Not Quite Over You
Page 61

“Lizards and ordinary people belong here,” Irene snapped. “Everyone with half a brain gets out while they can. Drew, you don’t belong here. You never have.”
Before anyone else could speak, they heard the sound of footsteps on the tile floor. A tall, stunningly beautiful brunette walked into the kitchen. She was in her late twenties, with violet eyes and an easy smile. When she spotted Drew, the smile widened.
“Finally we meet. I’ve been hearing about you forever. I’m Julie Leighty.”
She crossed to him, her arm outstretched. Drew shook hands with her.
“Nice to meet you, Julie.”
She looked at the three of them. “Am I interrupting?”
“Not at all,” Irene told her. “Drew, darling, why don’t you get Julie a drink and take her out on the patio? While I’m not one for rural vistas, the view is quite lovely. Tell her about the animal preserve.”
There was more to be said, but Drew knew that now that Julie had joined them, this wasn’t the time. He poured a second Scotch and they made their way out onto the patio.
Once they were seated he asked, “How much of that did you hear?”
She laughed. “That only lizards and ordinary people belong here. Oh, and that you don’t belong here. Is that true?”
“No. This is exactly where I belong.” Here, with Silver. Because she was a significant part of his life. Hell of a time to have that revelation, he thought. This was perhaps the definition of awkward.
“Tell me about yourself,” he said by way of distraction.
“I grew up in Ohio. I’m from a big family.” She smiled. “I’m one of six and a middle child, so I can get along with anyone.”
“One of six? That’s a lot of kids.”
“It is. My house was loud all the time.” She laughed. “One of the great things about having my own apartment is that it’s very, very quiet. Oh, and no one eats my leftovers.”
“Nirvana,” he teased.
“You have no idea. Anyway, I went to Georgetown, where I majored in Political Economics and I minored in Chinese and German.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I have a great sense of humor, but no. I’m not kidding. I wanted to get involved internationally. I toyed with the idea of law school but honestly politics is so much more interesting. I love to travel and I’m a huge cat person. One day I will turn into a scary cat lady with sixteen cats.” She smiled impishly. “Just so you’re warned.”
She was perfect, he thought. Smart, beautiful, funny, charming. Under other circumstances he would have been interested. But sitting with her now wasn’t anything more than time spent with a friend of his parents. No matter what she said or did, he would rather be with Silver.
“Why did you join a lobbying firm?”
“I had a lot of job offers out of college, but this one was the most intriguing.” She took a sip of her drink. “Not just because of the money, although that was very tempting. My parents had six kids to put through college so I had to pay for some of it myself. It’s nice to clear out those student loans. And my darling little apartment is lovely. But it’s more than that. I’ve helped change laws so charities can do good work. I’m focusing on international women’s issues, coordinating with multinational corporations so when they go into a developing country, they make decisions that are good for the people there, along with themselves.”
She shrugged. “I’m interested in financial security and I’m altruistic. I suppose that makes me human.” She looked at him from under her lashes. “You do know this is a setup.”
“I got the message. Why did you agree?”
One corner of her mouth turned up. “I kept hearing about you. Your parents talk about you all the time and I thought even if only half of it were true, I would be foolish not to come to Happily Inc and check things out.” She sipped her drink. “While I’ll admit I’m intrigued, I sense little or no interest on your part.”
“I’m with someone.”
Her eyes widened with shock. “Your mother swore you were single.”
“My mother doesn’t listen.”
“Ah, so she doesn’t approve of your lady love.”
Despite everything, he smiled. “My lady love? That seems a little old-fashioned.”
“But accurate.”
“Very.” He looked at her. “I’m sorry she misled you.”
“Me, too. That makes this all uncomfortable.” She sighed. “You’d think being as smart and successful as I am, I would be able to find a guy on my own. Obviously it’s time to get started on those cats.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me, too.” She leaned back in her chair. “The same words with totally different meanings. You’re being polite while I am genuinely sorry. Oh well.” She pointed to the animal preserve. “Your mother promised me giraffes and gazelles. Is that true or also misrepresented?”
“There are giraffes and gazelles, I promise. They’ve gone in for the night, but you will see them first thing in the morning. I swear.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
* * *
DREW’S TEXT ASKING her to stop by was oddly brief. Silver debated calling him to find out what was going on but his place was only a few minutes away. She got in her truck and drove over, only to find more than just his car in the driveway. What on earth?
She walked up to the front door and knocked. When the door opened, she found herself face-to-face with a stunningly beautiful woman.
Silver considered herself on the high side of average when it came to looks. She wasn’t beautiful, but she could hold her own. Next to this woman, she was cat gack.
“Hi,” the brunette said, stepping back to let Silver in. “I’m Julie. You’re either looking for Drew or his parents, right? Drew’s in the shower, but Irene is...right here.”
Irene pulled the door open wider. “Oh good. You came. Come in, Silver.”
She stepped into the foyer and instantly knew she’d made a mistake. This was not a safe place. She had no idea what was going on but whatever it was, it was very, very bad.
“Julie and I are fixing dinner,” Irene said, her tone far too friendly. “Julie works with us in D.C. Oh, be a dear and check on the chicken. We don’t want it to overcook.”
Julie looked a little confused, but agreed. “It was nice to meet you, Silver.”
“Same here.”
Once Julie was gone, Irene’s friendly tone hardened. “She’s here for Drew. I thought you should know. They have so much in common and as you can see, she’s beautiful. Also accomplished and someone we would welcome into the family. Unlike you. You would never be welcome. You understand that, don’t you? That if you try to trap him, you will be forcing him to choose. It’s a difficult way to start a marriage—estranged from everyone you love. Drew has always been a man who loves his family.”
Her smile was cold and brittle. “Did I mention Julie is one of six children? She’s fluent in German and Chinese. She belongs with him and you don’t. You never have. You might be just a small town girl, Silver, but you’re not stupid. You can see what Drew could be. Are you going to be the reason he’s always unhappy? Always looking? It’s not a very nice way to show him you care, now is it?”