Page 151 of Theirs to Corrupt

After a few sips of wine, I start to relax a little more. “I’m surprised David still lets you be friends with me.”

She rolls her eyes. “He understands it’s been an unusual time. But I definitely think he enjoyed flying on a private airplane and that suite at the Bella Rosa.”

I’d also enjoyed some of the perks that went along with knowing Link. But they’re about to be a thing of the past for me.

“I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised when you told me you were looking for apartments. What’s really going on?”

I shift a little uncomfortably. “What do you mean?”

“You’re different than you were at your wedding. Even though you were dealing with a lot, you seemed more relaxed and confident.”

I wrinkle my nose. “You know me too well.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

This is all so complicated, even to me.

“Did you fall in love with them?”

Love?My breath whooshes out, and I put down my glass.

“Is that why you’re struggling?”

Maybe it is. “Pax is so uncomplicated. If I had met just him, things might have been easier. I think I could have been very happy with him.”

“But there’s Link.”

She’s made a statement, instead of asking a question.

“Yeah.” I nod. “He’s so complex. Emotionally distant.” Anger and frustration seem to be the only emotions he’s comfortable expressing.

“That’s not enough,” she guesses.

How can I be happy living with someone who can never feel the same way about me as I do about him?

“It’s draining you?”

She lets the question hang between us, waiting for me to go on. Eventually I do. “Look at you and David. You’re just so easy together. So perfect. So right.”

“With him, I wear my emotions on my sleeve.” She shrugs. “But he says he appreciates it. He doesn’t have to guess what I’m thinking or feeling. After what I went through with my ex, that’s refreshing.”

My parents were madly in love. At times, their relationship was so close that they shut out the rest of the world. I don’t want something that intense, but to feel loved and not just controlled? That’s the dream.

“Is that why this decision is so difficult?” Nat guesses. “You don’t want to leave, but you can’t imagine staying with the way things are?”

I nod. “That’s it.”

Our food arrives. Though I’d been starving, the conversation and my realizations, have made my appetite fade.

She stabs into her lasagna, and steam rises. “If needed, David and I will help you move.”

“You’ve already done so much.”

“Friendship.” She raises her fork as if saluting me. Then she takes a bite and sighs completely. “I hope they have this in heaven.”

Her happiness helps my mood, and I try the gnocchi. She’s right about the food. “I think I need to live close to this restaurant,” I say.

“That’s the main reason I’m never moving.”

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