Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Perceptive of him, really.
Our work is cut out for us.
I need to bring my A-game if I want to keep this ruse going long enough to aid both our businesses.
"We did meet that way," I say. Is this our story? Or did we come up with a different one? My head is too full. I'm too bad at lying. But I know it's best to stick with the truth, so I shrug and lean into this particular part of the truth. "I won't lie." Too much. "We tried to come up with a better cover story. I was going to say a friend hired Romeo to help expand her business and work on the financial side. She’s another therapist. Who runs a podcast." All so close to the truth, yet so far. "But that's not true. We met at a bar. I was celebrating my divorce, with a friend, and he was with a friend of his. What was his name?"
"Alex," Romeo says. "You remember him? From school? He came to Thanksgiving once."
Amara nods. "The blond with the rich parents? What is he doing now?"
"He got a promotion," Romeo says. "That's why we were out. He's going to ask out a friend of his. He wanted my advice on creating a romantic atmosphere on a date."
"Romantic, huh?" Amara laughs in a knowing way. Since it's a certain kind of romance.
How much of this is true, I wonder?
"Then he saw Ivy's friend," Romeo says. "And he forgot all about his. What is wrong with men, huh?"
"Isn't your girlfriend telling the story?" Amara asks.
"I didn't know that part," I play along. "I thought you wanted to talk to me."
"I didn't mind," Romeo says. "A beautiful woman who looked like a professor. Look at those eyes. And those hips. But I was doing him a favor."
"We started talking." I try to play off him, like one of those couples who's madly in love. How do they look anyway? I imagine actors on a TV show. I move a little closer to Romeo. I try to smile in a shy way, as if I'm embarrassed by how much I like him, but I don't get there. So, I remember the way it really felt to meet him. How much I wanted him right away. How nervous I was. "I liked him immediately. He's charming. And handsome. His friend asked why we were there, and when I told him, well… I guess one thing led to another."
"And she only called me back because she left something at my place," Romeo says.
This time, I do blush. Because I wouldn't have called him back. Because I like the image of him pursuing me. "He convinced me to go on a second date. He said, at any point, I could leave, and he wouldn't question it. But he thought I'd want more if I got more. And, well, I did. I guess it's that simple."
"When was that?" she asks.
"Three months ago," I say before he can answer. "I got divorced a year ago… well, the process started about a year ago. It was finalized more recently. My friend and I were celebrating what would have been my wedding anniversary."
"Divorce," Amara says. "You didn't mention that, Romeo."
Romeo's eyes fill with surprise. He doesn't try to hide it. "What does that matter?"
"It doesn't." She says something to him in Italian.
He replies in kind.
She smiles at me, not at all selling her lack of concern. "It is a tragedy, isn't it, when a marriage ends?" She looks to the gold band on her left hand. "Technically, mine is over now. Until death. Daniel says I need to take this off one day. Move on. Date again. But… I'm sorry to interrupt your story." She shakes her head. "But I should tell you now, before your brother gets here. I don't want to overshadow his day."
Huh?
"I'm leaving," she says.
"What?" Romeo asks.
"Going home," she says. "Selling the house and retiring to a villa in Italy. The extra money will go to you and your brother. As wedding presents." She looks to me. "When the time comes."
His eyes fill with surprise, but he shakes it off quickly. “When were you going to tell me?”
“I’m telling you now,” she says, with finality. “I’ll miss you too, but it’s good news. I’ll be home. You’ll visit. And you’ll have the money you’ve always dreamed of. To really start a life with someone when the time comes.”
"Or start the business," he says.
"Caro mio, why always on the business? It's a childhood dream. Not all of those need to be fulfilled," she says.
A fire fills his eyes, but he doesn't object. "I can show you the business plan. It's all—"
"You know it's all Greek to me. But maybe… maybe I'll put the money in a trust early, and you can use it for whatever business you want. If the wedding goes well," she says.