she’d have to tell Leah eventually, and her friend would want details—when, where and how Robert had proposed. Once she found out, she’d be hurt Neely hadn’t told her immediately. “Uh…Leah? You might know someone else guilty of that same cliché.”
“What, you mean getting married in June? Who?”
Raising her hand level with her face, she said tentatively, “Me.”
“Huh? Oh, my God! Robert proposed?”
“Yeah. We can wait until later to talk about it, but you’re my best friend. It wouldn’t be right if you weren’t one of the first people to know.”
“Of course we have to talk about it! I don’t want you to think…oh, dear. You’re getting married in June? Sorry about the crack earlier. You understand that you are a classy woman who appreciates tradition, while Tiffany is an airhead who doesn’t have an original thought.”
“Ooh, nice distinction.”
Dashing away tears—happier ones this time—Leah glanced around. “Where is our waitress? A discussion like this should take place over a celebratory lunch and decadent desserts.”
But at the office a couple of hours later, dessert was churning in Neely’s stomach.
Was it warm in the conference room, or was she the only one who felt overheated and slightly nauseous? It occurred to her she might be having a hot flash—and wouldn’t that be sexy with her fiancé sitting directly across from her?—but even though her doctor had confirmed she was definitely perimenopausal, she suspected this was a result of lunch.
She tried to concentrate on the current discussion about an upcoming radio merger, but her conversation with Leah kept intruding. For all of her friend’s determination to be happy for her, Neely had still left lunch feeling overwhelmed. Leah’s hyperenthusiastic questions had been the equal but opposite reaction to Beth Mason’s caustic remarks and forceful suggestions. Leah had cheerfully reeled off inquiry after inquiry, each landing like lead on top of the fudge sundae they’d shared.
“Will it be a church wedding?”
“I don’t know. I’d always had in the back of my mind that a garden wedding would be nice, but Mom pointed out that Aunt Jo is allergic to practically everything and that you can never guarantee the weather.”
“Well, you’ll want to reserve a venue immediately! Places book early for June. Speaking of places, are you moving into his?”
“I don’t know.” It shocked Neely that she hadn’t even considered that yet. She was a details person, the one who usually worried about logistics. Still, she’d been swept up in the novelty of romance, being in love and enjoying that for once in her life. Besides, she had months left on her lease and time to discuss the situation with Robert.
“So, will the two of you be getting a prenup? If I had my farce of a marriage to do all over again, I certainly would—not that you and Robert will ever need one!”
But who ever really thought they’d need a prenup? How could Leah have guessed, the day she optimistically took her vows, that she’d now be debating whether or not to attend her husband’s second wedding? Certainly Douglas had seemed shell-shocked, despite warnings, when Zoe followed through on her threat to leave if he couldn’t grow up and take more responsibility in their relationship.
Neely had never even been engaged, let alone married, but she remembered the mocking disregard with which her first lover had cast her aside, leaving her dumbfounded and gun-shy. She knew now that she hadn’t loved him, had merely been infatuated and pleased to have someone’s full attention after years of living with a perfect sister and the brother who would carry on the family name. If being unceremoniously dumped had crushed her then, how much pain would it cause if Robert ever decided to leave? She imagined the last thing she’d want to deal with under those circumstances would be tangled divorce settlements that only prolonged goodbye.
“Neely?” Cameron Becker’s gruff voice penetrated her thoughts, and she jumped guiltily in the padded office chair. “You’re scowling. You don’t agree with Dave’s assessment?”
From farther down the table, vice president David Samuels frowned at her.
Oops. “No, I think he was…dead-on. I’m sorry, just got distracted for a moment. Is it hot in here?”
Amanda Barnes, a fifty-something consultant working with Becker on this deal, shot her a sympathetic glance. Robert looked concerned and followed her to her office after the meeting.
“Feeling okay?” he asked once they were alone.
“I guess lunch didn’t agree with me.” She sipped the cup of water she’d poured in the hall.
He sat on the corner of her desk, a little close for her comfort to an expenditure report she’d typed that morning. “You mean just the food, right? Or was telling Leah really that bad?”
“No, she—hang on, why don’t we move this out of the way?” She’d been known to use binder clips that coordinated with the colors of her fonts and graphs; she was not handing Cameron a crinkled report. “She was very happy for us. But the timing stank. Turns out Phillip just informed her he was getting remarried.”
“Ouch.”
Neely crossed the room to refile some of the folders she’d needed earlier. “She was great, though. Very excited about being the maid of honor. I know I said yesterday that we have time to think about the details, but Leah made a good point. We should reserve a place immediately. If not sooner. So we might want to think about what size crowd we’re looking at, whether we want a formal dinner or more casual reception.”
He nodded affably, looking utterly relaxed in the face of her rising panic. This was why he was so good for her. “Why don’t you come over, I’ll grab takeout on the way home, and we can start planning?”
“Or we could go to my place,” she threw out impulsively. Maybe it was territorial of her, but she couldn’t relax as well at Robert’s place. And not just because of the constant drop-ins of neighbors who were fond of her extroverted fiancé, including Sheila, the thirty-eight-year-old downstairs he had once dated. They’d never become very serious, but she continued to depend on Robert’s help with her car and occasional handyman jobs if it was the weekend and the super was out of touch. It was amazing how many maintenance issues Sheila had over the weekend.
Neighbors aside, Neely always had the urge to tidy Robert’s apartment. Her birthday had been a notable exception since he’d gone to great pains to clean up and set a romantic atmosphere in the main rooms. For his cluttered guest room, he’d shut the door and left it at that.
His eyebrows lifted, but after a moment, he said, “Sure. Either way.”
“Sorry. I think…maybe because I’m not feeling well, I’m sort of longing for the comforts of home.”
“Understood.” He slid off the desk and came toward her, as if about to offer a hug, but stopped shy. Although it was common knowledge they were a couple, they’d agreed early on to keep displays of affection away from the workplace. “I’ll meet you there at about seven?”
“Sounds great, thank you.” The man was a gem.
Pausing at the door, he asked, “You
