“I’m a liar,” I say over her. “That’s the second thing you should know about me. I lied to myself. I lied to my wife. I lied to her about lying to her. She deserved… and deserves better than me. She deserves a man like the ones in romance novels who will always choose her no matter what.”
“Is that who you are now?” she asks.
“That’s who I will fight to be for the rest of my life, Melanie. For you.” I slide my hand across the table, taking hers. “It will be hard and very illogical, but I know that we are worth fighting for. I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I sat down in a chair just like this one four years ago. And I know that you love me, too.”
“You’re right, Rob,” she says. “I do love you. But love isn’t enough.”
“It’s a start,” I argue.
“Romance is a fantasy. It’s neat and structured and everything always works out, but it’s not real.”
“Mel—”
“You hurt me.” She pauses. “And I’ve hurt you plenty, too.”
“Then, what do we do?” I ask. “How do we fix this? How do we put this behind us?”
The timer chimes. All the men say their goodbyes and stand up, but I don’t move. I keep my hold on Melanie’s hand. I look at her as she looks at me, refusing to be the one who looks away first.
Melanie pulls her hand away as she leans back. “We choose to go our separate ways,” she answers. “And we stop hurting each other.”
She stands up, taking my heart along with her.
“Melanie, don’t—”
“I’m sorry,” she says with tears in her eyes. “I can’t fight for us anymore.” She hesitates a moment before straightening up and nodding. “Bye, Robbie.”
No.
Stop her.
Melanie awkwardly squeezes behind the chairs to make it to the exit across the golden ballroom.
Stop her.
Now.
“Melanie!” I shout.
She doesn’t stop.
I jump over the table to her side, drawing annoyed glances from everyone, but I can’t care about that right now. She’s already out of sight. If I don’t move quickly, I’ll lose her forever.
“Melanie!”
I hustle through to the golden hotel lobby. There’s a dozen strangers scattered around, but Melanie’s nowhere to be found. How did she get outside so quickly?
I race outside. Crisp air smacks me in the face as I scan the passing crowd.
Still no Melanie.
“Melanie!” I shout again, clinging to the last bit of hope I have.
But she’s not here.
She’s gone.
Forty-One
Robbie
I sigh with my face planted on Nora’s desk. “This sucks,” I say.
Nora leans on the edge of the desk beside me. “I know, honey,” she soothes as she runs her fingers through my hair.
“I really thought that’d work.”
“I did, too!”
“But she just… walked away.”
“Trix and I tried calling her,” Nora says. “After a while, the calls went straight to voicemail. She’s ignoring our texts, too.”
“I’m sorry you girls got dragged into this,” I say. “The last thing I wanted was to break up the Sunday brunch squad.”
“It’ll be so weird tomorrow without her. Just me and Trix.” She frowns, but then feigns a smile for me. “But you can come! If you want to.”
I give a non-committal head bob. “I’ll think about it.”
I sit back, banishing every air molecule from my lungs. I ripped myself open and poured my heart out for her and Melanie still walked away. From me. From us…
The Little Black Book office party rages on in the next room, or as much as a fancy office party can rage. At least one person will photocopy their ass at some point tonight. The sexy guy in the Santa suit is getting some, but not me.
My soulmate left me.
“Sucks,” I repeat.
Nora pouts, showing sympathy. “I’m really sorry, Robbie.”
I wave a hand. “It’s all right.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No.” I sit up, attempting to look stronger than I feel. “Go enjoy your party. I’ll be all right.”
“Are you sure?” She looks at me like I’m a lost puppy. “I don’t want to leave you like this.”
“Thank you, but I’m fine. Really. I’m just going to sit here in the dark for a while, stare out these comically large windows you have, and pretend to be Batman.”
“Okay, Mr. Wayne.” She chuckles. “Don’t brood too hard.”
Clive appears behind her in the door and gently knocks twice. “Hey, Nora.”
She turns and smiles. “Hi,” she says sweetly.
He gives me a solemn head nod. “Robbie.”
“Clive,” I say.
“Sorry to interrupt, but can I borrow you for a few minutes?” he asks Nora.
“Sure,” she answers.
“On the roof.”
She blinks. “The roof?”
“Yeah.”
“Um, okay,” she says. “I’ll grab my coat and I’ll meet you up there.”
Clive bows his head again. I bow right back before he disappears into the party.
Nora slowly twists back to me, her eyes wide open and brows piqued.
I smile. “Some-one’s getting engaged to-night,” I say with song.
“I can’t get engaged tonight!” she whispers, full of panic.
“Why not?”
“It’s not fair. It’s bad timing.”
“It’s perfect timing,” I argue. “Seriously, go. Love must prevail.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve got my own stuff going on. See?” I gesture at the windows. “Gotham needs me.”
She laughs. “Fine. I’ll go. But I’m sending in Trix to check on you.”
“If you must.”
Nora gives me a friendly kiss on the forehead before standing off the desk.
“Congratulations, Nor,” I say.
She smiles at me from the doorway. “Thanks.”
I lean back in her absurdly comfortable office chair and pivot to look out the windows, an act I instantly regret. Snow billows down from the sky. It would have been a perfect night to lie awake with Melanie in my arms. Cold outside. Warm in the sheets…
I sigh. It’s over now. She made her choice, and I have to respect that.
I close my eyes. I picture a different skyline behind my eyelids. Maybe a little sunlight. Or some rain on a windy day.
Anything but snow.
A scream rattles my ears.
Nora.
I jump out of the chair and race back into the party. A few staffers rush away from the center of the room to hide behind the
