“If anyone asks me,” Mark said, “I will tell them to mind their own damn business, and I’ll tell them that because I’m your friend. When a friend is in trouble you keep them close, you don’t throw them overboard. I know your friends let you down badly in the past, but that isn’t going to happen this time. I wouldn’t do that. Nor would Gabe.”
“Don’t—” she slid off her shoes “—don’t make me emotional. I’m already a wreck.”
Mark pushed her onto the sofa. “We’re in this friendship for the long haul. I’m going to be godfather to your kids.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “If I’m pregnant on top of everything else, I’m really going to freak out.” She watched as Mark opened the fridge and pulled out the champagne. “I don’t know what we’re celebrating, unless it’s my ability to complicate even an uncomplicated relationship.”
“There’s no such thing as an uncomplicated relationship. And you went to bed with a guy.” Mark eased the cork out of the bottle and caught the eruption of bubbles in a glass. “That’s something to celebrate.” He handed her champagne.
She took a sip, feeling the light tang and the tingle of bubbles. “This might be the champagne talking, but you and Gabe are the best friends anyone could have.”
“You’ve only had two sips of champagne, so I’m going to accept that for the compliment it is.”
“Two sips on top of the two glasses I drank at the Met.”
“Keep drinking. I want you to tell me if he’s good in bed.”
Despite everything, that made her smile.
“Insanely good.”
“You haven’t had sex in three years and that’s all the detail you’re giving? You’re cruel and heartless.”
“I’ve been telling you that for a long time. All this is probably for the best. It was bound to end at some point, so it might as well be now.”
“Molly—”
“What? I have serious abandonment issues, I know that. I’m a professional and I’m well able to diagnose my own condition. But it turns out knowing what’s going on doesn’t mean I can fix it.”
“I don’t see how you could have hurt him. From what you’ve told me, the man’s defenses are more impenetrable than yours, and he went into this with his eyes open.”
“He told me some things. I told him some things, too, but maybe not as much as he told me.” She bit her lip. “I probably made him feel vulnerable and now he’s defensive.” Yes, that was probably it. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
“I’m amazed the two of you managed to kiss without first agreeing on terms.”
Oh, they’d managed it. They’d done more than manage it. They’d knocked it out of the park.
Remembering sent a slow, sinuous heat sliding into her pelvis. She finished her champagne. “I didn’t expect it to be so good.”
“So you kissed someone because you thought they would give you a really bad experience? Honey, I love you, but I will never understand you.” Mark topped up her glass again and she groaned and shook her head.
“Don’t give me any more.”
“Your apartment is one floor down. I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you if necessary. And if you’ve been labeled a Bad Girl you might as well live up to your reputation.”
“I feel horrible. How can I feel horrible when I warned him? I shouldn’t feel guilty but I do.”
“And you’re sure it’s guilt you’re feeling?”
“What else could it be?”
Mark hesitated. “Nothing. Look, maybe it’s a good thing that he knows your secret.”
“It isn’t. That part is scary.”
“I understand about being scared.” Mark picked up his pencil and reached for a piece of paper. “I spent my teens being scared. And with reason. People can be vicious, as we both know. But hiding has a downside, too. It means you live a small life. A life much smaller than you deserve.”
“People think I deserve a lot of things I didn’t get. Most of them bad.”