Page 140 of Hunter's Revenge
Dru looks me over when we pull apart and smiles.
“Well, I can see married life is treating you well.”
Oh God.“You know?”
“A few things.” She nods. “Malik explained I guess what he thought would be the harder parts to me.”
“You saw him?” I bring my hand up to my mouth.
“Yeah. A few days ago, I woke up to find a hundred grand in my account and a seriously hot Russian guy on my doorstep requesting my presence in Boston for a top-secret mission. I got here to a penthouse apartment and a bodyguard, and this place.” She squeals with delight. “I saw Malik the next day. That’s when we spoke. I’ve been decorating the store ever since.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing any more than I can that Malik would do this for me. Forus—Dru and me.
“You’ve been here fordays?”
“Yeah, sorry I couldn’t talk properly. There was no way I could speak to you for more than two minutes and not spill the secret surprise, which was one hell of a secret surprise. So, this was what I was busy doing.” She motions around the store while I stare back at her open-mouthed.
“I’m in shock. We have our own store?”
“Yes. We have our own store.”
We stare at each other for a few seconds. And then we scream and scream and scream and hug again. And cry. We both cry because we’ve wanted this so badly.
“Oh my God, we have a store.” I gasp, bringing my hand to my mouth.
“We do. I’m still in shock. Needless to say, I quit my job and I’m here at your beck and call to work.”
“Oh, Dru, thank you so much. And I’m so sorry. I’m so truly sorry. I lied to you.”
She rests her hand on my shoulder. “We’ve been friends forever. I know you didn’t mean to, but I am interested to hear the rest of the story, and for the record, I’m pissed I missed your wedding. But all is forgiven because you did good and your husband is totally hot.”
I shake my head at her. “Same old Dru.”
“If it’s not broken, there’s nothing to fix.” She gives me a sassy one-shoulder shrug, then sighs, and the seriousness returns to her face. “We should talk, though.”
“Yes.”
“I’m guessing Malik isn’t just your ordinary ex-Navy lieutenant, is he?”
“No.” I release a heavy sigh. We haven’t really started talking properly yet, but this feels good.
“Come, let me take you to your office.”
I have an office. This doesn’t feel real.
We walk through the door she came through and head down the passage, which smells of fresh paint and vanilla-scented candles.
When we reach the end of the corridor, we turn into a large room with a white table and matching leather chairs.
“This is amazing,” I gasp.
“Wait until it’s done.”
We sit on the leather sofas by the window, and there I tell her everything. Absolutely everything, leaving nothing out.
She listens and holds my hand like the good friend she’s always been whenever I needed her.
“I’m so sorry, Gwen.” Her voice is soft and reflective. “I really wish I’d known more over the years about your father. But I understand why you couldn’t tell me.”