The sun shone brightly, and Alicia was happy to be out and about. It was somewhat chillier than she’d thought, and she was glad she’d worn a black turtleneck sweater and jeans. She’d also thrown on the black lambskin leather jacket Charlotte had given her last Christmas, along with a pair of black pointed-toe, high-heeled boots she’d bought for herself around the same time.
She sat at the stop sign at the entrance of their subdivision readjusting her sunglasses, then drove onto the main street. It had been an hour since Levi had sent her that last inbox message, and she was hoping she wouldn’t hear from him again. At least not today, anyway, because she needed to spend some time alone, enjoying the day and clearing her head.
Alicia pushed the audio command button on her console. “Call Phillip.”
The system in her vehicle responded. “Dialing Phillip, please wait.”
After a few seconds, Phillip answered. “Hey, my beautiful wife. What’s up?”
“I’m heading to the mall.”
“Really? Which one?”
“Oakbrook.”
“Your favorite.”
“You know it is. I love Woodfield, too, which is a closer drive from Mitchell, but Oakbrook is on a different level. And before you even start thinkin’ it, I won’t go crazy when I get there.”
Phillip laughed. “You said it, I didn’t. But I am glad to know that. There was a time when you shopped like a drug addict.”
“Yeah, I definitely had a little bit of a problem. I learned a tough lesson from it, though.”
“But that’s all in the past now, so no worries.”
Alicia thought about the way she’d forged Phillip’s name on preapproved credit card applications without his knowing it. She’d received the cards, maxed them out, and hid the statements. The memory of it all still made her cringe, and it was her father who’d paid off the balances so Phillip’s credit wouldn’t be ruined. She had, however, paid her father back every penny.
There was a short silence, and Alicia knew Phillip was also thinking about the deceitful thing she’d done.
“I haven’t shopped just to be shopping in a long time, and I’m looking forward to it.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“I hope you don’t mind because with it being Friday, I might not get back until early evening. It’s eleven now, so I won’t even get there until noon or after.”
“You’ll probably get caught up in rush-hour traffic, too. But that’s fine. You enjoy yourself.”
“I plan to.”
“I hope you still have some energy when you get home, though.”
“I’m sure I will,” she replied, trying to sound enthused. “Oh, and hey, Brad called me earlier.”
“He told me he was going to, and I meant to tell you that this morning before I left. This thing with Melanie is a lot worse than we thought.”
“Yeah, it is. I’m going to call her and go over there tomorrow afternoon.”
“I hope she hears you, because she can’t keep going the way she’s been.”
“Not at all,” she said.
“I had a cousin once who was both anorexic and bulimic, and she died. I’m not sure I ever told you about her.”
“You didn’t.”
“It was years ago, before you and I met.”
“How old was she?”
“Twenty.”
“Gosh, that’s really sad.”
“Eating disorders are very serious, but you don’t hear much about them. And even more so when you’re talking about adults. It’s much more common with teenagers, but it sounds like Melanie has been struggling since she was a child.”
“She has been, but I never thought she needed professional help. It never crossed my mind.”
“You just have to be there for her. We all do.”
“For sure.”
“Well, I guess I’d better get going. I have a few more things to do, and then I’m going to take a late lunch.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“I love you, baby, and be safe out there.”
“I will. Love you, too.”
Alicia ended the call and turned on SiriusXM. Kem’s latest single was playing on the Heart & Soul channel, and like with every other song he’d made, Alicia loved it. But the more she listened to the lyrics and the way Kem sang them, she found herself thinking and fantasizing about Levi. She’d just hung up with Phillip a few minutes ago, telling him that she loved him, but now she was longing to hear Levi’s voice. Longing to simply see his gorgeous face and alluring smile.
She quickly switched the channel to a random talk radio station. It wasn’t even one she’d listened to before, and she didn’t care. All she wanted was to make sure she didn’t hear any more love songs.
It was only four o’clock, and Alicia had already made her rounds. She’d shopped in Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, White House Black Market, and Tiffany’s, and she’d found a few things she loved in all four places. A to-die-for silver necklace with matching earrings, a winter-white Armani sweater, two pairs of riding boots: one black and one brown, a navy blue leather jacket, a black off-the-shoulder wool sweater, and a pair of dark indigo boot-cut jeans. Today had been a good day and well worth the trip.
Alicia walked away from the mall, heading toward the parking lot. She was sort of hungry and debated whether she should lock her bags in her car and get something to eat. But when she thought about how late she’d get home, she decided against it. If she left now, she would at least beat some of the work traffic, even if not all of it.
She strolled down the long aisle, passing rows of cars, but as she walked closer she could tell her eyes were playing tricks on her. They had to be, as they saw a man dressed in all black the same as she was stepping out of a silver Mercedes-Benz parked next to hers—and he looked like Levi. She definitely had to be dreaming. Or maybe she was fantasizing about him again without trying.
She kept walking, but when she arrived at her car, she knew Levi was as real as always. She pressed the trunk button on her key fob, acting as though she didn’t recognize him.
Levi leaned against his own vehicle with his arms folded. “Let me go ahead and apologize now for having you followed. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t go another day without seeing you.”
Alicia set her bags inside the trunk one at a time. “Levi, you know you’re wrong for doing this.”
“What did you expect me to do? I’ve been sending you message after message, and you wouldn’t respond. I mean, how do you think that made me feel?”
Alicia felt her hands shaking, but she pressed the button and shut her trunk.
“Baby, I’m sorry to catch you off guard like this, but there was no other way.”
“How did you know where I was?”
“I told you, I had you followed. Not to check up on you, but so I could eventually meet you somewhere. And when my guy told me you were at the mall, I drove over here and waited.”
“And how long has your guy been following me?”
“A couple of weeks.”
Alicia hated herself for not being upset with him. She knew she should’ve been, but shamefully, a part of her was glad Levi had taken matters into his own hands.
“Can I talk to you?” he said, and Alicia was happy she had on sunglasses, so he wouldn’t see how nervous and excited she was. Levi looked even more handsome than usual, and Alicia’s heart felt as though it were beating through her chest.
“It’s getting late, and I have to get home.”
“Just come sit in my car for a few minutes. That’s all I’m asking.”
Alicia didn’t move. She wanted to, but she knew nothing good could come from being closed up in a vehicle with Levi. As it was, the chemistry between them was so intense, a mere stranger could see how in love they were with each other.
Only problem was, Alicia was married.
“Sweetheart, please. Just let me talk to you.”
“Levi, why are you trying to make things hard for me?”
Levi walked around to the passenger side of his vehicle and opened the door. “Only for a few minutes. I promise.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Well, I told you I’m not giving up. So if we don’t do this now, I’ll have to meet up with you somewhere else.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Actually, it is. Not the kind that’ll harm you, but I’m being honest. If you won’t talk to me here, we’ll have to do it down the road.”
It wasn’t even worth arguing with him anymore, so Alicia strutted over and sat inside the car. Levi shut the door and walked back to the driver’s side.
When he got in, he raised his sunglasses and rested them on his head. “Still as gorgeous as ever, I see.”
Alicia felt like jumping out of her skin, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to stand this.
“Remember when I said you’d come looking for me two months after you got married?”
“Yeah, but as you can see I didn’t.”
“Yeah, well, it’s only been a month, and you would have eventually.”
“And your point?”
“I couldn’t wait that long. I needed to see you now. I feel like some silly schoolboy, and I don’t like it. There are days when my heart hurts so badly, I feel sick.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“And you don’t feel the same way? You haven’t missed me at all?”
“Even if I have, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter, so just tell me.”
“Look, Levi, I’ll be honest. Walking away from you and marrying someone else was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. But what’s done is done, and we can’t change it.”
“No marriage is permanent unless both parties want it to be.”
Alicia looked toward the passenger window and closed her eyes.
Levi turned her face back to him, removed her sunglasses, and caressed the side of her face. “Girl, don’t you know how much I love you? I would do anything for you. You hear me? Anything. And I know your feelings haven’t changed, either. Being without you these last three months has been straight torture.”
Alicia tried to stop her tears from falling, but she couldn’t.
“You’re miserable, too,” he said. “So why are we suffering like this?”
Alicia turned her entire body toward him and laid the side of her head against the backrest, gazing into his eyes. Levi wiped her tears with his hand and then leaned over and kissed her. Alicia didn’t bother trying to fight him. Instead, she grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him as though they were locked away in a bedroom. Every pent-up emotion she’d been hiding rushed freely through her soul, and at this very moment, she felt at total peace. She was so in love with this man, it frightened her. But what scared her more was the thought of never seeing him again. She couldn’t imagine living like that, and she wouldn’t.