In her hotel room, she dropped her bag and sighed heavily. As usual, her room was beautifully appointed and furnished. Gavin didn’t believe in traveling cheap. Normally she would enjoy the trip. It was nice to leave L.A. once in a while and spend a night or two in a five-star hotel with impeccable service.
After her evening rituals, she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Midnight
, she thought.
And I’m alone
.
Mark had been charming over the past few days, but he wasn’t Prince Charming…and she wasn’t Cinderella. And somehow tears started to flow as she realized there was too great a distance separating them.
There was no a cappella or flowers or chocolates or balloons the next morning. Hilary took a long breath. She was relieved—no, happy—that Mark wasn’t trying any more over-the-top antics. It was taking a little longer than she’d thought, but he seemed to be losing interest.
So why did her heart feel funny, like there was a hollow spot in the center of it, if this was what she’d wanted?
Gavin had some meetings in Manhattan, and Amandine decided she wanted to go to The Museum of Modern Art. After breakfast, the three of them left the hotel together.
“God, it looks even bigger in daylight,” Amandine said.
“You’ve never been to New York City?” Hilary said, surprised that her cosmopolitan boss’s wife seemed so awed by the city.
“I never had the chance. It’s amazing how everything’s so flashy and busy all the time. It’s not like L.A. with its Hollywood glamour, but it has its own charm.” Amandine looked up. “I especially like the way they use the sides of the buildings as ad displays everywhere. There’s nothing like that in…” She trailed off.
“What?” Gavin said.
“Is that…? Oh my
god
.”
Hilary’s head snapped up. Five enormous LED screens, sitting high on adjacent skyscrapers, read:
I’ll love you forever
,
Hilary
. Taken together, the signs dwarfed everything else on the skyline.
“Wow,” Gavin and Amandine said at the same time, then looked at her.
Hilary felt her cheeks heat. Her heart thumped like crazy. This was a pretty serious declaration. It wasn’t something he could deny later, or pretend was some kind of misunderstanding. How could he change his mind after this?
She shook herself mentally. People routinely spent money to declare their love and commitment to each other all the time in front of witnesses. But they still ended up in divorce court as often as not. Her boss had been pretty close to that himself. This kind of public display couldn’t possibly measure up…even if people
were
staring at the display and taking pictures with their phones.
What if this is real though?
Would she be okay with letting Mark go?
She clutched her purse and briefcase to her chest, her eyes glued to the display.
I’ll love you forever
,
Hilary
.
She wanted to believe it so bad, the pain was almost physical.
* * *
The next day, Gavin’s jet flew toward a small private airport on the outskirts of L.A. It was only three o’clock on the west coast, thanks to the time difference. Hilary proofread the meeting minutes and a few other documents, while her boss and his wife dozed. They’d been out late the night before, enjoying the city. Hilary saved all the files and shut down her laptop with a sigh. Her heart still beat a bit too fast, and every time she thought of Mark’s big gesture in New York City, her face grew hot. She pressed a glass of iced water to her cheeks.
I love you
.
Have dinner with me
.
That was all that Mark had sent in private, while making his—dammit, there was no other word—grand declaration in public. She couldn’t imagine what he might want to say to her over dinner. “I love you” was the most obvious choice, but he’d already said that. None of her exes had been this persistent or over-the-top, so she was in new territory. Gavin was pretty over-the-top too, but he was more into buying outrageous presents than gestures that would get people’s tongues wagging. The New York display incident was already all over the net, and the office had probably started a betting pool on what Mark would do next. That was just how Gavin’s traders would amuse themselves while working ungodly numbers of hours each day.
They landed and deplaned, Gavin starting down the stairs first, Amandine and Hilary following. Suddenly, Amandine stopped dead and gasped.
“What is it?” Hilary said from behind her. Still inside the aircraft, she couldn’t see much outside since the other woman was blocking her view at the door, but she could hear the drone of plane engines…
above them?
“Hilary… Look.” Amandine stood aside and Hilary stepped out and looked up.
Planes were flying intricate patterns in the clear Los Angeles sky. Colored smoke plumed out of their ends, and they created a giant pink heart with an arrow through it. Blood roared in Hilary’s head, and she felt like her own heart would explode…like she’d run a hundred miles.
Then the smoke changed to white, and they wrote:
Mark and Hilary 4EVER
.
The message should’ve seemed juvenile. High schoolish, really. Except it made her eyes fill with tears, and she couldn’t stop them from spilling over her cheeks. Nobody had ever thought she was worth this much effort. A Rosenberg girl was somebody a guy slept with, maybe had wild sex with…but not somebody he cooked for, arranged a cappella for, dedicated songs to, rented out Manhattan LED screens for, or hired a team of pilots for a fancy air show for.
“Oh, Hilary.” Amandine’s expression crumbled when she took one look at Hilary. Did she look that bad?
Amandine turned to Gavin. “Why don’t you wait for us in the car?” Then she wrapped an arm around Hilary’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.”
“I am, but I’m so scared. I feel like this isn’t real. It just can’t be happening to me,” Hilary blurted out, unable to contain it.
“It’s very real, and you should believe it.” Amandine handed her a handkerchief. “Mark is crazy about you.”
“But for how long?” Hilary wiped her tears and sniffled.
“You’ll never find out unless you give him a chance, will you?” Amandine searched Hilary’s face. “It’s normal to be scared, Hilary. You remember when Gavin and I were going through that…rough phase? I was scared too when he wouldn’t let me go. I was so sure I’d fall even more deeply in love with him only to lose him in the end.”
“How could you ever think that? He adores you.”
“I know that now, but back then I didn’t. I wasn’t certain I was good enough for him.”
Fresh tears welled in Hilary’s eyes. “I
know
I’m not good enough.”
“Mark’s no dummy. If you really weren’t worth it, he wouldn’t go through all this trouble. You’re a great woman, Hilary. You just don’t realize it, which only makes you that much sweeter.” Amandine gave her a tight hug. “Do what feels right to you and what will make you happy.” She pulled back and gave Hilary a quick grin. “You drove here, right? Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”
“But Gavin ne—”
“Gavin won’t mind.” Amandine gave her a wink. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Hilary tilted her head back and looked at the fluffy messages in the perfect blue sky.
Heart
.
Mark and Hilary 4EVER
.
Her heart thumped.
She was at the precipice.
Jump. Jump. Jump.
If she got this close and stepped back, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. Jo was right. When she was old and on her last legs, Hilary didn’t want to think about what could’ve been. She wanted to be able to talk to her grandchildren about the great romance of her life. About how much Mark loved her.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled down until she found his last text.
I love you
.
Have dinner with me
.
Her hands shaking, she typed:
Okay
.
* * *
“So how does she look?” Mark asked, pacing. At the rate things were going, he’d need to replace the damned carpet in his home office.
“Crying,” Gavin said.
Mark wanted to bang his head against his desk. “What
kind
of crying? Good crying or bad crying?”
“I don’t know. Amandine’s with her right now. She just gave Hilary a big hug. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”
“You’re so useless.” He should’ve never asked Gavin, whose obtuseness concerning women would make a pile of bricks appear positively romantic by comparison. Mark should’ve hired a private detective—a female one—to watch Hilary instead and report on her reactions.
“Hey, give me a break. I never have to figure out my employees’ moods. It’s their job to figure out mine.”
“You know what? After she marries me, I’m going to make sure she quits.”
“What?! You can’t do that.”
“Sure, I can. I’m not saying she can’t work. She just can’t work for you.”
“Don’t be a hater. Oh wait. Amandine’s coming in.”
“Thank god. Lemme talk to her. I’m sure she can tell me better than you.”
“There’s a small possibility that you might potentially be right. Hold on.”
A moment later Amandine was on the line. “Hey, Mark. That was some show there.”
“Thanks. Was Hilary impressed?”
“Well, yes, but…”
His stomach twisted at the way she hesitated. “What?”
“I don’t know if you’re on the right track. You’re making these grand gestures, and I admit they’re very impressive. But romance means intimacy. You might consider doing things face-to-face so she can look into your eyes and see the truth in them. Does that make sense?”
“Totally. The thing is, I tried that and it didn’t work. She’s convinced I’m going to be like my dad.” And it hurt him that he had nothing to counter her belief. His reputation was pretty crappy when it came to women. If he’d known this day would come, he would’ve been more careful and circumspect.
“Well, why don’t you try again? She might surprise you.”
But Hilary wouldn’t even have dinner with him. He was keenly aware of the lack of response from her. How in the hell was he supposed to look into her eyes and be all sincere and romantic when she wouldn’t even answer his texts?
Then his phone buzzed. He glanced at it. Hilary. “Gotta go,” he said, pressing it to his ear again. “I’ll call you later.” He hung up and checked the message.
Okay
.
He blinked. Then his mouth dried and he felt light-headed. Shit. She’d said yes to dinner.
But was it a good yes or a bad yes? Then he almost smacked himself for even thinking that. There was no such thing as a bad yes.
He looked around his penthouse, realizing that he needed the maid service again, and quick. A blanket was on the floor in front of the TV—he still wasn’t able to sleep in his own bed—and a soggy pizza box lay on the coffee table. An old shirt and shorts covered his couch. Nothing had been wiped down in the last seven days, and the kitchen sink was full of dirty plates and bowls. He cursed. There was less than four hours to get everything ready. He was having dinner later that day, and not giving her an opportunity to change her mind. No way.
This time, nothing would be left to chance.
He wrote:
I’ll pick you up at seven at your place
.
See you then
.
The dinner would be the ultimate test. He’d have to tell her everything in his heart, so she knew this was the real deal, not some temporary infatuation. Mark Pryce did not do temporary infatuation with the love of his life. He’d freaking jump out of an airplane before letting her shed another tear because of him.
He took a deep breath. He could do this. He so freaking could.
Jo showed up at five sharp, hauling seven giant bags of dresses and shoes. “I did the best I could given how little time I had to work with.”
“Thank you so much,” Hilary said.
“I’m sure the boutique owners thought I was dressing somebody to meet the President or something.”
Hilary laughed. “Did they?”
“Look at all this.” Jo hefted the bags, then squinted at Hilary. “God, your makeup’s a mess.”
“I know. I tried to fix it, but I keep crying.”
“Honey, the man loves you. Stop crying and start thinking about all the dirty things you can do with him.”
Hilary flushed.
“I can’t believe it. You’re blushing like a sixteen year-old virgin or something!” Jo dumped everything on the bed. “I couldn’t get anything in ivory, which is a shame since it looks so good on you, but we’ll just have to deal. How about this lavender one?” She pulled up a shimmery silk cocktail dress. “The cut is stunning and really shows off your curves. Or we could go more traditional and do something black, but I don’t know about that color and you today.”
“Lavender,” Hilary said. There was nothing traditional about the way her relationship with Mark had progressed.
“Great choice.”
Almost two hours of fussing and styling later, Jo declared Hilary was ready for the showdown. “You’re going to knock him dead.”
“You think so?”
“Girl, you look scorching hot. Mark’s going to fall to his knees and kiss your feet.”
“Thank you,” Hilary said, with real feeling. The dress clung to all the right places, emphasizing her hourglass figure. The diamond drop earrings and necklace completed what she thought of as a classy siren look, and she knew she would’ve never been able to put it together this quickly without Jo’s help.
Jo gave her a tight hug. “Happy to help out, Hilary. Now go knock him dead.”
When Hilary went out to the limo, a sharp stab of disappointment hit her at the empty interior. “Where’s Mark?” she asked the uniformed driver.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Rosenberg. He’s waiting for you at his home,” he said in a soft voice. “Shall we go?”
“Uh…yeah. Sure,” she said. She’d been so certain Mark would pick her up.
The driver opened the door for her and she slid inside. As the limo pulled out from her place, her palms grew slick.
She took several deep breaths.
This is going to be okay
.
No matter how things turn out
,
I’ll be fine
. She told herself this over and over so she didn’t bolt from sheer panic.