Deceptions: A Collection Read Free

coming.
    Swallowing, she studied the man across the table for a long, tense moment. She’d met Noel Harris when he’d come into her coffee shop and although she’d noticed him right away, she’d never expected him to notice her.
    But he had…and three years later…
    I want to talk with you tonight, Elizabeth…it’s important.
    A wedding. She’d been panicking that he might be ready to pop the question. What an utter joke.
    Even thinking about it had made her nervous, so instead, she’d just gone into shut down mode and turned the shop over to her assistant manager and cut out early. She needed a special dress, a manicure, a pedicure…
    Tonight was a big deal, after all. Special.
    Special. No, it wasn’t special. It was awful.
    Her stomach twisted as she stared at the glass of wine she’d ordered with her dinner. A measly, miserable salad, because she’d spent the past few years trying to slim down a little . Slim down , from a size eighteen to something more… healthy , as Noel had called it. And appealing.
    You’re beautiful, but you’d be so much more appealing if you lost some weight.
    She’d never really loved her size-eighteen body but she’d been comfortable with herself. Comfortable, and even healthy. She walked four times a week, and in the winter she liked to ski and go ice skating. She’d been satisfied with who she was.
    Until…well, until Noel. So she’d dropped to a size fourteen, had started doing cardio workouts at the gym, although she hated it, and lived on so much green food, she thought she’d turn into a rabbit.
    To please Noel.
    “Liz?”
    She looked up and met Noel’s gaze. He was watching her with gentle eyes, that patient smile on his face. “You haven’t said anything,” he said.
    No. I haven’t, have I? That’s because I feel like crying. Or screaming.
    “I’m just a little thrown,” she said, her voice steady enough. Yay, me . “You want to keep seeing each other, but you also want to…to what? Date other people?”
    “That’s pretty much it. Look, Liz…open relationships are really common these days. It just requires understanding and commitment on both sides.” Noel continued to watch her, sharp green eyes all but pinning her in place.
    Funny. I always thought serious relationships took commitment…to each other. There was a knot in her throat that was going to choke her, but she managed to speak around it as she asked, “And what if I don’t want an open relationship?”
    “Well.” Noel spread his hands out on the table. When they’d first started dating, she’d loved those hands—smooth and elegant, the nails manicured. He so clearly took care of himself. It wasn’t a wonder that he’d wanted her to take better care of herself, too, was it?
    And now he wanted to…
    She slammed the door on those thoughts as he reached out and took her hand. “I care about you, Liz. You know that. But I need something…more. If you aren’t willing to try this, I guess we’ll have to put the relationship on hold.”
    “You’ll break up with me,” she said, pushing the words out.
    “No. Just take a break—maybe we both need it.” He sighed and looked away. “You look so hurt and this isn’t about hurting you. It’s about my needs.”
    What about mine ? She almost shouted it, but instead, she tugged her hands free. “I need to think about this.”
    “Of course. Take a day or two.” He leaned over and kissed her, but the heat she almost always felt with him was gone.
    She just felt cold.
     
     
    That lingering cold remained when he rolled off her that night. He didn’t even seem to notice—he’d come with a grunt and then pulled out, not saying anything.
    And now…
    Now…now he was snoring while she curled up on her side and tried to understand what she’d done wrong.
    The silence of the room pressed in on her. The sound of his snores seemed to grate on her as she huddled in on herself, trying to disappear. With a groan, she clambered out of bed,