Suddenly Single

Francie arched a skeptical eyebrow. “Such as?”

“We have nothing in common. Alex comes from money, oodles of it. He’s never experienced hard knocks, rejection or parental disapproval. He works for his father’s company; they think he walks on water.”

“So what’s wrong with that? Lots of children work for their parents.”

“The Mackenzies’ blood isn’t blue, France, it’s positively green, as in greenbacks. They’re into all sorts of social activities, like the country club and yachting. Hell, I can’t even swim. I nearly drowned in the kiddy pool at the club. Miriam was not pleased.”

“But you knew about the differences between you and Alex before you married him. You knew he was a mortgage banker and a great deal more conservative than you could ever hope to be. In fact, I worried at your decision to elope. Alex was definitely different from the other men you’d dated.”

Lisa was thoughtful for a moment as she sipped her beer. “I guess I wanted to impress Mom and Dad, be the kind of daughter they wanted. You were getting married to Mark, and I wanted to share in some of the adoration and attention. Pathetic, huh?”

Francie sighed, concern for her sister etched on her face. “Oh, Lisa…”

“Or maybe I thought I had fallen in love and wasn’t paying attention to the differences in our personalities and upbringing. I don’t really know. I just know I screwed up. Big-time.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“Well, originally I was going to ask you for a place to stay until I could get things worked out financially, but then Leo pointed out that might not be a very good idea, so I’ve been staying at his apartment all weekend, trying to come up with a plan.”

Eyes widening, Francie said, “You and Leo? Now there’s an odd couple if there ever was one.”

Offended, Lisa stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“Leo is a compulsive neat freak. Your messy ways will drive him nuts.”

“Oh that.” She waved away her sister’s objection with a flick of her wrist. “He’s already made a few comments about water rings on the table and toothpaste caps being left off. Jeez! Leo’s worse than Mom.”

“How long are you going to live there?”

“Leo’s offer is only good for the weekend, but I’m hoping he’ll give me a permanent place to stay after he sees how well we get on. I’m trying to impress him.”

“With what? You don’t clean. You don’t know a thing about wine. And I don’t need to point out that you’re the wrong sex.”

Lisa made a face. “Like Leo, I like to party and have a good time. And we share a love of toffee peanuts, not to mention that I’m a big Cher fan.”

“Yes, you and Leo are well suited in that way.” Francie shook her head. “I’m not sure, however, that peanuts and parties will be enough to lure him to your way of thinking, Lisa. It takes him a while to warm up to people.”

“Maybe you can help. Put in a good word for me.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but don’t expect me to work miracles. Leo knows you better than you think.”

Lisa brightened instantly. “That should go in my favor then, right?”

Clearing her throat, Francie hesitated, then nodded. “Uh, yeah, right.”

ALEX DROPPED his black leather carry-on bag in the front hallway of Bill Connor’s Philadelphia apartment, where he’d arranged to stay temporarily.

Bill was his former college roommate, and they’d always gotten along well, sharing similar views on politics, movies and music. The one thing they differed on was women—Alex admired them; Bill consumed them.

“I really appreciate your putting me up, Bill. It’s been a long time since Harvard.”

“What are old roommates for?” the lawyer said, nodding toward the kitchen. “Come on in, your room’s all ready. I admit I was surprised when you called out of the blue last night. It’s been what, three years since our last college reunion?”

“Four, actually. Time flies when you’re having fun,” Alex said, sarcasm edging his words.

Lisa had only been gone three days, and he missed her like crazy. He’d fought the urge to phone, to beg her to come back…fearing what her answer would be. He’d come to Philadelphia so he could reason with her, show her how much he loved and wanted her back.

Grabbing two Bud Lights from the refrigerator, Bill handed Alex one and they headed into the living room, which reeked of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. Alex took a seat on the big brown-leather recliner.

“And have you been having fun, buddy?”

“I did for a while. I got married a few months back.” And it had been fun—fun, fantastic and fabulous.

What the hell had happened?

“No shit! That’s great. Congratulations! Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Her name’s Lisa…Lisa Morelli. But…she’s left me.”

“No shit! That sucks. For another guy? I’m sorry as hell, Alex.” Bill patted his friend’s arm consolingly. “If you need a good lawyer, let me know. I’ve got lots of experience in these matters.”

Alex shook his head and sidestepped the topic of divorce. “I’m not exactly sure of the reason for Lisa leaving like she did. She just packed up and split in the middle of the night, no note, no explanation. The bed was empty when I awoke the next morning.” And after they’d made such glorious love, and she’d told him how much she adored him—it had added insult to injury.

“Pardon me for saying so, Alex, but this woman sounds like an insensitive bitch. You might have dodged a bullet on this one. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

Heaving a sigh, Alex replied, “That’s just it. Lisa’s not a bitch. She’s great. She’s impulsive, I’ll admit that. But she’s not the type to purposely hurt someone.”

“So why did she leave then?”

“My guess is that it had something to do with my parents’ treatment of her. You know how snobbish they can be. They never accepted Lisa, never thought she was good enough for me, and they let her know it, in many subtle and not so subtle ways.

“Maybe she got tired of their rudeness.” Alex shook his head. “I don’t know for sure because she never complained or said a word. I know now that I should have stepped in and tried to smooth things out, but I was hoping they would resolve their differences once they got to know each other better.”

“Man, it’s tough when your parents are involved. There’s that whole divided loyalties thing to consider.”

“But that’s just it, Bill. My loyalties weren’t…aren’t divided. I’m on Lisa’s side, but I guess I never let her know that, not really, not like I should have. I screwed up, royally.”

“Yeah, well after you’ve been married a time or two you figure these things out.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me that you’re divorced? Hell, I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even know you were married.”

With his sandy hair, deep blue eyes and dimpled smile, Bill had always been popular with the girls at school. He flitted from one relationship to the next, never tying himself down long enough to get serious about anyone in particular. So to find out his friend had been married, not once, but twice, came as quite a shock to Alex.

“It was brief—they both were. Each one of my marriages lasted less than a year. I wasn’t good at the whole matrimony thing.”

Alex sipped his beer, then said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Are you dating anyone now?”

“Yeah.” Bill grinned. “Annie’s a flight attendant. She’s gone a lot, which works out good for both of us.