought sadly. Blaine had sent her a brief e-mail telling her that she was no longer a part of the new line of jewelry, but that Worden’s would be happy to keep selling her more expensive pieces. Lucky her.

  She hadn’t heard from Nigel, either. He’d been scared away by whatever threats Blaine and David had delivered. Or perhaps Ariel had been the one to push him into line.

  But of all of them, the person she missed most was Jayne. She knew her friend was gone and didn’t think there was any way to get her back. She’d lost Jayne because she’d been stupid and selfish and mean. She’d been a horrible friend. Worse, she’d hurt the one person who had always mattered the most.

  At the next intersection, she saw a small church off to the right. She noticed it because it was freshly painted in a neighborhood of dull and broken buildings. There were flowers in front, and a sign posted in the grass welcoming everyone to a list of activities.

  Between choir practice, Bible study, the women’s group, teen challenge, and regular services, the church was a busy place. Impulsively, Rebecca turned into the lot and parked her car.

  There was a group of boys playing basketball. They stopped and stared at her for a few minutes, then one of the smaller kids ran inside. Rebecca hoped she hadn’t scared him. She just needed a minute to figure out what to do next.