When I wake up, David is already out of bed. I’m sad that he’s gone, which surprises me because I have a strict rule about not letting men share my bed for the night. Yet here I am, snuggling up to the pillow he slept on because it smells like him. It might have been David’s birthday, but I got exactly what I wanted last night. The smile on his face at the office, the surprised look when Dom and the guys showed up, and the look of contentment after we slept together was everything. Maybe Ethel Burbridge was right. Maybe life is better this way.

Except I promised Sebastian I’d see him today. Can I still do that after the night David and I shared?

I get out of bed, wanting to find him and see what he’s up to. That’s when I notice the time on the cable box. I slept until 10:20. I throw the covers off me and quickly get dressed. When I step out of my room, I smell the coffee.

“Thank God you made coffee,” I say, walking toward the kitchen.

“Fresh pot,” Monica says, holding it up.

“Oh, I thought you were David.” I look around, but he’s not anywhere in sight.

“He went for a jog,” she says. “Apparently, he’s in a really good mood this morning.” She pours her coffee and then meets my gaze. “Any idea why?” Her tone implies she knows exactly why. When I don’t respond, she says, “That’s what I thought. These walls are thinner than you’d think.”

I palm my forehead. “Wow, this morning couldn’t get more awkward.” I reach for a mug, and Monica pours coffee into it for me.

“Don’t sweat it. I already knew about you before I showed up here. I mean, I had no idea you’d moved in, but I knew about you and David.”

“He told you?” I’m a little surprised since the concept of dating multiple women is still new to him.

“He didn’t have to. The way he talks about you says it all.”

“What do you mean?” I lean my hip against the stove and sip my coffee.

“You have to see it. He’s crazy about you.”

I shake my head. “It’s not like that. We’re both dating other people. It’s nothing serious.” I guess I can’t expect his sister to understand the parameters of our relationship. I’m sure she’s as protective of him as he is of her.

“I’m his sister. If he were dating anyone besides you, I would know.”

“He’s seeing a woman named Lonnie. I don’t know where she was last night, though.”

“I’m assuming she was trying to avoid Last Call.”

“What are you talking about? Why would she do that? I mean, she and I don’t hang out or anything.” That would be too much for any of us to handle. “So obviously, I didn’t invite her, but I did assume she’d be bartending.”

“Or she found out about the party and called out sick because David dumped her earlier this week.”

She can’t be right. If he ended things with Lonnie, he would have told me. “You must be mistaken,” I say, taking my coffee and heading to the living room.

Monica follows me. “I’m not. David told me what’s been going on between you two. He’s not the type to string someone along when he’s clearly interested in you. He couldn’t take the thought of hurting Lonnie, so he told her the truth about his feelings for you.”

I turn to face her. “He told you that?” He has no reason to lie to Monica, which means...

“I’m sorry. You look like you’re going to be sick, and I didn’t mean for that to happen. I know my brother, though. I remember when you first started working with him back at the other paper. He told me you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and that he was going to make you his future wife no matter what.”

I sit down on the couch, suddenly feeling very uneasy on my feet. “I can’t believe this. David’s not a liar. He wouldn’t pretend he was still seeing Lonnie if he ended things. That’s... It’s not him.” My phone dings with a text alert, and I force myself to get up and see who it is. Monica watches me without saying a word as I read the text.

Sebastian: No excuses today. I’m taking you to lunch.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

“It’s fine.” I can’t tell her about Sebastian, though right now I’m not sure she doesn’t already know. “How much did David tell you?”

“He said you’re dating some guy who looks like Jensen Ackles. I’ve got to say I can’t blame you there. That man is gorgeous. But David’s my brother.” She sits in the armchair, but her body is turned so she can see me. “Was that the guy?”

I nod. “We have a lunch date.”

“And that’s really what you want to do? You want to leave and have David come back here hoping to find you waiting for him but discovering you’ve gone on a date instead?”

I hold my hand up to stop her. “Whoa, you don’t understand what’s going on here.”

“I understand my brother is crazy about you and that you won’t commit to him. Why is that?”

“Wait, so you think it’s okay that David is pretending to still see Lonnie? You don’t think he’s lying by omission just to...” I’m so angry I’m shaking. “God, he probably kept up the ruse so I’d have sex with him on his birthday! And I fell for it. I should have known.” I put my coffee down on the kitchen table, afraid I’ll spill the hot liquid all over myself because I can’t stop shaking.

“I’m not going to say he was right or make excuses for him. I’m only telling you what I know.”

“Why?” I step toward her, directing my anger at her since David isn’t here. “Why tell me? He was getting away with lying to me. Telling me screws up his agenda.”

“He might be my brother, but I’m not blind to his faults. I don’t agree with the way he’s keeping things from you. I told him to talk to you and be honest.”

And he refused. I feel like I don’t know him at all anymore. I can’t be here. I can’t sit here with Monica, waiting for David to come home and explain what I already know. Nothing he says will make this better. He lied to me. Manipulated me into doing exactly what he wanted. “Maybe I’m the bad guy for refusing to commit, but at least I was honest about it.” I look around the apartment. “I can’t stay here. I have to go. Tell David I’ll be back for my stuff tomorrow.”

“Emily,” she calls after me, but I’m already walking out the door. “Where are you going?”

Like I’m going to tell her. She’d only convey the information to David so he can come plead his case. I keep walking and don’t look back.

I text Tara from the car.

Emily: Meet me at the corner café. Now.

Her response comes about thirty seconds later as I’m leaving the parking lot. I glance at it before pulling onto the road.

Tara: Sheesh. Not even a please.

I don’t bother to reply because I know she’ll come. She’ll understand why I was so terse. Brunch at the café is buffet style, so after I park and am directed to a table, I grab my plate and head to the line. I fill my plate with fruits and eggs, even though I’m not sure I can stomach food right now. I grab some plain toast at the end of the table, thinking it might settle my stomach some.

When I sit down with my plate, Tara sees me and rushes over. She wraps her arms around me. “You look like crap. What happened?” She sits down, and I push my plate toward her. One of us might as well eat. She grabs a strawberry and pops it into her mouth.

I fill her in on last night’s events and my conversation with Monica this morning. When I finish, she says, “Wow. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I have to move out, right? He lied to me. He told me what I wanted to hear just to get me into bed.”

“You don’t know that,” she says, forking a piece of cantaloupe. “It’s possible he was going to tell you but didn’t want to spoil his birthday.”

“Great. So now you’re making excuses for him.” I shake my head.

“I’m not. I’m on your side. You know that. I’m just saying, if I were you, I’d want to hear his side of it. He owes you an explanation. At the very least, you deserve to hear this from his mouth and not his sister’s.

I agree with her there. I deserve that much. “I can’t believe he’d do this. We agreed to see other people and keep it casual.”

She tilts her head and studies my face. “And how well did that go for you?”

“What are you talking about? I’m dating Sebastian, too.”

“Right. And when was the last time you actually went on a date with him? And the lunch you had here doesn’t count since he showed up unexpectedly. Your only planned date was the one at Bella Noche the night David showed up. Ever since then, you’ve been canceling on Sebastian and avoiding his calls.”

“It’s not the same as what David did. I didn’t end things with Sebastian. We’re going to lunch today.”

“Then why are you having brunch with me now?” She reaches her hand across the table. “Emily, I love you, but you aren’t always good at seeing what’s directly in front of your face. You care about David, and you hated seeing him with Lonnie. Why do you think that is?”

Because I wanted him to myself. Oh God! I shake my head. “No. This is crazy. It’s not me. I don’t do relationships. I’ll only hurt us both.” My breathing gets erratic.

“You don’t know that. What did you learn from doing that story on the oldest couple in Priority?”

I shrug. “I didn’t write it.” I couldn’t bring myself to because Ethel and Frank Burbridge go against everything I know to be true. I can’t make sense of their relationship.

“Then write it now.” She opens her purse and takes out a notebook and pen. She’s the only person I know who carries things like that around with her instead of using her phone like the rest of the human population. She opens the notebook and flips to a blank page. “Ignore my shopping list on the previous page. Write.”

“I can’t do this here.” I gesture to the café.

“I’m not letting you leave until you do.” She pulls my plate to her. “I’m not letting you eat either.”

“I’m still not doing it. You can’t force me to stay here and...”

She reaches for my purse on the table before I can stop her.

“What are you doing?”

“Texting Sebastian to come by.”

“No!” I grab for my phone, but she pulls it out of my reach.

“Why? Tell me why you don’t want to see him, Emily. Please, be honest with yourself for once.”

“I’m not playing games, Tara. Give me my phone.”

She starts typing. “‘Sebastian, can’t wait until lunch. Meet me at the corner café now.’” She looks up at me but keeps her finger poised over the phone. “Tell me why or I’m pressing ‘send.’”

I stare at her, tears forming in my eyes. “Tara, you’re supposed to be my best friend.”

“I am your best friend, and I know what you refuse to say.”

“Then why are you making me say it?” Tears spill down my cheeks.

“Because you aren’t going to accept it unless you admit it to yourself first. Tell me why you won’t see Sebastian.”

“Because he’s not David,” I practically yell, drawing the attention of the diners around us.

Tara gets up and walks around the table to me. She wraps me in a hug, and I cry on her shoulder. “I know, sweetie. I know. And I really think if you write that story, you’ll find the answer you’re looking for.”

How can I write what I myself don’t know?