Perfect Harmony by Sarah P. Lodge Page B

him.
    Things I can’t even confess to myself.
    What’s wrong with me?  Why am I torturing myself like this?
    I need to go back to the plan: keep my distance, say little
and leave as soon as possible.  If I do that, nothing can go wrong.
    “Melody?”
    I spin around and find Richard standing behind me.  He scans
me in my tight gown, his mouth wide open and eyes awash with surprise.  “You
look... I mean...” he stumbles out.  He shakes his head.  “I didn’t think you’d be
here.”
    I bite my lip.  “Me neither.  Are you alone?”
    Richard’s mouth opens, ready to speak when I hear a woman’s
voice come up behind him.  “Richard, darling, you have to try these oysters, I
mean, they look disgusting but when they go down, oh my god.”  She catches
sight of me and freezes.  “Melody, hi.  Didn’t see you... standing... there.”  She
brushes a lock of long blonde hair off her face.
    “Liz.  Nice to see you.”
    “You too,” she says.
    And we stand for a moment, paralysed and speechless in the
sheer awkwardness.  It feels like hours pass before anyone speaks again.
    It is only then that I notice Liz’s face.  She looks
miserable, almost on the precipice of bursting into tears.
    “Melody.  I... I’m so sorry.”
    Her voice cuts through the silence like a knife through warm
butter.
    “Liz, stop it,” says Richard.  “There’s nothing to apologise
for.”
    “We never meant to hurt you,” says Liz.  “Really.  It was a
big mess and I’m so sorry.”
    “Stop it.”  Richard glares at me and continues.  “We were
going to tell you last week but you’ve been avoiding us this entire time.”
    My mouth falls open.  “You’re blaming me?”
    “Come on, Melody.  I was meant to be your boyfriend but if
you didn’t want me then at least you should have had the stones to tell me
rather than working late, or whatever crap excuse you’ve got ready at a moments
notice.”
    “This is not my fault.  You’re the one who cheated on me!”
    “Not if you hadn’t pushed me away.  For god’s sake, is it
any wonder Liz and I got together?  All those nights we planned to do something
and you disappeared with no warning, me already in your apartment.  You’re the
reason you’re unhappy.  Not us.”
    I shake my head.  “No, that’s a lie.  A damn lie.”
    “Really?”  Richard eyes me from top to bottom, prolonging
his look on my long auburn hair curling over my shoulders, and the low cut of
my top pushing my ample breasts so close to my chest they threaten to spill
over.  “Because you sure as hell never dressed like that when we were dating.” 
He grinds his teeth.  “So, who is he?”
    This is the moment I’ve been preparing for all night.  The
time to drop the revenge bombshell that the man I’m with is Chase Strong, his
boss, his boss’s boss, billionaire playboy, ruthless and handsome, someone who
could have any woman on the planet.  And he wants me .
    And then they’d be shocked.  They’d be jealous.  They’ve
been eaten alive with envy.  And I would be satisfied and happy again.
    But then I see Richard’s arm is wrapped around Liz’s waist,
his hand on her side and holding her to him.  It’s only the minutest of
gestures, but unconsciously he wants to keep her close to him.  He wants to
protect her.  And she wants to let him.
    I never even offered him that.  Not even the passive
submission of letting him try and take care of me.  Every time he had tried to
touch me, I had pulled away.  We got along so well at the recording studio when
we first met - we had so much in common and he was nice and sweet.  A
relationship seemed like the sensible thing to do, but I never really felt
anything for him beyond friendship.  I strained to keep the relationship alive
- it was the right thing to do with how supportive he was of my dream and how
he wanted to be the one to make it come true.
    But I felt nothing.  The first time he tried to kiss me,