“I’ve been wondering,” Liv said. “What would’ve been less worse: Eliot dying or us having to deal with the affair. Of course, I’d do anything to bring him back, even if we weren’t together. For Ben, mostly. But sometimes—and I can’t believe I’m admitting this—I feel… relief that it happened. Because that choice was taken out of my hands.”
If Eliot hadn’t died and they’d had to deal with the affair, Liv would only have had her preconceived notion of being a scorned woman, a cuckolded wife, to deal with his betrayal. A role as calcified as their marriage had become. But because things happened in the weird way that they did, she’d come to see the incompatible side of her husband with fresher eyes. She met Sam’s gaze. The color of butterscotch pudding, focused entirely on her.
“So, here I am.”
“Dating.”
Liv screwed up her face. “Don’t say it.”
Sam chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a blood sport. Most women don’t want to date a guy with a kid.”
Liv finished the last bite of dessert. “I think most women just don’t want to get treated like an idiot.” She thought for a second. “Or raped.”
Sam choked. “Did you just say rape on our first date?”
Liv pushed the empty plate aside. “Okay. Here’s what you should know about me. I don’t suffer fools. I work all the time. I love my kid, and I will murder anyone who touches so much as a hair on his head. I don’t like women who speak in baby voices or men who think their dicks are some sort of passport to power or respect. And because women have been treated like second-class citizens since the dawn of time, yes, I will acknowledge the existence of rape.” She sat back in her chair. “So. Are we done?”
Sam chuckled, unfazed. “On the contrary.” He flagged their server down and ordered another round of port. “We’re just getting started.”
40
Zach found Darlene on the far corner of the patio, facing the pool. The light from under the water patterned her pretty face in shifting silver. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her and never stop. “Oh my God! You were amazing back there.”
She let out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure your parents hate me right now.”
“What? No! That was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” He let himself gaze into those clever dark eyes that could see right through him. At that lovely mouth that just said all those lovely things. He’d always tried to be open-minded and kind, but no one had ever reflected it back to him. It felt like there was no one in his life who challenged him, admired him, or believed in him as much as Darlene. “Thank you, Darlene.”
She smiled at him. “You’re welcome, Zach.”
The need to touch her built to a fever pitch. Zach jammed his hands in his pockets to stop him mauling her like a hungry beast. “So was that all just part of the act? Or do you actually think that about me?”
Darlene ran her tongue lightly across her bottom lip. “I think both are true.”
Stunned, happy disbelief billowed in his chest, puffing him up like a prize-winning peacock. Who cared if it was also for the money? Darlene Mitchell, world’s most perfect human, did not think he was a total and complete knob. She actually, maybe, liked him. As a person. Zach could not stop a smile spreading over his face. He inched a step closer.
She inched a step closer.
“My parents might be watching us,” Zach said. “So maybe we should kiss.”
Darlene laughed, her eyes bright and alive. “That is the creepiest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
And because she wasn’t flinching or backing away, he did what he’d been wanting to do all night. Lift a hand to skim her soft cheek. Find the small of her back and slowly move her closer, until they were pressed right up against each other. Thigh to thigh. Belly to belly. Skin to skin. A clenched, anxious part of him finally settled. She was in his arms. Where she was always meant to be. He could feel her heartbeat, loud and fast, echoing his own.
“God, Dee,” he managed, his words rough and unchecked. “You drive me crazy.”
She pulled his mouth toward hers until their lips were hovering, almost touching, and he saw stars and planets and distant galaxies. “You too,” she whispered, and then they were kissing.
Zach had kissed his fair share of women. Correction: Zach had kissed his unfair share of women. Like music, it was something he had both natural and practiced talent for. But kissing Darlene was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. There was so much passion in her body. Passion that wasn’t at all obvious when they weren’t kissing. But as soon as their lips connected, sensible, sweet Darlene turned into a sexy, insatiable vixen. If Zach was capable of conscious thought, he’d realize this transformation was not unfamiliar to him. Because who was the electric performer who could hold an audience’s attention, moving and grooving and owning the stage? The same girl in his arms, sucking his lower lip until he groaned against her mouth.
There was no one but Darlene. They must be together, like this, always, every day, every minute, every second. His hands found the curve of her ass, squeezing both cheeks. He was losing control, the embrace turning fiery. He wanted her, all of her, right here on the bloody pool deck. Why were there still so many of these damn clothes between them?
Darlene broke it off, panting a little. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m not a peep show.”
“Roger that.” No devouring Darlene in public, got it. He fought the urge to reach out for one more kiss.
A voice sung out from the back door. “Guys!” It was Imogene. “Dad wants to play canasta. Darlene, you’re on my team.”
The pair exchanged an amused look. They’d been summoned. Darlene did up her top button that had somehow become undone and straightened her dress. “How do I look?”
Zach pushed a hand through his hair, raking his eyes up and down her body as if he were a man about to lose his sight and it was the last time he’d ever get to see her. “Absolutely bloody gorgeous.”
41
Darlene played two hours of canasta with Zach and his family. No one said anything about her earlier outburst, but when Zach played the winning hand, his father offered a seemingly sincere well played to his son. Darlene intuited the Livingstones were still processing her statement and the fact she’d dared make it in the first place. Maybe that was why the game was especially, noticeably, boisterous. Now, on the road back to New York, Darlene turned to Zach and laughed. “That was all a bit…”
“Bonkers,” he said, both hands on the wheel. “I know. My family’s a lot.”
She relaxed into the passenger seat, feeling warm and a bit woozy from the wine. “Are they always so critical?”
“They’ve always treated me like a court jester, but the pressure to get a good job and date someone respectable”—he tossed her a grin—“is a new thing. Dad has high expectations. I mean, look at Imogene: killing it at work, marrying someone just as successful and brilliant as she is. They’re both Scorpios: talk about a power couple. Mum and Dad just want that for me too.”
She looked over at him, charmed. “When did you get into astrology?”