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“
Let’s say I was happy and sad.” I pouted, a lame attempt to look youthful.

“
You know you’re cute when you pout?”

I pushed a curl behind my ear Good it was working. “That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard in a long time.”

“
Come on, I’m sure Walter compliments you all the time. You just take them for granted.”

The fact that he knew my husband’s name touched my heart. All those stories I shared with him were boring as hell—and he was listening.

“
Believe me, Walter doesn’t have time to compliment me. If he did, I would remember.”

He leaned across my desk, his eyes darkened. “How about lunch with me today? You promised.” His request left no room for me to say no. After last night I would have accepted an invitation to a snail race.

“
Okay.” The perkiness in my voice surprised me. I don’t know why I accepted so quickly. My head was yelling no, but I ignored it. Was I that desperate for male attention? I leaned back in my chair to put some breathing space between us.

“
Good, I’ll drive. I’ll stop by to pick you up at 11:30. And just in case Walter didn’t tell you today, you look gorgeous.
A piu tardi
. ” He winked.

“
Yeah, see ya,” I said before he walked out.

As soon as he turned the corner I exhaled through my mouth. Lunch with a colleague was not a big deal. Lunch with Marco was a very big deal. If Walter or Crystal saw me, there was no way I could tell them it was business. One look and anyone could tell my heart was cheating.

I pulled out the mirror I kept in my bottom desk drawer and checked my face. Was he kidding? Gorgeous? Wow, it had been some time since anyone called me that. I smiled at my reflection, then tucked the mirror away.

Good married women don’t lunch with men they want to screw. If I had a cheating heart, Marco would be the one. If I counted the erotic images I had about him, I already had one foot in hell. The seductive wink he gave me would keep me company for several weeks.

Ursula walked into my office and closed the door. “Okay, okay, I can’t wait any longer. What happened last night? What did you do?” She sat in the chair vacated by Marco. “What did he say?”

“
Ursula, slow down.” She was shooting questions at me so fast I didn’t know where to start. “Should we get Carla on the line so I don’t have to repeat this a second time?”

“
Whatever.” She waved her hand. “That’s up to you. But whatever you do, hurry up, I can’t wait any longer. I started to call your house last night but…but I thought Walter might answer. God knows I didn’t want to talk to him.”

I dialed Carla and put her on the speakerphone. “Carla, can you hear me?”

“
Yeah. I was getting ready to call you. What happened? What did he say? Why did it take you so long to call me?” Carla fired off questions without taking a breath.

“
Ursula is here in my office. I might as well tell you both at the same time.”

“
Tell it, girl,” Carla said.

“
Okay, okay. Instead of losing my temper and yelling at him—”

“
How could you not yell after all that shit?” Carla interrupted.

“
I decided not to yell.” I sat back in my chair and watched Ursula screw up her face as if I’d given her lemons to suck on. “Instead, I cooked a nice dinner and waited for him to come home.”

“
Did you ask him where he was?” Carla asked.

“
Where the hell was he all night?” Ursula asked also.

“
Of course, that was the first thing I asked. Do you think I’m an idiot? He left a message for me yesterday morning, but I never came back to the office to get it. He said he was pulled into an all-nighter and couldn’t get any messages out until early in the morning. He said he couldn’t get up and say he needed to call his wife.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. I repeated Walter’s exact words. I hunched my shoulders like a third-grader. “We talked and had a bottle of wine, then—”

“
Yeah, we get the picture now.” Ursula rolled her eyes. “You did what you always do.”

“
What does that mean?”

“
He’s says sorry. He whispers in your ear. You part your legs.” Ursula shook her head.

“
When Walter messes up, he’ll do a royal job of it. After Crystal’s wedding I’ll think things over, again.” There was calmness in my chest that hadn’t been there before. I liked this plan.

“
Are you okay?” Carla asked.

“
Yeah, I’m okay. The clock is ticking on our marriage, anyway.”

“
Girl, you know we’re here for you no matter what. His story sounds pretty weak. Do you believe him?” Carla asked.

“
Leave it alone,” Ursula’s tone was heavy with warning.

“
I’m just asking. I’m not sure Javier could tell me some lame story like that. Shoot, you can always come up with a reason to leave the room long enough to make a quick call. Say you gotta go to the bathroom. Even corporate executives have to take a pee.”

“
Carla, his story held together good enough. If something is going on, Walter will hang himself. He did before and he’ll do it again. I’m so numb I really don’t care what he said.”

For a moment the three of us sat in uncomfortable silence. Carla broke the tension. “You’re a better woman than me because I would have smacked him just for being him.”

“
Why don’t you keep on trying to make that baby and stay outta other people’s business?” Ursula asked.

“
I don’t want to bring you guys down.” Carla’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I came on my period this morning.”

“
Oh Carla. I’m so sorry. Give it time. It’ll happen.” I hoped it didn’t sound like a platitude.

“
I was so sure this was it. My period was a week late this time.”

“
Be patient. It’ll happen,” I repeated.

“
Yeah, okay. My problem is I’m not twenty-five years old. My doctor said the odds of a woman over forty getting pregnant are low.”

“
There are plenty of women your age who have babies,” I said.

“
Tracy, please don’t feed me your ‘everything is going to be okay’ bullshit. Suppose I’ve missed my opportunity? What if I never get pregnant?”

I glanced across my desk, hoping Ursula would have something to say. She was focused on her hands in her lap. I didn’t know how to respond. Carla could be right.

“
Anyway, Javier and I are going to the doctor this week to get the results from the test. And…and then…maybe. I’ve got to go now.”

“
Was she crying?” I asked Ursula when the line went dead.

“
I think so. What was that about? She acts like she can’t keep trying.”

“
She wants babies. She’s always had her nieces and nephews running in and out of her house. Now she’s craving her own. Everybody needs someone to love and someone to love them.” I paused for a moment. “I understand that. I’ll call her later. You need to stop being so hard on her, Ursula. The two of you are always going at each other.”

“
What’d I do? What’d I say?”

“
Just go easy.”

“
All right,” she said reluctantly. “But she always has something to say. She has a comment to make about everything. Do you know anyone with more mouth?”

“
Yes. You. Still…this is something she wants and we need to support her.”

“
Okay. I’ll be nicer.” She stood. “For a little while.”

“
How’s Anthony? I mean, how are the two of you?”

“
Tracy, please don’t start.” She held up her hand. “It’s good. It’s scary good.” She smiled. “I like him. I want it to work. I’m tired of always having to go places alone, or waiting until you and Carla can clear your calendars to do things with me.” She paused. “I love him Tracy. You know what?” She looked at me with her big brown eyes. “I’d marry him if he never bathed and was the funkiest man on earth. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“
Would you marry him because you love him or because you don’t want to be alone?”

“
Both are good reasons, don’t you think?”

“
Maybe, maybe not. But what do I know? My marriage might be in the toilet. Maybe you should ask Carla, she’s happily married and getting plenty of sex.”

In all the years I’ve known Ursula, I’d never seen her so vulnerable. She usually changed men like I changed my lipstick color. I thought she’d stay single forever.

“
If he never took a bath?” I teased. “Are you sure? And did you just say love? You love Anthony?”

“
Very funny. I do.” She sat back down in the chair. “I think he wants to marry me.”

“
Whoa, Ursula. Marry? Are you guys moving that fast, or have you managed to keep it from me that long?”

“
I kept it from you a while.” She laughed.

“
So everybody is keeping secrets, I guess. Carla’s only now telling us she wants babies.”

“
Yeah, so what’s yours?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Are you having an affair with Marco? I saw him coming out of your office with a big smile on his face.”

“
Ha. Ha. I can only handle one man at a time and I’m not doing that very well right now. But…” I lowered my voice.

“
Ah ha, that’s what I thought.” She snapped her fingers.

“
Maybe it’s time I switched up and gave Marco a try.” We both laughed.

“
Yeah, give him a try and let Walter know. Nothing brings a man back in line faster than knowing somebody else is eyeing his woman.”

“
Yeah, but—”

“
Oh yeah, that’s right. You’re Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. You wouldn’t cheat no matter how miserable you are.” She paused then added. “No one likes a martyr, Tracy.”

A stab of guilt pierced my heart. After the emptiness of our lovemaking the night before, I wondered if Ursula was right.

“
Girl, you better take care of yourself. I won’t tell anyone.” She stood again.

Marco walked in my office just as she was about to leave. “Hey Marco,” Ursula said.

“
Ursula. Want to join Tracy and me for lunch?” He waved his hand to include Ursula in the lunch date.

Ursula shot me a glance. “No, I can’t. Three’s a crowd. But you guys enjoy yourselves.” She gave me a wink that only I could see before slipping out the door.

“
Ready?” His warm baritone tickled my ears.

My heartbeat sped up. I reached in the drawer, extracted my purse, and stood. “I am.”

Chapter Twelve - Tracy

Marco led the way out of the building. The hall just narrowly accommodated the two of us, side-by-side.

“
So we’re really doing this?” Marco beamed a brilliant smile as we exited the building.

“
What? Having lunch? Of course.” I hoped my reply sounded breezy, like this happened to me every day.

“
I can’t believe I was actually able to pull you away.” He opened the door and allowed me to exit first.

The sun slipped behind a wispy cloud as we stepped outside. The bright blue sky sparkled like glass. His eyes traveled the length of my legs as I pulled them into his car. He lifted his chin and his fiery gaze flickered with desire. My breathing accelerated before I could look away.

He closed my door, circled the car, and slid into his side.

“
I can’t seem to get this seatbelt to work.” I tugged on the strap without success.

“
Let me help you. It sticks sometimes.” He leaned across my body to pull the belt.

God, he smelled good. The warmth of his presence penetrated my pores. He had to hear my heart thundering in my chest. I wanted to touch the tiny pulse beating in his neck, but the belt popped free and he sat up straight. I swallowed the taste of desire lining my mouth. Going to lunch with Marco was like fanning the flames of a forest fire. With my marriage crumbling, I should have stayed away from temptation.