Page 72 of David's Chase

His coldness and detachment.

What if it’s learned behavior? What if it’s something he had learned from her?

Not intentionally, of course. But it happens all the time. People live together. Things rub off.

He is not the man I met in the beginning.Some of the iciness coloring his eyes has melt off.

He seems more open to me now.He talks to me, and we do things that draw us closer.

All that aloofness has shrunk to something more manageable.

Seeing this woman and studying her expression, the unshaken confidence and strong drive evident in her eyes, it’s impossible not to see how they made things work.

They were the same. For a while, at least, they were exactly the same. And now…?

He no longer needs to be stern, unemotional, and harsh, so he is tapping into a different side of himself.

Maybe it’s that side of him he talked about this afternoon––the one he’d lost and grieved.

“Yes. His taste in clothing is exquisite,” I say, and something must’ve slipped in my tone, some hint that catches her attention,but before she has the chance to comment I excuse myself, spin around, and vanish out the door.

13

LIZ

My heart drumslike a cavalry in my chest.

I don’t know where to go.

Should I go back to him? Or to my seat? Should I just warn him his ex is here?

And, um… I know that she’s his ex because I’ve looked her up?

What should I do?

The clamor in the foyer makes me dizzy. Running a vacant stare around the room, I spot him in the corner waiting for me.

There’s still time to go to him, take my champagne glass from him, down it quickly, and ask him to return to our seats.

It sounds like a great plan, and I make a beeline for him, convinced I’ll make it on time when someone beats me to the punch.

A man approaches him and introduces himself.

Yes, that’s right.

A man rocking a sharp suit stretches his hand out, and David looks at him with a glint of curiosity in his eyes but also reserved and somewhat stiff.

He sets my drink down and shakes the man’s hand before his unexpected guest pivots, and I slow down.

Is this man the, um… the oil tycoon?

I come to a full stop.

They exchange words, and from the man’s gestures, I understand he’s talking about his future wife, who happens to be David’s ex-wife.

Oh, shit.

I better go inside.

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