The Dividing Line Read online

  “Mademoiselle Douglas, come with me.” Grinning, she grabbed my arm and took me to the side of the stage curtain. When she pulled back the crushed velvet material and pointed through the crack, Drake’s words became crystal clear.

  Taking the seat I had reserved for Drake in the front row was my best friend, Margot. Her rainbow braids were wrapped in an elegant bun, and she wore a navy dress and black opera gloves. Based on her cringe-worthy expression as she sat down, I could tell she wasn’t happy wearing such a tight dress. My best friend was always about comfort before style.

  I put my hand to my mouth, rendered speechless by the thoughtful gift I just received. My eyes filled with unshed tears that I had to sniff back. I couldn’t believe he went to the trouble to get her here.

  “Bye, Lace,” Drake said into the receiver by my ear. “Break a leg.”

  Chapter Two

  Drake

  “Make sure you turn the speaker up so I can hear my girl, Margot,” I spoke into the receiver. The opening number of the show just started, the chorus voices faint in the background. Margot snuck me in a quick call, very few words exchanged between us. I wanted to hear Lacey for a few seconds when she entered, but I didn’t want Margot to distract people with our call. She assured me she’d be discreet.

  “Right-o, chief,” she said, responding to my earlier request.

  I listened for the voices in the theater on the other end of the call. Despite that, I couldn’t hear anything but the background noise of my coworkers moving and opening boxes of artifacts. I plugged my ear to block the sound.

  “Better?” she asked, her own voice barely audible.

  Between all the hustle and bustle of my coworkers and the voices of the curators bitching at them, I still couldn’t hear. I’d tucked myself into a corner here in the basement of the museum to allow for some privacy, but that didn’t help much with the noise. The only other option was the break room. I technically wasn’t on break, but at this point, I didn’t care. I had to hear Lacey. If I couldn’t be there physically, I had to at least catch a few notes of her song on her last performance night. As good of an actress as my girlfriend was, she wasn’t fooling me. I’d learned to read between the lines when it came to her. It hurt her severely that I wasn’t there yet again. I wished that could be helped, but I really couldn’t be there. I had obligations with my job. She knew that. It still made me feel like crap, though.

  “Just one second,” I said to Margot, pushing my way back into the fray of the basement.

  “Alrighty,” she responded.

  I tucked my phone away when I caught a glimpse of my boss. He didn’t need to know I was taking personal calls on company time. When I got into the break room, I stifled a groan. Apparently, even though I wasn’t on my break, everyone else was, and the noise in the room challenged that of the frickin’ basement.

  I shrugged it off and turned the speaker on my phone on. I guess they were about to hear Lacey, too, because I wasn’t going to miss out on her opening song for anyone.

  “We’re good, Margot,” I said.

  “Stellar, and hey, I’ll put you on FaceTime chat so you can see her for the first few notes. I don’t think anyone will threaten to kick my ass if I dim the light and hold the phone at an angle.”

  This girl was a lifesaver. “Great.”

  My cell phone screen suddenly flashed with an image, and the environment around me became a distant memory. Lacey was on the screen and there was no focusing on anything but her. Her beauty was mesmerizing. I’d seen her in the white ball gown before, but hell if that mattered. She glowed in it like the gown was making its debut, looking absolutely elegant. Her golden-toned skin shined under the stage lights, her tiny, dark curls intricately styled. She wore glistening crystals in her hair tonight. Those were new, and she rocked them.

  Seeing that goddess through the meager image of a cell phone didn’t stop the pounding in my chest, and when she parted those full, kissable lips, there was no telling my thumping heart to calm down. I was forced to concentrate on the song she was about to start when Margot flipped the phone and placed it down. She did warn me she’d do that after a few seconds. It was probably best. Whenever I saw Lacey, it was hard to focus on anything besides how stunning she was, and I wanted to fully take in her song.

  It was at that moment my Lady Gwendoline sang, but really, that word couldn’t properly define Lacey’s voice. It was rare I got to hear her sing in this way. Even when I helped her with her lines at her apartment, she always glossed over her big numbers with her regular song voice. She only belted in operatic style on stage, and it wrapped me into a haze every time. I was so focused on the light, airy sound that I didn’t realize a small crowd of my coworkers had gathered around me until someone bumped my arm.

  I quickly refocused, not letting myself care. I only had a few more moments with my girl, and I wasn’t letting them go. When the song was over, the applause in the break room blended with that on the other end of the theater. Lacey could reach anyone; touch anyone, no matter what the distance. I smiled to myself at that.

  As the crowd dispersed around me, I turned the speaker off and whispered into the phone, “Thanks, Margot.”

  “Anytime,” she said, then ended the call.

  Hearing Lacey’s voice put me in a state of euphoria I couldn’t bring myself down from as I left the break room. Getting through this long ass shift wouldn’t be so bad now that I had her voice in my head. I got to my station and went back to working on the boxes I had to unpack. As I grabbed my crow bar, François, my coworker, patted me on the back.

  “Was that your girlfriend back there?” he asked, smiling as he pried the top off his own wooden grate.

  I guess literally everyone was on their break but me. I laughed. “Yeah. It was. It’s her last performance tonight. I wanted to be there, but—”

  “Monsieur Chevalier pulled you in. Yeah, me too. You know why he did that right? Why we’re so swamped?”

  “Yeah. Some guys called in sick tonight.” I grunted as I relieved the top off the crate. A golden statuette rested inside. I put on my gloves to handle it properly before I took it out of the box.

  “That’s what he wants us to think, but from what I heard, he’s making cuts.”

  Thank God I’d put the damn statue down before he said that. I looked at him. “Cuts?”

  “Yeah.” Using his legs, he picked up another crate and set it on the table. “He’s been letting go of people—layoffs due to a lack of funding. Things aren’t looking good for any of us.”

  By any of us, I knew exactly what he meant. François had been working for the museum for a mere two months. I’d only been here a few months longer. He meant all of us new guys. And because we were new, that put us at the bottom of the barrel. We were the first to go. I really didn’t need to hear that right now. Not when I just missed the final performance of my girlfriend for a job that I now discovered found me expendable.

  “You better get yourself a backup plan in case something happens. Stay on your toes,” François continued.

  I didn’t want to let on how worried I actually was by his statement. My unemployment wouldn’t just affect me, but Lacey too. Tonight was her last performance, and because of that fact, she was now unemployed. And if we both were without jobs, that only meant one thing: it was time to go home.

  Chapter Three

  Lacey

  Margot giggled as we crossed the threshold of my flat. I had to practically carry the girl in. She had a couple of extra glasses of wine than she probably should have at the cast party, taking full advantage of the fact that a nineteen-year-old could drink legally over here. I didn’t stop her, though. It was all in good fun. I had a glass or two myself.

  “God, I love Paris.” She collapsed on my chaise lounge in the living room.

  I laughed as I dropped my satchel at the door. “I’m not complaining.”

  “I bet you’re not.” She grabbed my arm as I crossed in front of her, pulling me onto her
lap.

  I giggled. She was a silly drunk.

  “You’ve got this kick ass apartment,” she said, gesturing to the wide room with tall walls and a high ceiling. “A sexy as hell Korean boyfriend…”

  I hugged her, smiling as I lay my head against hers. She was right about that. My boyfriend was pretty sexy.

  “And you’re in the city of love! What’s not to love about that? You’re living the life of a star. And it’s been a long time coming.” She squeezed me.

  I sat up. “It really has been a dream. So sweet, it’s like it’s not even real.”

  Adjusting me on her lap, Margot sat up too. “So what’s next for you?”

  I pushed off her lap and went into the adjoining kitchen. “I’m not sure yet. Don’t get me wrong, I miss everyone in the States, but I’m just not ready to go home yet.”

  Margot made her way into the kitchen, watching me as I filled some glasses with water. “And we miss you. I can’t believe it’s almost been a year. We really missed you at Christmas.”

  I pushed her a glass then took a sip from mine. “I Skyped in. And you all got my presents, right?”

  “Oh, yeah we did. And what the fuck was that about, Ms. Moneybags? Making us in Chi-Town look like poor bitches with all that hardware.” She snickered. “I love my new iPad by the way.”

  Life had been treating me well. Even though our show was pretty small, being the star did have its advantages. I tried to pay it forward when I could.

  “Speaking of—” She rose from her chair in a stumbled, wobbly step. “You’re going to show me around these digs. But first I need to take this hot as hell dress off.”

  Before I could stop her, the navy ball gown was in a heap of material at her ankles. In nothing but her heels, cotton bra, and boy shorts, she left her glass on the kitchen island and strode away.

  All I could do was follow her as she poked her head in and out of rooms, muttering an occasional, “Oh, hell!” and “Fuck, yeah!” at each of the furnished rooms the vintage flat with floral wallpaper came with. But when we made it into my bedroom, we both cried, “Holy shit!”

  My steps stumbled just as hers did as I tried to find a patch of hardwood floor to step on. The room was covered in flowers. Not just flowers, but yellow lilies. So much yellow bathed the area, it seemed as if the Parisian bedroom was covered in sunshine. The moonlight hit the petals, brightening them, bringing daylight into the nighttime room.

  Where there weren’t arrangements on the floor and surfaces of my furniture, there were petals. My silk bedding was absolutely covered in them. Right in the center of the bed was a card. Before I could grab it, Margot, in all her drunken glory, swiped it and sat in the middle of my bed.

  “Ahem.” She cleared her throat dramatically, ripping open the card. “Dear Lacey—”

  I snatched it from her. “My card.”

  She didn’t stand for my privacy and hopped off the bed to read it beside me.

  Dear Lacey, So… I could have gotten you roses, but how cliché would that have been?

  I laughed. If I didn’t notice these were from Drake before, I did now. He never could resist a bit of humor.

  Instead, I opted for my own personal touch. I know lilies are your favorite flowers, and frankly, getting you anything else just didn’t make sense. They’re bright and warm and wonderful just like you are.

  Margot squealed just then, and I knew she got to the line at the same time I did. My heart had pretty much exploded in happiness at this point, but I pushed on, wanting to read his whole card.

  I hope you love them, gorgeous girl. And as hard as I fought it, I must end this card with a cliché closing line. I can’t help myself because that’s how I feel about you. But hell, if I’m going to do it, why not make it a good one, right?

  Hopelessly in love with you,

  - Drake

  “O.M.G. Did I mention your Korean boyfriend is sexy as hell? Because that is definitely a sexy as hell gesture—like off the charts,” Margot squealed again, bouncing on her toes in her undergarments.

  I shook my head, my smile unable to leave my face as I read the card again. He really was wonderful.

  “And damn this must have cost him a fortune. Your room is littered with flowers.”

  The smile instantly vanished from my face.

  “And are these things even in season? Shit, because if they’re not… wow.” She laughed. “Things must be great at his job too, eh?” She nudged me with her arm then hopped on my bed, swimming in the petals like she was making snow angels.

  I couldn’t reprimand her as I scanned the room full of lilies again, the exceeding amount of undeniably expensive lilies. How could I be so stupid and selfish? Enjoying these flowers when it probably set him back like a month’s salary. How could he have possibly afforded all these on what he makes? And here I thought the single rose was his gift to me tonight. I should have known. With Truman Drake it was always go big or go home.

  I lost the ability to breathe in that moment. Putting my hand to my throat, I swallowed hard. Would he be able to make rent on the first of the month after how much he dropped on the blooms? Immediately, thoughts of returning them came to mind. But I stopped when I realized you couldn’t paste flowers back into the ground. Maybe I could give him some money for them. He’d never take it, but I could sneak it into his wallet or something when he wasn’t looking.

  “Whoa. You went from looking completely drunk on love to losing your shit in under a minute.”

  I broke out of my daze to see Margot with her eyebrows raised.

  “You okay, Lacey girl?” she asked.

  I backed up on autopilot, shaking my head. “Yeah. I’ll be right back. I just have to thank Drake for the flowers.”

  I was already headed out of the room and toward the front door to grab my purse. I had a decent amount of euros on hand. I couldn’t make it to the bank tonight, but what I had might be enough to cover what he spent.

  Margot stumbled out of my bedroom, shuffling after me. She propped her hands on the hips of her boy shorts as I made it to the front door. “If by ‘thank him’ you mean have hot monkey sex until you can’t walk—that’s unacceptable. I told you I’m only here through the weekend, and I need your legs working so you can show me the sites.”

  I’d laugh at what she said if I wasn’t so determined to make sure Drake had the money to pay his rent. “No. I’m seriously just going to thank him real quick.” I waved at her as I pushed out the door. “I’ll be right back. I swear.”

  I closed the door before she could respond so I could think. But as I made my way down the hall and up the stairs to Drake’s flat, I still had no plan on how to sneak the euros into his possession without him knowing. He was definitely home now. Not only that, but he said for me to stop by when I got in and he’d wait up for me. Maybe I could distract him or something while I grabbed his wallet. I didn’t know how, but I was sure I could think up something on the fly.

  I got in front of his door and used the key he made for me to get in. The room was dark when I stepped over the threshold, so I assumed he’d be in his bedroom reading or on his laptop or something. That’s what he usually did with his downtime.

  Banking on the fact that’s what he was doing, I prowled the living room with my cell phone in hand to light the area. He had a habit of stripping off his clothes on his way to the shower after a long day at work. I always got on him about the mess, but today I wished for it. When the floor came up empty, I dropped my shoulders. The one freakin’ time he listened to me about picking up after himself.

  I shook my head. Men.

  Creeping along the halls, I made my way toward his bedroom. I felt bad about being sneaky, but he’d never take the money if I didn’t do things this way. Drake was so stubborn with his pride; so stubborn we almost broke up because of it before I came to Paris last year. Slipping him the money was the only way. I’d make sure to tuck the cash behind his credit cards or something. That way when it suddenly appeared, he’d
be none the wiser and think he’d accidentally put it there himself.

  When I took a peek into his room, I let out a sigh of relief.

  Lying in his usual position of belly down with his arm draped over the bed, he slept.

  Seeing him this way was wonderful for a couple of reasons. One, I now knew for a fact he was sleeping. He always ended up in this position no matter how he started when he originally went to bed. And two, well, I got to look at his gorgeous naked back for a few seconds before I searched for his pants. Drake was built like men only featured in dreams. He had a set of the most deliciously broad shoulders. His evenly tanned skin from his East Asian heritage only complemented that. Lean muscle formed wonderfully throughout his body.

  He was perfect everywhere, but that back of his got me like nothing else. I wanted to run my fingers along the solid surface of him. I was lucky enough that I got to do this quite often. I always gave him massages after he lifted boxes all day at the museum and ended the session by kneading my thumbs into those two perfect back dimples he had. The ones that came right before that amazing toosh of his. I bit my lip just studying the way the sheets curved over it.

  When he shifted, I was forced out of my erotic vision. He didn’t move out of the position he was in, just shoved his hands underneath his pillow to gather it better under his head of messy, black hair. His muscles flexed, stretching beneath his tan skin, as he punched at the pillow.

  I licked my lips at the sight, and my face suddenly grew really, really hot. That heat tingled below and it took all I had to stay focused and alert.

  Mind over matter, girl.

  When Drake got the pillow to the right consistency, his hand draped back over the side of the bed.

  The room went silent, and my heart hammered in my chest. I didn’t dare make a move until I knew he was still asleep. He didn’t move, so I padded lightly to the side of his bed for the pants. Since he was facing the other direction, I only had to worry about being quiet.