Karla knows to send Dave back to my office when he arrives, so when there’s a knock at my door, I’m not surprised to see him.
“Dave.” I stand and walk over to him, offering him a firm handshake. “Thanks for making it over here.”
“I thought I was going to be late.” He chuckles, completely unaware of how my stomach is turning in on itself. “There was a huge accident on the 405. I was able to get off at an exit before I hit parking-lot type traffic.”
“When is there not an accident on the 405?” I ask.
“Very true.”
I gesture toward the sitting area in my office while I shut my door behind him. “Take a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?”
“I’m good. I downed a coffee on the way here. Don’t worry, I went to the bathroom before I came in, so I won’t be requiring the use of your personal toilet.”
I chuckle and take a seat across from him. “My personal toilet is always available to you.”
He presses his hand to his chest. “The sentiment hits me hard.”
My smile fades as I clear my throat. I figure I might as well just jump right to it. “I, uh, I was hoping to have an honest conversation with you today.”
The smallest of smirks appear on Dave’s face. “I think I know what this is about.”
“Do you?” I ask, wanting to see where he’s at.
He nods. “You know, when Ellie first told me, I didn’t believe her at first, but after the baby class, I knew right away that Ellie was right.”
I clear my throat again, tempted to pull on my tie, to loosen it, but I hold strong. “And what was she right about?”
“Excuse me for being forward, but that your relationship with Lottie wasn’t real.”
Yup, there it is.
Shame and embarrassment flow through my veins, heating up my body. Damn it, I wish I’d thought to take off my suit jacket for this conversation. It’s too late now.
I go to say something, but Dave continues, “She told me after the dinner at our house. She suspected you two were faking it. I thought maybe it was some crazy pregnancy hormone at first, because I couldn’t fathom why you’d lie. Especially about a relationship. Ellie pointed out the stiffness in your shoulders when Lottie touched you, the robotic way you talked to each other. There was something missing, and even though you were quite convincing, there were things here and there that gave you away.”
I drag my hand over my face. “Listen, Dave. I can explain.”
“I found the whole thing quite comical, to be honest. How far would Huxley Cane go? Just how unethical was the man who wanted my business?” He pauses, and I think I’m going to be sick.
Unethical.
He’s not wrong. God, I feel ashamed. Especially that he’d known.
“Ellie kept finding these crazy things to do and thought it would be fun to drag you two along.”
I sit a little taller. “You mean, you invited us on purpose?”
Dave laughs. “Oh yeah. You’re probably the most uptight man I know and, granted, it’s gotten you very far in business, but there’s more than making a deal, Huxley, and I wanted you to see that. I thought that maybe if we carried on with the charade, that maybe something would come of it. There was a connection between you and Lottie, and Ellie and I were hoping to see it grow stronger.” He smiles. “And it has.” He laughs. “I can assure you, had I not met Ellie, I may have never known what true love was either.”
“Wh-what?” I ask, trying to comprehend and process everything he’s saying.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you love her, don’t you?”
My teeth roll over my bottom lip, and I stare down at my connected hands. I nod. “Yeah, I do.”
“I knew it.” Dave slaps his leg. “Ellie thinks Lottie was the one to crack first, she seemed to be more into you, but I told Ellie you’re a professional at masking your emotions, and if I had to bet on it, I’d say you developed feelings sooner than she developed feelings for you.”
Since this is the conversation we’re apparently having, I say, “I think it started the minute I ran into her.”
“Which wasn’t in Georgia . . .”
I shake my head.
“Ellie was also struck by that. Lottie wasn’t very convincing about knowing much about Georgia.”
I wince. “She’s never been.”
“Then how exactly did you meet?”
“On the sidewalk in my neighborhood. She was lost; I was blowing off steam. Just so happened we both needed each other.” I grip the back of my head. “A not-so meet-cute.”