Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121054 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
I felt a little sick to my stomach. Valerie was the mother of his child, but Elizabeth was the woman he’d married. He’d felt the same way about her then as he felt for me now. And it had all ended.
“Hey, can you promise me something?” I asked, and without waiting for an answer, I blurted, “I don’t want to ever run into you with your new girlfriend. I think it would literally kill me.”
“Oh, darling, why would you say something like that?” He looked at me then darted his eyes quickly back to the road. “I’m about to marry you.”
“Yeah, but you married Elizabeth,” I reminded him. “I just want to know that I’m never going to be the woman standing on the sidewalk, seeing her ex-husband with his fiancé and trying not to cry in public.”
“Obviously, neither of us can predict the future. I certainly didn’t intend to divorce Elizabeth. But I am more in love with you than I have ever been with anyone else. If something wants to break us up, I’ll fight it tooth and claw.” He swore at the light that turned red just before he reached it.
Even with the caveat about not being able to predict the future, that was a comfort.
“Do you wish things had worked out between you and Elizabeth?” I asked. I braced myself for any answer, because I honestly didn’t know what I would hear. After a lot of therapy, Neil had finally stopped lying to me about his emotions.
“No.” There was no hesitation. “I’m glad they went the way they did, because it would have been quite messy if we were still married and I’d found you again at Porteras.”
“I wouldn’t have fucked my married boss, for one,” I said dryly.
“I wouldn’t have been married for long.”
The light changed, and we were off, as though we were pulling away from that very important, very emotionally confusing statement.
“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously.
“I would have left Elizabeth,” he said, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. I gaped at him, unable to form a response. He took advantage of the silence to explain further. “The moment I saw you standing in the office, I wanted to grab you and kiss you like we were in a movie. Obviously, I couldn’t, because I didn’t know if you even remembered me. And Elwood and Stern has very strict sexual harassment policies.”
“So, you would have just dropped your wife?” That seemed so insane. “You had no guarantee that we were going to work out.”
“We would have,” he said easily, as though our circumstances wouldn’t have been totally different. “I’ve been in love with you since ten minutes after I met you. We’re meant for each other.”
Tears rose in my eyes, making them all hot and itchy. Maybe it was just allergies. He was right, we were meant for each other. If I believed in soul mates—and I didn’t— I would say that was what Neil and I were.
I settled back in my seat. It was easy to feel sorry for Elizabeth, but she had a new life, and a new baby, on the way, something Neil had been unwilling to give her. She was probably as happy with whoever was in her life now as I was with Neil. Despite the huge shock she’d gotten today, there was no proof that she was unhappy.
My mom often says that life has a funny way of working out sometimes. That’s such a huge understatement someone should slap her. From the moment I’d walked up to Neil in LAX to the moment he’d walked through the door at Porteras, everything in my life had perfectly aligned to reunite us.
I hoped with all my heart that I would never be that woman on the sidewalk. The universe had worked too hard to bring Neil and me together.
* * * *
After a lot of consideration, arguing, and a hefty sum to buy out the couple who’d already reserved the spaces that weekend, Neil and I had decided on a wedding at the Plaza. Neil found it traditional and romantic. I said it was cheesy, but part of me was still the little girl who’d dreamed of a beautiful wedding out of the movies.
Okay, so, the adult part of me had dreamed about that, too, even though she’d been convinced she would never get married.
To make things as streamlined and stress-free as possible, I’d given Neil the reins and let him go with regards to the food and the flowers. Those were really his area of expertise, anyway.
With the clock ticking toward our June sixth date, Neil and I still had to meet with the wedding planner to discuss the set up. I took an early lunch and hopped on the subway into the city. It was just faster than sitting in traffic. I was still five minutes late, and Neil looked annoyed but forgiving when I stepped out of the elevator.