MONDAY MORNING. TIME to go to work.

MONDAY MORNING. TIME to go to work. I hadn’t heard from my dad, so I got ready to head in. I was digging in my closet when a knock came on my bedroom door.
“Come in,” I yelled.
A minute later, I heard Cary shout back, “Where the hell are you?”
“In here.”
His shadow darkened the doorway. “Any word from your dad?”
I glanced at him. “Not yet. I sent him a text and didn’t get a reply.”
“So he’s still on the plane.”
“Or he missed a connection. Who knows?” I scowled at my clothes.
“Here.” He came in and stepped around me, pulling a pair of gray linen palazzo pants off the bottom rack and a black lace cap-sleeved shirt.
“Thank you.” And because he was close, I hugged him.
His returning hug was so tight it squeezed the air out of me. Startled by his exuberance, I held him for a long while, my cheek over his heart. For the first time in a few days, he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and as usual, he managed to look striking and expensive.
“Everything okay?” I asked him.
“I miss you, baby girl,” he murmured into my hair.
“Just trying to make sure you don’t get sick of me.” I tried to sound like I was teasing, but his tone niggled at me. It lacked all the vivacity I was so used to hearing in it. “I’m taking a cab to work, so I’ve got some time. Why don’t we have a cup of coffee?”
“Yeah.” He pulled back and smiled at me, looking boyishly beautiful.
Taking my hand, he led me out of the closet. I tossed my clothes on an armchair before we headed out to the kitchen.
“Are you going out?” I asked.
“I’ve got a shoot today.”
“Well, that’s good news!” I headed to the coffeemaker while he went to pull half-and-half out of the fridge. “Sounds like another occasion to dig into the case of Cristal.”
“No way,” he scoffed. “Not with everything that’s going on with your dad.”
“What else are we going to do? Sit around staring at each other? There’s nothing more that can be done. Nathan is dead and even if he weren’t, what he did to me is long over.” I pushed a steaming mug over to him and filled another. “I’m ready to shove his memory in a cold, dark hole and forget about him.”
“Over for you.” He lightened my coffee and slid it back. “It’s still news to your dad. He’ll want to talk about it.”
“I am not talking about it with my dad. I’m not talking about it ever.”
“He might not go along with that.”
I turned and faced him, leaning back into the counter with my mug cradled between my hands. “All he needs is to see me doing okay. This isn’t about him. It’s about me, and I’m surviving. Pretty well, I think.”
He stirred his coffee, a thoughtful look on his face.
“Yeah, you are,” he said after a few seconds. “Are you going to tell him about your mystery man?”
“He’s not a mystery. I just can’t talk about him, and that has nothing to do with our friendship. I trust you and love you and rely on you like always.”
His green eyes challenged me over the rim of his mug. “Doesn’t seem like it.”
“You’re my best friend. When I’m old and gray, you’ll still be my best friend. Not talking about the guy I’m seeing isn’t going to change that.”
“How am I not supposed to feel like you don’t trust me? What’s the big deal with this guy that you can’t even give me a name or anything?”
I sighed and told him a partial truth. “I don’t know his name.”
Cary stilled, staring. “You’re shitting me.”
“I never asked him what it is.” As evasive answers went, it begged to be challenged. Cary gave me a long look.
“And I’m not supposed to be worried?”
“Nope. I’m comfortable with the whole thing. We’re both getting what we need and he cares about me.”
He studied me. “What do you call him when you’re coming? You’ve got to be shouting something if he’s any good at it. Which I assume he is, since you obviously aren’t getting to know each other by talking.”
“Uh …” That tripped me up. “I think I just say, ‘Oh, God!’ ”
Throwing his head back, he laughed.
“How are you holding up with juggling two relationships?” I asked.
“I’m good.” He shoved one hand in his pocket and rocked back on his heels. “I think Tat and Trey are as close to monogamy as I’ve ever been. It’s working out for me so far.”
I found the whole arrangement fascinating. “Ever worry about shouting out the wrong name when you’re coming?”
His green eyes sparkled. “Nope. I just call ’em all baby.”
“Cary.” I shook my head. He was incorrigible. “Are you going to introduce Tatiana to Trey?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think that’s the best idea.”
“No?”
“Tatiana’s a bitch on a good day, and Trey’s just a nice guy. Not a great combo, in my book.”
“You once told me you didn’t like Tatiana very much. Has that changed?”
“She is who she is,” he said dismissively. “I can live with it.”
I stared at him.
“She needs me, Eva,” he said quietly. “Trey wants me, and I think he loves me, but he doesn’t need me.”
That I understood. It was nice to be needed sometimes. “Gotcha.”
“Who says there’s only one person in the world who can give us everything?” He snorted. “I’m not sure I’m buying that. Look at you and your no-name guy.”
“Maybe a mix-and-match situation can work for people who don’t get jealous. It wouldn’t work for me.”
“Yeah.” He held out his mug and I tapped it with my own.
“So Cristal and … ?”
“Hmm …” His lips pursed. “Tapas?”
I blinked. “You want to take my dad out?”
“Bad idea?”
“It’s a great idea, if we can get him to go along with it.” I smiled. “You rock, Cary.”
He winked at me and I felt a little more settled.
Everything in my life seemed to be shaken up, most especially my relationships with the people I loved most. That was hard for me to deal with, because I relied on them to keep me on an even keel. But maybe when everything settled down, I’d be a bit stronger. Able to stand a bit straighter on my own.
It would be worth all the turmoil and pain if so.
“Want me to fix your hair?” Cary asked.
I nodded. “Please.”
WHEN I got to work, I was disappointed to find a very unhappy Megumi. She gave me a lethargic wave as she buzzed me in, then dropped back into her chair.
“Girl, you need to kick Michael to the curb,” I said. “This is not working out for you.”
“I know.” She brushed back the long bangs of her asymmetrical bob. “I’m going to break it off the next time I see him. I haven’t heard from him since Friday, and I’m driving myself crazy wondering if he picked up anyone while doing his bachelor barhopping thing.”
“Eww.”
“I know, right? It’s just not cool worrying about if the guy you’re sleeping with is shagging someone else.”
I couldn’t help but be reminded of my earlier conversation with Cary. “Me and Ben and Jerry’s are only a phone call away. Holler if you need us.”
“Is that your secret?” She gave a short laugh. “What flavor got you over Gideon Cross?”
“I’m not over him,” I admitted.
She nodded sagely. “I knew that. But you had fun on Saturday, right? And he’s an idiot, by the way. One day, he’s going to figure that out and coming crawling back.”
“He called my mom over the weekend,” I said, leaning over the desk and lowering my voice. “Asking about me.”
“Whoa.” Megumi leaned forward, too. “What did he say?”
“I don’t know the details.”
“Would you get back together with him?”
I shrugged. “I can’t say. Depends on how well he grovels.”
“Totally.” She high-fived me. “Your hair looks great, by the way.”
I thanked her and headed to my cubicle, mentally preparing my request to take off from work if my dad called. I’d barely turned the corner at the end of the hall when Mark bounded out of his office with a huge grin.
“Oh my God.” I stopped midstep. “You look insanely happy. Let me guess. You’re engaged!”
“I am!”
“Yay!” I dropped my purse and bag on the floor and clapped. “I’m so excited for you! Congratulations.”
Bending down, he picked up my stuff. “Come into my office.”
He gestured me in ahead of him, then closed the glass door behind us.
“Was it tough?” I asked him, taking a seat in front of his desk.
“Toughest thing I’ve ever done.” Mark handed me my bags. Sinking into his chair, he rocked back and forth. “And Steven let me stew over it. Can you believe that? He knew all along I was going to propose. Said he could tell by how I freaked out I was.”
I grinned. “He knows you well.”
“And he waited a minute or two before he answered me. And let me tell you, it seemed like hours.”
“I bet. So was all of his anti-marriage talk a front?”
He nodded, still grinning. “His pride took a hit when I put him off before, so he wanted a little payback. Said he’d always known I’d come around eventually. Wanted to make me work for it when I finally did.”
It sounded like Steven, who was playful and gregarious. “So where did you pop the question?”
He laughed. “I couldn’t do it somewhere with atmosphere, right? Like the candlelit restaurant or the nice dark bar after the show. No, I had to wait until the limo dropped us off at home at the end of the night and we were standing outside our brownstone and I knew I was going to lose my chance. So I just blurted it out right there on the street.”
“I think that’s really romantic.”
“I think you’re a romantic,” he shot back.
“Who cares about wine and roses? Anyone can do that. Showing somebody you can’t live without them? That’s romance.”
“As usual, you make a good point.”
I blew on my nails and buffed them on my shirt. “What can I say?”
“I’ll let Steven give you all the details at lunch on Wednesday. He’s told the story so many times already, he’s got the delivery down pat.”
“I can’t wait to see him.” As excited as Mark was, I was sure Steven was bouncing off the walls. The big, muscled contractor had a personality as vibrant as his bright red hair. “I’m so thrilled for you both.”
“He’s going to rope you into helping Shawna with the planning, you know that, right?”