Heather looked at Lisa. “That’s just it. I don’t know if I want to stop seeing him. I don’t want to give up the gym. I feel so confused.”
Heather excused herself and headed to the restroom, leaving Lisa sitting at the table, mulling over what she had just been told. How could Heather have done that to Tristan? Damn. It made Lisa so angry to think that Heather was considering cheating on him. He didn’t deserve that. He deserved a woman who would love him unconditionally.
“So, you won’t breathe a word of this to Tristan, will you?” Heather said when she came back to the table. “I told you this in confidence.”
Lisa looked at her friend and smiled. "I won't, but you need to do the right thing, Heather. You can’t go on living a lie. You told Tristan Troy was gay for goodness sake. I don’t know how you could sit there the other night at that restaurant and act like everything was fine knowing that you had kissed someone else.”
Heather glared at her friend. “You make it sound so cheap.”
“It is cheap, Heather. I never in a million years thought that my best friend would stoop so low.”
Heather cocked her head to the side and looked at Lisa. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a crush on Tristan.”
“No, but I respect him, and I like him,” Lisa snapped, picking up her purse. “Plus I don’t want to see him get hurt. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“Well, maybe it was a big mistake to confide in my best friend,” Heather said, glaring at Lisa.
“Look, Heather, I’m sorry, but I just don’t condone cheating − especially when you have everything you need right at home. What happened, happened, and now you need to make it right,” Lisa said as she stood up. “I can’t tell you what to do, but this will eat at your conscience if you don’t fix it.”
✽✽✽
Tristan checked the lobster tails one last time and basted them with butter. Everything was perfect. It was Heather's first day in her new position, and Tristan wanted everything to be perfect for her. He had taken the afternoon off, bought two lobster tails and tenderloin steaks, made a salad, baked potatoes − all of Heather's favorites. Things had been so busy for them lately that he thought a nice romantic evening would be exactly what they needed.
The hot tub was bubbling on the deck just waiting for them to relax, and a bottle of champagne was chilling in the fridge when Tristan heard Heather come through the front door.
Meeting her in the hall with a bouquet of roses, he said, "Welcome home, my queen."
Heather put her purse down on the table, taking the roses and smelling them. "What’s this all about?”
"We never had a chance to really celebrate your promotion, and I wanted us to have a nice evening. I have steak and lobster tails, salad, cheesecake for dessert, and then afterward, we can have a dip in the hot tub while we sip champagne.”
“Oh my, Tristan. You certainly went all out. I don’t deserve this,” Heather said, kissing Tristan on the lips.
“You do. More than you know. Putting up with my crazy schedule and the demands of the company − you deserve this and so much more.”
Heather smiled, putting the roses in a vase and placing it on the table. Turning, she looked at Tristan and said, “Tristan, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Oh, can it wait? I don’t want to discuss business or finances or anything serious like that tonight. Let’s just make tonight about us,” Tristan said, taking Heather in his arms. “You are the most important thing in my life, and if I ever lost you, I don’t know what I would do.”
Heather looked up at him, her heart beating a mile a minute. She couldn’t tell him about her kiss with Troy now. It would devastate him.
Feeling his lips press down on hers, she gave into him, putting her arms around his neck as his tongue gently teased her mouth.
Pulling away, he looked down, lovingly into her eyes. “Okay, we better stop, or else dinner will burn. Let’s hold those thoughts for later,” he said, laughing.
They devoured the delicious meal that Tristan had prepared, sipping wine and laughing. Heather realized she felt truly happy. Calm. At ease. So why did Troy keep invading her mind, and why was she comparing his kiss to Tristan’s?
Tristan put the last dish in the dishwasher and turned, looking at Heather. “How about we go settle in the hot tub and enjoy some champagne?” he suggested with a grin.
Heather knew he had more in mind than just sitting in the hot tub and, as happy as she was and as much as she loved him, she wasn’t sure she was up for sex tonight. It had been an overwhelming day, plus she had been thinking more and more about Troy, and she didn't know why. Not wanting to disappoint Tristan after he had put so much effort into this evening, she smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a good way to relax.”
✽✽✽
Lisa sat looked across the table at her date for the evening. She had met Johnathan Trenton at a seminar she had attended on opening your own business, and they had seemed to click. When he asked her out for dinner, she decided it was a good way to get the thoughts of Tristan out of her head. She really needed to move on. She would never have Tristan. He was hopelessly in love with Heather, and, in her strange way, she loved him too, even if she was a bit confused right now.
“So, have you decided if you are going to go full time with the candles?” Johnathan asked as he roughly cut into his steak, the sauce splattering onto his shirt, making Lisa cringe.
"Umm, no. My sales have doubled since I started, but I'm not brave enough to quit my job just yet,” Lisa said, taking a small bite of the salmon she had ordered.
“What do you do again?”
“I work in advertising. We create ads for various companies,” Lisa answered, pushing her plate away.
“Are you done? You didn’t finish your food," Johnathan said, reaching over, grabbing her plate and scraping the remnants of her meal onto his. “Hope you don’t mind. I hate wasting food.”
Lisa shook her head and forced a smile. Johnathan was nice, and they had great conversations on the phone, but his tables manners left something to be desired. Sighing, she watched as he shoved a mixture of steak, beans, and rice into his mouth, bits of food falling into his lap, then took a sip of wine while his mouth was still full.
“Oh man, this is so good. Thanks for agreeing to come out for dinner,” he said after he had finished his food.
Lisa smiled slightly, glad it was over. “This has been fun.”
“So, why don’t we blow this place and head back to your place for a nightcap?” Johnathan said, signaling the waiter to bring the bill.
Trying to think of an excuse, Lisa shook her head. “I have nothing at home for a nightcap.”
“No problem. We can stop on the way. I know a place around the corner from here. They are open until nine,” Johnathan said, looking at his watch. "If we hurry, we can catch them before they close."
“Actually, my roommate is home, so that wouldn’t work anyway,” Lisa lied. Fay was actually on a business trip.
"Aww, that's fine. I promise I won’t be loud,” Johnathan said with a leer.