reach to unzip the side of the dress but stop when someone knocks at the door. Maybe Sam got off early and came to find out whether or not I’ve been committed to the loony-bin after that little show at the shop earlier.
I beat down the urge to rush the door and force my excited legs to carry me gracefully across the living room, the lavender dress shimmying against my body. A preview of me in this sexy dress might just entice him to be my plus one at my mom’s wedding. I run my hands through my hair, tossing the thick waves off my shoulders. As I turn the knob and pull open the door, I let a seductive smile settle on my lips. “Hey there…” The words catch in my throat and the smile falls away from my lips.
Standing in the hallway in an exquisitely cut fawn gray suit is Tim. My eyes dart from his beautifully styled blond head to the full-watt smile beaming back at me. He’s clenching a large bouquet of pink lilies in one hand and moving hungry eyes up and down my body.
“Hey, babe. Wow, you look amazing.”
I blink hard, trying to rid myself of the nightmare I’m surely experiencing. What is my lying, cheating, bastard of an ex-boyfriend doing standing in the hallway? He opens his arms to me, waiting for me to fall against him. I don’t.
“Why are you here?” I demand, finding my voice.
He switches up his smile, using the one he reserves for flight attendants when he wants an upgraded ticket. His teeth are perfectly straight and brilliantly white. My brain wants me to knock a few of them out, but my gut is tied up in knots. He looks fantastic. I’ve been holding onto the image of the last time I saw him, when he was disheveled and ashamed in the hallway outside our apartment. He didn’t look so great then. I guess I forgot what he normally looks like. Damn, is this what banging a masseuse does to a man?
“Listen, I know you probably don’t want to see me, but I miss you. I miss you like crazy and I know I made a huge mistake. What I did? I’m so sorry, and I need you to believe me when I say I never wanted to hurt you. That whole thing with Suzy? That’s over. It was never anything to begin with.”
His surprise visit has taken my breath away, and I feel dizzy. Hurt and confusion have replaced the excitement I felt when I thought it was Sam knocking on the door. I don’t want to hear about him and Suzy. I don’t want to hear that waxed bitch’s name ever again! “Didn’t look like nothing to me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.” Tim raises his hand to reach out and touch me. I flinch and take a step backward. The move causes the smile to slip from his face. He drops the charm for a second and redirects his outstretched hand to move through his perfectly styled hair. “Listen, can I come in? Just for a minute?”
“I don’t know,” I say, looking over my shoulder for a sign of Luanne.
“Please, just one minute. I really need to talk to you.”
Despite his movie-star looks, he does look a bit…miserable. Maybe it makes me a bad person, but I’m really enjoying my small position of power over him. I take a reluctant step back and open the door wide enough for him to enter the apartment. He steps through and pushes the door almost closed behind him.
I feel so exposed, standing before him in my snug dress. I move to cross my arms over my chest and Tim takes a quick step toward me, placing a hand on my forearm. “Don’t,” he says. “You look so beautiful, Ellie.”
I step away from him. “Tim, I don’t know why you’re here but if it’s to get back together…”
“Please, hear me out,” he says, moving toward me.
I know I should keep moving, should keep distance between us, but I feel powerless to stop his advance. His cologne acts like a fog, muddling my ability to think clearly. I try concentrating on how I feel. Aching, excited…alarmed. Yes, there go the alarms, the dings reminding me that this man broke my heart, that he can’t be trusted.
“I was stupid, I was so incredibly stupid and I’m so, so sorry. I was an ass, I know that, but I can’t stop thinking about you.