Duncan had been perfect, and I’d wondered what the catch might be.
Little had I known, it was a catch that threatened to tear our relationship apart.
Duncan
The evening played over and over again in my head.
“This has to be some kind of fucked-up joke,” Andrew had said, shaking his head in disbelief. “And if so, it’s not fucking funny in the slightest.”
“It’s not a joke, Andrew. Annie and I are seeing each other.”
Another disbelieving head shake. “You’re seeing each other. Isn’t that cute? And how did that happen? You just happened to meet the woman I dated for years? Out of all the women in Denver, you had to find the only one I was in love with.”
“You were in love with her?” I asked, surprised. “From what I’ve heard, you had a funny way of showing it.” I’d winced internally as soon as I said the words, knowing I’d gone too far.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Andrew asked, standing up slowly.
I’d known at that moment I had two choices – to double down or cool my heels. Of course, I’d made the wrong call.
“Andrew, the moment you found success as a lawyer, you stuck her in a drawer and totally forgot about her. Then you broke up with her like she meant nothing. Was I really supposed to believe she was off-limits?”
He opened his mouth to speak. But as if thinking better of it, closed his mouth and shook his head. “I’m not even going to get into it with you right now. Here I am, thinking I was going to have a nice evening meeting your new girlfriend and this is how it turns out. Fucking incredible. You couldn’t have at least given me a heads-up?”
“I thought about it,” I’d said. “Trying to figure out the best way to tell you. And this is what I decided.”
“You decided the best thing to do would be to drop it in my lap like this? Fucking great. And what about her? Was she in on this too?”
I shook my head. “No, she had no idea. I’m pretty sure she’s just as pissed at me as you are.”
He was steamed – no doubt about it. He didn’t say another word to me. Instead, he’d turned to the bartender, ordered a shot of whiskey, and threw it back the moment it was placed it front of him. Then he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shaking his head as he turned toward me.
“This is some underhanded shit,” he accused. “Can’t believe my own brother would do me dirty like this.”
“It was a tough situation,” I said. “But you have to believe me when I say it was hard, Andrew. She’s not just some woman I’m having a fling with. She really means something to me.”
He snorted. “And that’s supposed to make this better?” He waved his hand through the air. “Whatever. I’ve got enough on my plate right now, and this is the last thing I want to deal with.”
He blew past me and out of the bar. Once alone, I’d taken a seat, ordered a beer, and started thinking about the whole thing. And the thinking had gone on into the next day in my office.
I didn’t have time for it. I had several meetings, calls to make, doctors to hire. And that was all on top of my normal duties as an MD.
I’d done what I had in hopes of bypassing all of this, getting the drama over as quickly as possible so we could call move on. But the more I considered my decision, the more it seemed like I’d done the opposite.
The look on Annie’s face when she’d realized who my brother was stuck with me. She was shocked and betrayed and confused. No wonder she’d decided the only thing to do was to get the hell out of there.
She hadn’t answered any of my calls or texts. It’d been silly to think she’d be receptive to anything I had to say last night. But we still needed to talk. And it had to happen soon.
I sighed, thinking about the fact that Annie didn’t know the really important bit of information that I’d held back, that I’d known they were a couple, that I hadn’t been as surprised as they’d been.
And I hoped she’d never find out.
But the more time I spent with her, the more certain I was that she was the one, plain and simple. I could only hope the strings attached wouldn’t undo us both.
Busying myself with work, five o’clock rolled around sooner than I’d expected. I needed to talk with Annie, which wasn’t going to be easy.
After stopping by the local florist to grab a bouquet, I swallowed my nerves and headed to her place. There was a good chance she’d ignore me, that she’d decided it was too much to deal with, that I’d put her in a position that was too uncomfortable.
But I had to take that chance.
When I arrived, I stepped out, flowers in hand, and walked to her door. After a deep breath, I pressed the button for her apartment without getting an answer. I pressed it again.
Nothing.
I deserve this, I thought. I’ll be lucky if she ever talks to me again.
“Hello?” her voice cut through the quiet of the evening.
“Annie. Is that you?”
“What do you want?” Her tone was sharp.
“I want to talk to you about what happened last night.”
“I bet you do. And what makes you think I want to hear about it?”
“Because… because I didn’t know. I had no idea who my brother was to you. And I’ve been kicking myself ever since it all went down. Please, just give me the chance to apologize in person.”
Silence followed. Then, after several moments, the lock clicked open. Relief washed over me. I opened the door and hurried up the stairs, giving her door a knock when I arrived.
A crack appeared, but Annie wasn’t there. She’d simply opened the door and expected me to come inside. I pushed the door open and entered. Annie was seated at her kitchen table, her eyes on her laptop in front of her. She didn’t even glance up as I entered.
“Hey, I—” I didn’t finish the sentence. She held up her hand as if I’d rudely interrupted the work she was doing.
“Give me a sec.” She kept on typing, her eyes locked onto the screen. It was clear what she was doing – Annie was making me wait, making me sweat. I deserved it.
I caught sight of an instrument case on her coffee table. For lack of anything to do after putting the flowers in a nearby empty vase, I stepped over to the case and opened it. Inside was a violin.
“Don’t touch that,” she said, her tone quick and direct. “It’s expensive. I don’t want you being careless and breaking something valuable.”
The double-meaning of her words weren’t lost on me.
After a short time, she finished what she was typing, closed her computer, and finally turned her attention to me. “Alright,” she said, running her hand through her hair and letting out a sigh. “What’s up?”
“Like the flowers?” I asked.
She glanced at them. “They’re nice. Thanks. Anyway…” She twisted her hand in the air in a get on with it gesture.
“Last night,” I said. “That…I didn’t know.”
Confusion flitted across her face. “Oh, you didn’t know that your brother happened to be the man I moved here to get away from? Just a small detail you hadn’t noticed along the way?”