Dex nodded. “Yes.” She didn’t know why, but it felt good to talkthis out with Glo.
“Can I offer you a little advice?”
“Glo.” Bill’s voice was firm. “Maybe you should stop meddling andlet the girls figure this out themselves.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Dex ate the few carrots left in herbowl and pushed her dish away. “I was hoping Emma would be here today, so Icould talk to her.”
“I’m going to give you a little insight into Emma.” Glo finishedher glass of wine and refilled it. “She had a bad experience with her lastgirlfriend.”
Dex sat forward and put her arms on the table. “She hasn’t saidanything about that.”
“And she probably won’t.” She glanced across the table at Bill,and he shrugged. “She found out that friends don’t always have your bestinterests in mind.” She let out a heavy breath and stood up. “I’m going toleave it at that.” She started gathering the dirty dishes, and Dex hopped up tohelp.
That was an open-ended bit of advice if she’d ever heard it. “Whatam I supposed to do with that?”
Glo patted her on the cheek lightly. “Set your boundaries, Dex.And do it soon.”
They had the dishes done quickly, and Dex was out the door soonafter. She hadn’t had much to say after hearing about Emma’s previousrelationship. Her mind had been on Emma and her heartbreak. It actually painedDex to know she’d been hurt by someone, a friend, someone she’d trusted. Nowshe understood her actions at the skating rink. Dex had been thoughtless byletting Grace insert herself into their date and then not leaving with Emma. Itseemed that Dex’s situation might be a little too similar. Apparently, shewasn’t the only one who had relationship fears.
Once her SUV had warmed up, Dex glanced up at the house and wavedat Bill and Glo, who were standing in the doorway before she pulled away. Thelights had turned out beautifully, and her talk with Glo had lifted the weightin her chest some. Maybe she couldmake this work with Emma.
* * *
The week had trudged by slowly. With no contact from Emma, Dex hadlet work occupy her time by working ten- and twelve-hour days to complete allthe light-hanging jobs on her schedule for the week and keep her clients happy.Staying busy had kept her mind occupied, and she’d caught herself thinkingabout Emma only after the sun went down. Sleep hadn’t come easy, but keepingherself exhausted usually helped. The edge of that knife hurt more than she’dthought it would right now. She missed the sparkle in Emma’s eyes whenevershe’d caught her watching her, the sweetness in her voice when she’d whisperedin her ear, the gentle possessiveness she’d shown when they’d made love. Emmadid things to Dex no one else ever had.
Thankfully it had been an unseasonably warm week for earlyDecember in Chicago. The week’s schedule had been full, with Friday being theheaviest of all. It had taken her full crew and thousands of lights to coverthe two-story Italian-renaissance-revival mansion she’d scheduled. At fifteen thousandsquare feet, the modern architectural landmark was nestled in the midst ofseveral other elite mansions in River Forest. She’d yet to get but a few of theneighbors on her customer list but hoped this light display would win themover. Dex just hoped the weather held out because her schedule was fully bookeduntil mid-December.
“I don’t know how you do it, Dex. The place looks awesome.”
“We aim to please.”
“You’ve certainly done that.” Emilio handed her a check. “I put alittle extra in there for all of you. You know, a little Christmas bonus.”
“Thanks. The team will appreciate that.” Dex never accepted tipsfrom her customers. She always paid them forward to her crew.
“Don’t forget about the Christmas party tomorrow night. I’llexpect to see you there.” He gave her a fist bump.
“The best party of the year. Wouldn’t miss it.”
“You’re bringing your girl, right?”
“I would if I had one.”
He put his arm around her shoulder. “Plenty of single ladies willbe there.”
“Yeah?”
“Bring your best game.” He winked and went back into the house.
She would definitely bring her best game. This party could be anew beginning.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Emma checked her coat at the door and took in thecheckerboard-tiled entryway. The wrought-iron banister held a wide staircasethat led to a landing above. She’d read somewhere in a magazine that Emilio’shouse had fifteen rooms, six of which were bedrooms and seven were bathrooms.It also included a fitness center and waterfall by the pool, which wasridiculous for a confirmed bachelor who used only one of the bedrooms themajority of the time. The rest were here for out-of-town relatives and guests.And this was only one of his homes. He had them in New York, LA, and Tampa aswell. Wouldn’t it be nice to be rich? At this point Emma would settle for alittle happiness in her life.
As soon as she entered the party, she was offered a flute ofchampagne by one of the many servers working the room. She drank it in twogulps, then switched it out for a full one as another server came by. Sheneeded something to improve her mood. Hopefully she’d be able to put in herobligatory hour or two and get the hell out of there.
This party was not on her fun-things-to-do list. Well, it mighthave been a month ago, but now it was just making her sad and uncomfortable.She hadn’t brought a date because she didn’t want to worry about someone elsetonight. She’d even Ubered here in case she drank too much, which was entirelypossible at this point. She’d come only because Emilio was one of the company’slargest clients, and she couldn’t think of any way to avoid being here unlessshe was on her deathbed. Even though she’d felt like it this past week, shewasn’t actually sick.
She caught a glimpse of Brent at the bar, which meant Grace wasclose by. Her stomach twisted. She’d wanted to avoid seeing Grace as long aspossible. Emma hadn’t heard from Dex since the apology text she’d receivedafter she’d left Dex at the ice-skating rink, and she wasn’t up for seeingGrace’s
