After a long silence, he finally said, “My father told me I had to marry you. I had to find some way to get you back. He said if I didn’t, I could forget getting promoted in the family business.”
The family business, she knew, was one of the top money management firms in the area. His father was CEO and Ethan had been in the business since he graduated college, being groomed for an executive level position. She hadn’t realized his father controlled that much of his life.
And now that she thought about it, she wondered if her mother had something to do with it too. I ran into his mother at the country club... Her words came flooding back to her and it all made sense.
“My mother says she can’t show her face at the country club,” he continued, staring down into his coffee. “Like she’s disgraced or something.”
“I guess they were tired of your porno girlfriends, then, huh?” Marion said. “Is that what Graeme was going to tell me?”
His head snapped up. First shock then rage filtered over his features. Those brown eyes widened and then narrowed. And she wasn’t the least bit frightened of that look anymore.
“No, he didn’t tell me,” she said before he could say a word. “I didn’t give him a chance. I wish I had and I won’t make that same mistake again.” She stood up, then, looking at him for the last time. “We’re finished, Ethan. Forget my number and don’t ever come looking for me again. Got it?”
As she walked away from the Bonjour Café, he shouted at her back, “He’ll never be good enough for you, Marion!”
A weight had finally been lifted. Closure. She had it and was free.
Chapter Eighteen
The only person in the world that would love her victory as much as Marion did was Delilah. Unfortunately, she was too embarrassed to call her despite the fact she owed her a huge apology. There had never been this type of silence between the two of them and it hurt. She held her cell phone in her hand and looked at her address book numerous times.
Two days passed since the morning she told Ethan to screw off. Finally, Marion sucked it up and called Delilah late in the afternoon. She needed to apologize. It wasn’t worth losing her friend.
“Mar,” Delilah answered, her tone cool.
“Hi,” she said. She didn’t want to admit she was a bundle of nerves. “I was thinking maybe we could meet for coffee?”
There was a pause, and for a moment Marion thought she would turn her down. But surely her friend would realize she was trying to reach out to her.
“At this late hour of the day?”
“Sure, why not?” Marion said, casually.
“Mar, you know what it’ll do to my nerves,” Delilah said.
She could definitely sense the brush-off. “There’s always decaf.” Another long silence and she huffed. “I’m trying to make amends so please don’t make this harder on me. Meet me for girl talk and a big fat apology, okay?”
“Where do you want to meet?”
She tugged on her lower lip. Where, indeed? They needed to mix it up and try something different.
They needed the Bitter End Coffee House. Bingo!
“The Bitter End in downtown. Do you know where that is?”
She gave Delilah directions and they set a time. When she hung up, she knew she was headed to the Bitter End for a reason other than meeting Delilah. And that reason was a six foot, blue-eyed one named Graeme.
* * * * *
Marion got to the Bitter End first and ordered a large latte. She sipped it while she waited and perused the latest array of magazines on a nearby table.
Not long after that Delilah arrived looking stunning. Her long strawberry blonde hair was pulled back in a sleek low ponytail. She wore a turquoise off-the-shoulder top and faded blue jeans with turquoise strappy sandals which, Marion knew, would be some big name couture like Christian Louboutin or Manolo Blahnik.
“Mar,” she greeted with a nod.
“So what are they?” she pointed to her shoes. “Louboutin or Manolo?”
“Giuseppe Zanotti,” Delilah answered. She still regarded her coolly.
“Right.” Marion dragged her bottom lip through her teeth before launching into her planned apology. “Delilah, I’m a total bitch.” When her friend started to agree, she held up her hand. “I have a speech and if you talk, I’ll forget. You were so right about everything. Ethan is an asshole and I broke it off with him. I told him to forget he knows me. I’m so sorry about everything. Can you forgive me?”
Delilah bit her lip, mulling it over. She could see the look of I told you so in her emerald green eyes.
“Go ahead. You know you want to.”
“I told you so.” Delilah smiled broadly then. “And I forgive you. You know I can’t stay mad at you.” She put her arm around Marion’s neck and hugged her hard. “Besides, we’re best friends. There’s no sense in ruining a good fifteen year friendship over some dumb boy.”
She laughed. “You’re right.” Though she wasn’t sure if she meant Graeme or Ethan.
“What about Graeme? Now that you’ve come to your senses, I’m assuming you’re getting back together with him.”
“I don’t know yet. I thought maybe you could help me work that out. But first, I want to buy you a coffee.”
Delilah settled for the coffee of the day with an espresso shot. As they stood at the cream and sugar bar, Marion watched her pour packet after packet of sugar into her coffee.
“I’ve never quite understood why you like your coffee that sweet,” she said.
“Hey, I like a little coffee with my sugar.” Delilah reached for the cream. Marion watched as she poured enough to turn the coffee a light taupe.
“Blech,” she said, staring at the concoction.
“I know, I know. And I like a lot of cream too. It’s the mixture, Mar. The mixture.”
“And it tastes good?”
“It’s my thing, okay?”
They headed for a quiet corner where they both curled up in the oversized leather furniture—Delilah in a chair and Marion on the love seat. As they sat, she held her half-empty latte in both hands and scanned the coffee house looking for Graeme and hoping she’d spot him. No such luck.
“I shouldn’t have said those things to you in the bathroom,” she said. “I didn’t mean them.”
“I know you didn’t.” Delilah sipped her drink. “And enough lamenting over it already. Why don’t you tell me why you really agreed to meet Ethan that night?”
“I wanted closure.” she shrugged. “I thought maybe if I got him alone long enough to talk to him, I could get over it and finally move past the entire break up.”
“Not the brightest of plans,” her friend said. “But then you had no idea I would be dragging Graeme there.”
“No, I didn’t.” She winced, remembering the encounter. She ached for him and wished she had been in her right mind to listen to him. “I love him, Del. I really do.”
“I hope you mean Graeme and not that other slimy bastard.”
She laughed, happy to be back on good terms with her best friend. “Yes, I mean Graeme.”
Delilah looked thoughtful. “So when did you tell Ethan to shove off? Because I saw him bolt from the restaurant before you came back from the bathroom.”
“A couple of days ago.”
Delilah’s eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up.
“He called me the next day and woke me up from a sound sleep. Said he wanted to talk to me about that night and that whatever Graeme said about him wasn’t true.”
“What did Graeme say about him?” she asked, hanging on the edge of every word.
“That’s just it. Graeme never mentioned Ethan to me. In fact, I didn’t let him do a lot of talking.” She couldn’t stop from glancing at the door every time a new customer walked in. “Anyway, I was curious. I figured since I didn’t get my closure at the restaurant, I could that morning.”
“You agreed to meet him?”
“Yes, at the Bonjour Café. He was already wa
iting for me when I got there. He finally came clean about all this getting back together business. He said his father told him if he didn’t marry me, then he would lose his promotion in the family business. He also said his mother couldn’t show her face in the country club. I guess rumors are flying.”
“Aha!” Delilah exclaimed. “I knew that rat bastard had ulterior motives.”
“I suppose he needed a respectable wife instead of a porn star. So I told him Graeme never mentioned any of that to me. You should have seen the look of horror on his face when he realized I didn’t even know and he’d spilled his guts.”
She laughed. “Damn! I wish I could have been there to see that.”
“It was priceless.” Marion smiled. “Anyway, then I told him to stay away from me.”
“Good for you, Mar. I’m proud of you, girl, for standing up to him. Finally! Jesus, it only took you two years.”
“I’m glad it’s over.” She ran her finger around the rim of the cup, still scanning the coffee house for her handsome painter. “Now I don’t know what to do about Graeme. At the restaurant, he said he had his reasons for ignoring me at the gallery that day.”
“But he didn’t tell you?”
“No. He told you, though.”
“He wants to tell you himself and I think he should. It’s not my place.”
“Delilah, we’ve never kept secrets.”
“It’s not a secret,” she said quickly. “It’s news Graeme needs to tell you. Trust me on this.”
“All right.” Marion huffed out a breath, defeated. “He never told me he loved me.”
“He was hurting for you. And you two are both too stubborn to kiss and make up.”
“Not the New Marion. I’m going to call him.”
“Good!”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“Come on, Del. Help me. You’re the one that knows how to talk to men.” Another patron entered and she glanced over to see if it was him.
“Ha!” Delilah grinned broadly. “You give me too much credit, Mar.”
“But—”
“Okay, listen.” She put down her cup and leaned forward. “If you really want to get him back, I suggest you put aside your pride and ego and you tell him exactly how you feel. If you really are the New Marion, you’ll go after him if you really love him like you say. And who do you keep looking for?”
She blinked. “Nobody.” She focused her attention on Delilah and swiftly changed the subject. “Should I go to his place?”
“Meet him on neutral ground if it makes you feel better.” She grabbed her cup and leaned back into the cushioned chair.
The mere thought of calling Graeme and asking him to coffee or drinks or whatever made her stomach knot. It made her want to throw up. Or maybe that was still the emotional hangover she had from her crying jag.
She mulled it over. Would he even give her a chance after her awful behavior? She could imagine it now…calling him up and him answering.
“What am I going to stay to him?” It was more of a rhetorical question and one she wanted Delilah to answer.
But Delilah answered nonetheless. “What about… ‘Can we forget about the other night? I was a total idiot and by the way, I love you.’?”
“No,” Marion said, shaking her head. “That’s lame.” And it didn’t sound like something she’d say anyway. “How about, ‘Graeme, I love you. Can we start over?’”
Delilah giggled. “And he’d say, ‘Marion, I love you. Thank God you lost that loser!’”
They shared a laugh. As Delilah glanced up, she froze. Her eyes wide with shock.
“Oh.My.God,” Delilah breathed and reached for her. She clamped a hand on her arm.
“Ow!”
But she followed her gaze to see what Delilah saw…and nearly fainted. Graeme walked through the door. It was as though the Universe heard their conversation—and her thoughts—and was playing a sick joke on her. She never expected him to show up. It was only wishful thinking. Well, she got her wish.
Marion’s throat constricted, her breath hitched. There he was, standing at the counter, looking as though he just rolled out of bed. His shirt was untucked and wrinkled, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had on a pair of faded jeans and black boots. She could see paint still on his hands. He hadn’t shaved and his cheeks looked scruffy.
He had been painting.
She sighed wistfully.
“Mar, now’s your chance.”
“Are you nuts? I look like hell.” She fussed with her hair, smoothing her hand over the locks and reaching for her handbag. Digging through it, she came up with her compact and checked her eye make-up, smudging away any smears.
“He doesn’t look much better,” Delilah pointed out.
And she was right. He didn’t. He looked like death warmed over.
“I can’t.”
“Sure you can.” She stood up then. “Hi, Graeme!”
“What in God’s name are you doing?” Marion said through gritted teeth.
It was too late. Graeme looked over, shock making his face pale a sickly gray shade. Delilah waved cheerfully and ran over to him, taking him by the hand. He gave her a wary look then glanced at Marion with that same wary look.
It made those knots in her stomach tighten even more.
And then, to her utter horror, Delilah took Graeme by the hand after picked up his coffee and headed toward her!
Oh, God. Oh, God. OH, GOD!
“Look, Mar. It’s Graeme. Can you believe it? What a coincidence, huh?”
And suddenly something clicked inside her. With the great big grin on Delilah’s face, she knew she had planned it. She’d deal with that later. Right now, she couldn’t speak. She and Graeme stared at each other in shocked silence. Clearly, neither expected to see the other.
“You kids have a lot of catching up to do. So, I’m just going to grab my bag and scoot.”
“You’re leaving?” Marion shot to her feet, panic welling inside her. She couldn’t be alone with Graeme. Not yet. She wasn’t ready!
“Mar, it’s getting late and I have a very busy day tomorrow. I told you that.” She picked up her coffee. “A manicure, a pedicure, a facial. Shopping.”
“But tomorrow is Wednesday,” she pointed out crossly.
“I’m taking the day off,” Delilah said and flashed a bright smile. She could always think fast on her feet, damn her. She leaned toward her to hug Marion good-bye then whispered, “Take pictures of the make-up sex.”
“Delilah!”
“See you crazy kids later!”
And before she could protest, Delilah was out the door, leaving Graeme standing there in front of her looking uncomfortable. Marion sat, sinking into the soft leather, and reaching for her cup again. He never took his eyes off her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I came for a latte.” She held up the nearly empty cup. “I never expected to see you here.”
Okay, that was a teensy lie. She hoped she’d see him. It was exactly why she picked the place. After all, he lived within walking distance. The odds of him showing up were good. He continued to stare at her with red-rimmed eyes. Perhaps he hadn’t been sleeping well, like her.
“You look like shit, Graeme.”
“I feel like shit,” he agreed.
Was he waiting for an invitation? Why did he keep standing there? Finally, she waved to the chair next to her. “Want to sit and talk?”
He hesitated, indecision flashing across his face, before he conceded. He put his cup on the table in front and then propped an ankle on his knee. She could see splotches of red and blue paint on his hands.
“Been painting?” she asked.
“Yes.” His voice sounded gruff and he didn’t elaborate.
So she tried again. “Been having a few late nights then, huh?”
“Mmm.” He reached for his cup, taking a sip.
She huf
fed her frustration. “Graeme, I’m working my ass off here. You want to help me out?”
“What do you want from me? You didn’t want to hear anything I had to say the other night. Should today be any different?”
Ouch. His words stung and cut deep. She tried not to wince, but couldn’t help it. He was right. Why should she expect him to do that for her? Repairing the damage she’d done might be harder than she thought.
Tears stung her eyes and she swallowed hard, trying to keep them at bay. She took a sip of cold coffee to busy her hands.
“You’re right,” she whispered, staring into her lap. “If I could take it all back, I would. All of it. But I can’t. The best I can do is tell you I’m sorry and hope you forgive me.”
“I forgive you.” His voice was dark and rough around the edges.
He hadn’t even hesitated when he spoke. As though he was ready and willing to accept her apology. She looked up, met his piercing blue gaze and her heart melted a little. He looked awful, for sure, but she knew under all that stubble and fatigue was the handsome man she had fallen in love with. She couldn’t help but smile. She loved him. Maybe she always did a little.
“What?” he asked, his brows knit. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
She couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet. So instead she opted to veer left. It was her little way of saving herself from rejection.
“I couldn’t bear thinking you were angry with me. It hurt so much. And I really couldn’t bear seeing you with Delilah.” She blinked away the tears and swallowed hard. She wanted to get through this without being emotional.
He reached for his coffee, took a sip and looked at her thoughtfully. She could only wonder what was going on in that head of his.
“You think I liked seeing you with Ethan?”
“No.” She kept her eyes down, not wanting to see his fiery gaze. She was afraid he would be looking at her the way he had before when he was so angry. When he shoved her against the wall and—
“He’s using you as leverage to get what he wants from his father. That’s all.”
“I know,” she said. “He told me everything.” He interrupted her thoughts, thank goodness. She didn’t want to think about their interlude at the bathrooms of Kiyoshi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. At the time, it had never occurred to her they might get caught.
Take Me I'm Yours (Coffee House Chronicles) Page 18
