The Game Changer (30 page)

Julian glanced over his shoulder. “You mean you don’t remember?”

Melody lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Bits and pieces from early on in the night, but the last few hours are fuzzy. I barely remember coming back here, and I don’t even remember getting into bed.”

She couldn’t read Julian’s expression. She knew she must have been pretty far gone not to remember what happened. Stomach sinking, she wondered if she had said or done anything embarrassing.

When Julian didn’t volunteer any information, she said, “It was nice of you to spend the night. You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to make sure you were all right,” Julian told her. “I didn’t like the idea of you all alone here when you were that drunk.”

“You’re such a good friend,” she said.

Instead of responding, he pointed to the cup of coffee sitting on the island. “That’s yours. I know you don’t usually drink coffee when it’s steaming hot, so I poured it a few minutes ago to let it cool. It’s already got milk and sugar in it.”

“Umm…thanks.” Melody pulled the cup toward her and took a sip. It was fixed exactly the way she liked it. Only her mother and Olivia had ever paid enough attention to know she didn’t drink steaming hot coffee, and that she liked it with a lot of milk and even more sugar. “It’s perfect.”

Julian nodded, looking pleased. Melody watched him over the rim of her cup; his five o’clock shadow from the night before was thicker and darker, and he had shadows under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept well.

“Did you sleep on the couch?” she asked.

“Yeah. Although I didn’t get much sleep.”

“You could have slept in Liv’s bed. She wouldn’t have minded. Not like she’s been using it much lately anyway.”

“Maybe next time.” He grabbed a plate from the cupboard and fixed it with his back to her.

Next time. I couldn’t have said or done anything too humiliating if he’s talking about next time
, Melody thought, relief easing some of the tension in her shoulders
.

“Ta-da,” Julian sang, placing a plate in front of her. It had an egg over-easy, three strips of crispy bacon, and slices of orange and banana arranged in a semi-circle on the side.

Melody laughed. “This is a work of art. Where’s yours?”

“I can’t stay,” he told her, taking the frying pan to the sink and setting it inside. “I got a call earlier this morning that I’m needed in Guelph for business. I was just waiting until you got up before I left.”

“Oh,” Melody said, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice.

“I know, I’m sorry.” He walked around the counter and stopped in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders and gazing down at her. “I’ll be gone most of the week, but I’ll text you, and I’ll try to call.”

“I’ll be here,” Melody said, hoping her voice sounded light.

Julian bent to kiss her forehead, and she had a quick flash of a memory from the night before, but it was gone before she could fully grasp it. “Talk to Olivia, work things out. I’ll text you this afternoon when I get there.”

“Okay. Thanks for last night, and for staying over. And for breakfast.”

“Anytime.” He kissed her forehead again, flashed her a quick grin, and left.

When the door closed behind him, Melody let out a loud sigh. She stared down at her breakfast, and smiled slightly. A few weeks ago, she would have had trouble picturing Julian as a caretaker, but that’s exactly what he’d done—taken care of her. And he was right; she did need to work things out with Olivia.

“But for now…” she said to herself, picking up a strip of bacon and taking a bite. “No obligations, nothing else to do. Breakfast, then back to bed.”

*****

Olivia finally came home that night. The only problem was that Cameron was with her, so any hope Melody had of talking privately with Olivia was dashed.

“Hey, Mel, great to see you,” Cameron said, hugging her tightly, as if they’d been friends for years. She really did like him. He seemed like a kind, genuine person, and Olivia was clearly crazy about him.

“Sorry for hogging Olivia so much lately,” he said, his expression endearingly sheepish.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Melody said, hoping she sounded convincing. “I don’t mind sharing.”

“Do you have plans for tonight?” Olivia asked.

“Nope. Same old routine,” Melody told her, pointing to her laptop on the coffee table. She had alternately been doing research for work and searching online furniture stores for ideas for Ava’s room.

“Oh, how sweet,” Olivia exclaimed, plopping down in front of the laptop and looking at the page of lamps Melody had up. “We really need to get going on Ava’s room.”

Melody felt a surge of annoyance. When Olivia had started spending all her free time with Cameron, Melody decided to go ahead and start picking things for the room herself. She didn’t want Ava to think she’d forgotten or was going back on her word, and if she waited for Olivia to free up some time it could be winter before the room was finished.

“So, what are your plans for tonight?” Melody asked.

Olivia glanced over her shoulder and regarded Melody with a strange look. Ignoring her, Melody turned to Cameron.

“We actually came to see if you’d like to join us for dinner,” Cameron told her.

“And before you say you don’t want to be a third wheel, I was going to see if Julian wanted to come, too,” Olivia chimed in.

“He can’t, he’s in Guelph for the week.”

“Well, that sucks. How about I cook dinner then? We can watch a movie or something, spend the night in.”

Melody hated herself for the contrary retorts that flitted through her mind.
I’d rather spend a night with just
you…
Don’t do me any favours if it means easing a guilty conscience…Wouldn’t you rather be alone with Cameron?
She’d never been a hostile person, especially where Olivia was concerned. But then Olivia had never given her any reason to worry about the stability of their friendship.

“What do you think?” Olivia prodded when Melody didn’t respond. Her huge aqua eyes were pleading, and Melody knew if she didn’t respond soon she’d get the patented Olivia pout.

“That sounds great,” she said. “I even went shopping this morning, so the fridge is full.”

“Perfect!” Olivia rushed across the room and threw her arms around Melody. “This is going to be fun. You and Cameron can finally get to know each other better.”

“You’re all she talks about,” Cameron told Melody when Olivia bounded toward the kitchen, her long ponytail swinging merrily.

Melody didn’t know if that made her feel better or worse. She missed her best friend like crazy. She’d only gotten a short taste of what life would be like having her as a roommate; after dreaming and scheming about that very thing for years, she felt cheated to have had her around for such a short time. It was like one of those thirty-second movie teasers that are just getting good when the screen goes blank, and you’re left yearning for more.

“Well then we don’t need to talk about me, do we?” Melody said with a smile, leading Cameron to the couch.

Cameron chuckled as he settled himself, crossing one leg over the other. “Sure we do. I only know what Olivia’s told me, and what I’ve seen in quick encounters. I’d like to know the real you, not the ‘Olivia’s best friend’ version of you.”

Is this guy for real?
Melody wondered. It was like he had plucked the thoughts straight from her mind. That was how she’d always felt—that people in Olivia’s life were content with the ‘Olivia’s best friend’ version of her, as Cameron had so eloquently put it—and never really bothered to actually get to know
her
.

“There’s really not that much to tell,” Melody said. “I never actually realized what a boring life I lead until recently.”

Cameron shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that. You have a job you love, right? How many people can say that?”

Melody considered that for a few seconds. Julian was really the only other person she knew who loved what he did. Most of the people she worked with enjoyed the job, but they weren’t passionate about it the way she was. Some of them were waiting until something better came along, and others were there simply because it was a paycheque. “I guess you’re right,” she said at length. “Still, not the most exciting thing in the world.”

Cameron shrugged, angling his body so they faced each other. “Life’s not always exciting, you know? Sometimes you get stuck in a rut, and sometimes you go through periods of mind- numbing boredom. That was basically my life for the past year and a half. Then I met Olivia.”

He glanced toward the kitchen where Olivia was slipping a pot into the oven. The quiet tune she was humming to herself floated across the room, and the sweet, relaxed sound of it had Melody’s lips pulling into a small smile.

When Cameron turned back to her, his eyes had gone soft, and the smile on his face tugged at Melody’s heart. “I never expected to meet someone like her,” he said, his expression bordering on bemused. “And then there she was. I went from being a boring investment banker, working nine hours a day and spending most nights alone, to having this incredible firecracker in my life.”

Melody laughed. “Firecracker,” she said, almost to herself. “That’s what my dad used to call her.”

Cameron grinned. “It’s fitting isn’t it?” When Melody nodded, his smile grew. “She’s completely turned my life upside down in the best way possible,” he told her, his voice dipping low like he was confiding in her.

“She has that effect on people,” Melody said quietly, her gaze drifting across the room once again. Olivia was peeling potatoes now, and she glanced up, catching Melody’s eyes. She tilted her head to the side with a questioning look, and Melody nodded almost imperceptibly in response. Olivia’s answering grin was quick and full of pure joy, and Melody knew she could never stay angry with her. All she’d ever wanted was for Olivia to be happy. She’d never expected that happiness to come from a guy, but now that it did, she couldn’t fault her for that.

Turning her attention back to Cameron, Melody smiled and said, “So, tell me more about your boring life pre-Olivia.”

Forty minutes later, after touching on at least a dozen different topics from work to high school to family to music and everything in between, Olivia called to them that dinner was ready.

“I’m just going to go wash up,” Cameron said, rising from the couch and heading down the hall.

Melody ambled into the kitchen and took the dish of peas Olivia handed her. “He’s fanatical about washing his hands,” Olivia told her. “I think it’s because of all the people he deals with on a daily basis.”

Melody nodded. “There are definitely worse habits to have.” She placed the dish on the table, then turned around and ran straight into Olivia, who was now standing directly behind her.

“You doing okay?” Olivia asked, resting her hands on Melody’s shoulders.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Melody hoped Olivia didn’t notice the hint of defensiveness in her voice.

“I don’t know, you just seemed kinda weird when we came in, that’s all.”

Melody knew this would be the time to speak up—to tell Olivia she missed her, that she hated only seeing her for a few fleeting minutes each day, that she was lonely. In the time it took her to formulate her words, Olivia had already moved on.

“We still haven’t slept together,” she said suddenly, a little giggle escaping her lips. “This is the longest I’ve gone without sex since high school.”

Tamping down the disappointment she felt at missing her chance to tell Olivia how she felt, Melody tried to switch gears and keep up with the conversation. Luckily over the many years of their friendship, she’d become a master of keeping up with Olivia’s sudden random subject changes. With anyone else, her little confession would have been too much information, but Melody was used to hearing about Olivia’s sexual escapades. “What’s the hold up? I know he wanted to wait initially, but…”

“I know. It drove me crazy at first because all I wanted to do was jump him, but then it was like a challenge, you know? And you
know
how much I love a challenge.”

Melody murmured her agreement, and Olivia laughed.

“It’s been really exciting, this whole waiting thing. We’ve actually gotten to know each other instead of everything being about sex. You know all those girls who say their boyfriends are like their best friends? I never understood that before, but I get it now. Well not my
best
friend, that title will always be yours,” she said hurriedly, her expression earnest as she took Melody’s hand and clasped it between both of hers. “But we have so much in common, and he’s just so sweet and funny and smart. We have these little arguments, too, it’s not all perfect, but…he’s great. Don’t you think he’s great?”