When We Fall (Emily Liebert) by Emily Liebert

Author:Emily Liebert [Liebert, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-08-10T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Allison had been both surprised and delighted to hear from Elizabeth, especially when she’d proposed a lunch date. The one and only time they’d met at Charlotte’s house, there’d been an immediate chemistry—a circumstance that had visibly peeved Charlotte and subsequently fortified Elizabeth with a rise of satisfaction. Another enigmatic relationship that Allison’s mother would advise her to steer clear of. But for whatever reason, Allison was drawn to these people. And not just because Charlie was an old friend. After all, if she took everything Charlie said as bible, she’d be left with little reason to associate with either Charlotte or her sister.

In a sense, she supposed, it was obvious. They were all vulnerable in such radically different yet patently tender ways, herself included. Maybe—selfishly speaking—investing in their pain was a means of easing her own. Or maybe it was just morbid curiosity. Kind of like watching a train wreck in progress and knowing that if you tried to help, you’d risk being run over, flattened like a pancake on the proverbial track to enduring desolation.

Allison had suggested DJ Gourmet as their meeting spot. For one, the food was the best in town. And, if she was being honest, she looked forward to seeing Dempsey. This morning she’d brushed a hint of blush across the apples of her cheeks, had smeared her naturally pink lips with a trace of shimmery gloss, and had stroked her eyelashes with two coats of clear mascara, curling them in advance. There’s nothing wrong with wearing a little makeup every now and then. She could hear her mother’s urging refrain buzzing in her ear as she opted not to prime her skin with a layer of opaque foundation. She didn’t want him to think she was trying too hard, because—the truth was—she had no idea if she wanted to be trying at all. And even if she did, what she was trying for?

What she did know was that Dempsey made her feel giddy in a way she hadn’t since before. Not just because he was weak-in-the-knees sexy. Actually, that wasn’t it at all. It had more to do with the way he looked at her and spoke to her, like he valued every second of time she was willing to afford him, which hadn’t been much. Baby steps, she told herself, despite the fact that she was still learning to crawl.

A year after Jack died, the first wedding invitation had arrived. But it wasn’t any old invitation. It was from a woman she’d met through a mutual friend. A woman who, like Allison, had lost her husband in the bus accident. Only, was she like her? Because if that was the case, as Allison had thought it was, then she wouldn’t have been remarrying twelve months after her husband had died. In a torrent of anger, Allison had shredded the thick, embellished ivory stock with her own hands, allowing a rainstorm of paper to trickle down to the carpet, where she’d left it until she’d summoned enough strength to wield her trusty Dustbuster.

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