LITMIR.BIZ

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he hadn’t felt in nearly two years.

      “I owe you an apology, too,” she told him.

      “Me?” They’d waged war over a comma in their divorce papers. Their weapons had been highly paid attorneys. During the bitter months preceding the divorce, there’d been no interchange that wasn’t witnessed and presided over by those same attorneys. Yet here was Rosie, standing with him in a school parking lot, and they were having one of the most important conversations of their relationship.

      “I apologize for assuming you were involved with Janice,” Rosie continued. “I convinced myself that you were having an affair and I turned into a vindictive shrew. I’m not proud of the things I said and did, and I apologize.”

      Zach had never expected Rosie to do anything like this. For months she’d been filled with resentment and vicious anger. Now he saw the tears of regret in her eyes, and his own heart softened.

      “Rosie…”

      “You denied the affair from the beginning,” she went on, barely able to speak through her tears. “I never had any real proof. I’d decided it was happening, felt it must be. She was obviously attractive and capable, and you spent eight hours a day with her. I was insanely jealous.”

      Zach swallowed hard. He looked toward the school, sick at heart. Even now, months after his divorce, Janice haunted his life. Today his son had even fought with hers. She wasn’t to blame for the death of his marriage, but she wasn’t exactly a disinterested bystander. Janice’s attention had flattered him; he’d liked the way she’d catered to him, liked it far more than he should have. And she’d been well aware of that….

      Clearly embarrassed by her loss of control, Rosie shoved the hair away from her face. “I apologize for the ugly things I said, for the way I behaved.”

      The school bell rang, but they both ignored it.

      “Rosie, listen, I was as much at fault as you. More so,” Zach confessed. “I should never have let things go on as long as they did. I was wrong, dead wrong.”

      “But—”

      “Let me finish,” he said, fearing he’d lose his courage if he didn’t say it now. “I wasn’t physically involved with Janice, but I did care about her. And I relied on her.”

      Zach held his breath a moment. “I didn’t sleep with Janice, although it might have gone that way eventually—it was definitely what she wanted. But I did become emotionally dependent on her.”

      He watched as the color drained from Rosie’s face. He wanted to explain what he meant, but by then the school busses had rolled into the parking lot, belching smoke and diesel fumes.

      “Mom,” Eddie shouted, running toward them. “What are you doing here?”

      “We’ll talk later,” Zach promised, but he could see from the shock in Rosie’s eyes that she wasn’t ready to discuss Janice. For that matter, he wasn’t eager to bring up the subject again—ever.

      Grace was breathing hard as she followed the aerobics instructor. “One, two, one, two, three. Come on, ladies! Pick up the pace.” She groaned at the young woman’s words; she could barely keep up with the other members of her Wednesday night class as it was. She had conceded a long time ago that Olivia was far more agile than she was. The only reason she’d signed up for this class was so she could count on seeing her best friend at least once a week. By now, three years later, she’d figured all these exercises would’ve gotten easier. Not so.

      Back in the locker room, Grace felt convinced she was losing whatever ground she’d gained. The problem was, this was her only exercise program. Like it or not, she needed the class.

      She used to take a brisk walk along the waterfront at lunchtime, especially on sunny days. Now she ate her lunch in front of the computer at the library. At home it was the same thing. If Will wasn’t online when she logged on, he almost always had a message waiting for her. She’d come to live for his messages. She’d let so many things slide, and all because of Will. She feared their online relationship had become an obsession, but recognizing that did nothing to change the way she felt about him.

      “I don’t know why I do this to myself,” Grace complained as she slumped onto the bench in the locker room.

      Olivia wasn’t even out of breath, whereas Grace was panting. Her hair was plastered to her head and her face felt hot. This couldn’t be good for her, although according to the pencil-thin group leader, she was doing wonderful things for her heart. Wanna bet?

      “You’re going to seed, Gracie-girl,” Olivia teased.

      Grace rolled her eyes. “And you’re not?”

      Olivia braced her tennis shoe against the bench and untied it. “Not me. Say, you never did tell me what you did on Valentine’s Day.” Olivia sank down on the bench next to Grace.

      “Nothing much. I stayed home.” She didn’t have anything exciting to report. In fact, her night had gotten off to a slow start.

      Olivia wiped her face with a towel. “Being alone didn’t bother you?”

      “Not in the least.” Grace shrugged. “I enjoy my own company.” Yes, at first she’d been a bit down, since Will hadn’t been available, but eventually she was able to talk to him. He’d e-mailed her later than usual. He’d stayed at the office finishing up a report so he could leave for New Orleans the following week. Grace didn’t dare think about that. After all this time, she was actually going to be in Will’s arms. She’d dreamed of this in high school and only recently confessed to him how she’d felt back then.

      The plane ticket he’d mailed her waited on her dresser, where she gazed at it every day, imagining the pleasures to come. For his part, Will had made her a number of promises. This first time would be as special as he could make it.

      Soon they’d have a life together. Will hadn’t wanted to discuss the details but said they’d go over all of that once she arrived.

      “Did you and Jack have a good time?” Grace asked in order to turn her thoughts from Will.

      “We had a fabulous time,” Olivia said, with a long, drawn-out sigh.

      “Did he get you flowers?”

      “Jack?” Olivia arched her eyebrows dramatically. “Once a year is about all I should expect from him.”

      “He did buy you that tennis bracelet for your birthday last year.”

      “And gave it to me weeks late,” she recalled.

      Olivia loved that bracelet; she wore it almost constantly.

      “If you must know, Jack bought me two tickets to the Sonics basketball game.”

      “He didn’t!” Grace loved the way Jack could make Olivia smile. It was just like him to buy her a gift he wanted.

      “That’s all right, I outsmarted him,” Olivia assured her. “I bought him a facial at the health spa.”

      Grace shook her head and marveled that her friend could get exactly what she wanted and do it in such a clever manner. “You two are getting along better than ever, aren’t you?”

      Olivia nodded. “I can’t believe how silly I was to make demands on him. And that stupid ultimatum—I should’ve known better. I was such a fool to consider getting back with Stan.” She lowered her voice. “I’m in love with Jack.”

      Grace was thrilled for her. This really was good news, but it wasn’t something she hadn’t figured out herself. Olivia’s feelings for Jack were obvious. While Grace had similar news concerning Will, she wasn’t free to share it. But she would the minute his divorce was final.

      Grace had told Olivia everything nearly her entire life.

      The urge to tell her dearest friend about her plans with Will was almost overwhelming, but she couldn’t.

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