The Relationship Coach (18 page)

Her thoughts exactly. “That must have been disappointing.”

Dean shrugged. “My dad still has the first dollar he ever made. The old man wouldn’t know luxury if it bit him in the ass.”

They pulled into the drive of the Mansion Hotel and restaurant.

“I thought we weren’t going to spend a lot of money?” Lacey said, as they waited in line for the valet.

God almighty! She would have been happy at the local restaurant out on the lake or any number of places that didn’t cost two arms, a leg, and your first-born child.

“Oh honey, it’s just dinner.”

“But it’s the Mansion, for God’s sake,” she said, her voice rising.

“We’re celebrating. We’ve found the right apartment, I bought a new car, and business is going well. We deserve a celebration dinner,” he said, reaching over and patting her on the leg in a soothing manner.

Lacey fumed, all her doubts screaming red alert, fear rising up in her chest threatening to choke her. The valet opened the door, and she stepped out, hesitant. What should she do?

Dean came around the car and handed the valet the keys and then took her by the hand as they walked into the restaurant.

At the maitre d’s desk, Dean said, “Dean Vandenberg, we have reservations for two at eight.”

Lacey whipped around to gaze at him in surprise. He’d planned this evening? This wasn’t just a momentary decision. Could tonight be the night he asked her to marry him?

An impending sense of entrapment overwhelmed her, and she wanted to run for the door, but her legs had turned to jelly.

But she wanted to marry Dean. Didn’t she?

The hostess led them through a doorway and into a small dining room. She placed the napkin in their laps and gave them each a wine list.

“Look around, honey. Do you see anyone famous? Several of the Dallas Cowboys are known for eating here on a regular basis,” he said, his gaze searching the opulent restaurant.

Lacey glanced around the room. The crème colored walls and recessed lighting radiated a soft-glow in the elegant restaurant. The paintings on the wall displayed Victorian royalty as the formal waiters moved quietly about the room.

She didn’t recognize anyone, and frankly, she didn’t care. All she could think about was the expense of this dinner and whether or not Dean planned on proposing. This was the type of restaurant where he could do a grand gesture in front of everyone.

“No, I don’t recognize anyone.” She buried herself in the wine list. The thought of him asking her to marry him weighed on her. The idea of marriage no longer appealed. In fact, the idea of them living together no longer held any interest.

That realization shocked her. She glanced at Dean. What was she doing?

“Lacey, honey, is that the channel eight sportscaster?”

She really didn’t care if it was, but she glanced up and looked across the room. “I don’t think so.”

“Darn, I really wanted to see someone famous here tonight.”

They were moving in together because she wanted to marry him. Handsome, successful, Dean had all the right stats on paper. But he was materialistic, concerned about appearances, and his finances didn’t reflect his image. And if she moved in with him, she would be enabling him to continue this reckless financial lifestyle.

The waiter brought the food menus and recited the specials of the evening. Lacey didn’t hear a word, as she sat in a stupor, wondering when her feelings had changed. After taking their order, the waiter left, and Lacey couldn’t tell you if she’d ordered sawdust.

For the next hour, Dean talked on and on about his project at work. If he noticed she seemed quiet, he never said anything.

After dinner, he insisted on ordering dessert. Over cheesecake, she half-expected him to drop down on one knee and ask her to marry him, but he didn’t.

When the meal was finally over, and there was no proposal, she let out a sigh of relief.

“You okay?” he asked, gazing at her. “You’ve been quiet tonight.”

“I’m fine,” she said, realizing just how tense she’d been throughout the dinner.

They brought the check, and she gasped at the three hundred dollar bill.

He pulled out a credit card and she winced. The waiter took it to the back and five minutes later returned. “Pardon me, sir, but there’s a problem with your credit card.”

Dean looked surprised. “Excuse me.”

“It’s been declined. Do you have another card or do you wish to pay cash?”

Opening his billfold, Dean thumbed through his cash while Lacey cringed. He turned to her. “Honey, I don’t have enough cash. Can you pick up the bill and I’ll pay you later?”

Lacey opened her purse, whipped out her credit card, and handed it to the waiter.

Dean smiled and grasped her hand. “I’m sorry honey. I thought I had enough left on that credit card. I guess I didn’t.”

“Are you telling me your card is maxed out?”

“Yeah, I must have hit the limit.”

Lacey said nothing. This would never work. She had to end it, and she had to do it tonight.

The waiter returned her card. “Thank you and please come back.”

She all but jumped up from her chair in her eagerness to get out of this restaurant and away from Dean. They walked out of the door of the Mansion, and Dean handed the valet the ticket.

When the car pulled up, the valet opened the door, and she sank down onto the seat. Like sunshine after a storm, relief washed over her, and she sighed a heavy breath.

She’d been stuck with an expensive dinner bill, but she’d escaped a marriage proposal. A dinner bill was a mere pittance for her slow realization that the relationship was doomed. And cheaper than a wedding or even moving in together, only to realize she’d made a serious mistake.

She’d gladly pay the three hundred dollar bill.

“When do you want to sign the lease? I thought we could do it tomorrow if they’re open,” he said as he drove the car out of the parking lot.

She had to do this now, before they arrived at her apartment. She turned toward him in the seat. “It’s over, Dean. I’m through.”

He glanced at her, his forehead drawn together in a frown, his eyes searching hers. “Yeah, the meal is over, and now we’re going home and having sex.”

The image of the two of them together no longer appealed, and she knew with certainty she was doing the right thing by ending this now. “No, I’m breaking up with you. We’re not moving in together. We’re no longer a couple.”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything, and then he shook his head. “Come on, honey. I know I stuck you with the check, but I said I’d pay you back.”

“It’s not the bill. We’ve dated for over six months, and in the last week, I realized this is not what I want,” she said her voice quiet and determined, knowing this break was for the best.

“You’re just getting cold feet. We’re great together,” he insisted.

“No, Dean, we’re not.”

His hands gripped the steering wheel and twisted it tightly. He glanced at her, his gaze dark and menacing in the mood lighting of the car. “Lacey, this isn’t funny. Why are you angry?”

He just didn’t get it, and she didn’t know if he would ever understand. “I’m not mad. I’ve realized the relationship is not working for me any longer.”

Dean pulled into the parking lot of her apartment and parked the car. He turned off the engine and started to exit.

“I’d like for us to end it right here and now,” she said, knowing if she let him into her apartment, she might have trouble getting him to leave.

He halted, his tumultuous gaze turning to her, his expression a mask of pure fury. “Let’s go upstairs and discuss this. I’m trying to understand the problem, so I can fix it.”

How could he understand the problem between the two of them when he didn’t hear what she said? Dean practiced selective hearing and only heard what he wanted.

“Dean, this week I realized we have a communication problem,” she said, keeping her voice low and calm.

“We’ll work on it,” he responded before she could continue.

With a sudden realization, she knew this problem hadn’t just occurred tonight. It had been going on for a while, and she had failed to recognize the symptoms. “No, I don’t think so. Your car was a deal breaker for me. I had just learned of your credit problems, and then you showed up with this new car. I agreed to pay more than half of our expenses, until you paid everything off, but you went out and acquired more debt. Somehow, I must have failed to communicate to you that being in debt is something I’m not willing to live with.”

“We can work this out.”

“No, we can’t,” she said, reaching for the door knob of the car, wanting to get away.

For a moment, he seemed stunned, and then the tightness in his expression increased. “I thought you were happy.”

“I thought so, too. But when we started looking at apartments, I began to have doubts,” she said. “The car made me realize this wasn’t going to work.”

“I’m not giving up my car,” he said, gripping the steering wheel like he feared the car would magically slip away.

The car was more important than their relationship!

“I would never expect you to,” she said, knowing with every fiber of her being she was doing the right thing.

He sighed. “We could go to a counselor and work out our issues.”

She cringed inside, realizing this was what she would tell one of her clients. But she didn’t want to work on this relationship. She only wanted it over. “I wish I thought that would help us, but for me it’s over.”

He shook his head. “Damn, you blindsided me.”

God, he just didn’t get it!
Had she been blind these last few months? Tonight, he hadn’t said he loved her and would be heartbroken at their break-up. He seemed more worried how she had ruined his plans for the big fancy apartment. Maybe her mother had been right.

She opened the door, knowing the time to end this had long since past. “I’m sorry, Dean.”

He gazed at her, his mouth tight with rage. He turned the key, starting the car. “You know where I’m at if you change your mind and want to talk.”

“Goodnight.” She shut the door and hurried up the walk to her building, a sense of having shed dead weight making her lighter. Instead of sadness, a sense of calm and rightness filled her as she entered her apartment.

The squeal of tires on pavement pierced the night as a black Mercedes shot out of the parking lot.

***

Amanda sat across from Lacey, munching on a salad while she listened to her friend. When she’d gotten a call from Lacey, she’d expected to find her friend devastated, but instead, she appeared happy, relieved.

“So now, I’m trying to analyze what went wrong. I don’t know if I was just blinded by the fact he had so many good qualities or if I never really knew the real Dean. As I look back, I realize how much he didn’t hear me. Me, Amanda. I know I was loud and vocal about my desires and what I wanted in life. How could he not hear me?”

Men were difficult and sometimes no matter what, it just didn’t work out. Was it going to be that way between her and Jason? “Maybe he didn’t want to understand you. If it’s something men don’t want to acknowledge, they ignore the elephant in the room and hope it won’t do too much damage.”

Lacey started laughing. “I can’t tell you how many times men have said that to me about women. Is this a problem between the sexes or just some relationships? I never thought it would happen to me.”

Amanda picked at her salad, thinking it was the fourth time this week she’d eaten leafy greens. She needed something more exciting in her diet and in her life. Men weren’t satisfying this urge for something different. “Dean always struck me as sort of selfish, but I thought you could overlook that.”

“Yes, I thought so too, but I realized last night when he didn’t propose over dinner, I felt relieved, and I knew this wasn’t right. I was making a huge mistake.”

“You seem happy. When you called me this morning, I thought I’d find you in tears and depressed.”

They had a big seminar in Corpus Christi coming up soon, and Amanda had wondered how she was going to keep Lacey all pumped and excited during the program if she was depressed over Dean. But that didn’t seem to be a problem.

Lacey leaned forward, her blue eyes sparkling. “It’s like a burden has been lifted, and I didn’t expect to feel like I’d lost two hundred pounds. The last few weeks, my subconscious has been trying to tell me there was trouble, but I wasn’t listening. That’s why I couldn’t find an apartment for us.”

“Have you told your mother yet?” Amanda asked. “I mean she should be happy you’re not giving the milk away for free.”

“No, we’re supposed to go shopping for my sister’s wedding dress on Saturday. I’ll tell her later and have to listen to her tell me how much she was right and I’ve finally realized I need passion in my life.”

A sinking weight filled Amanda. She wanted to find true love, but sometimes she thought she was going about it the wrong way, even though this was the way Lacey advocated finding the perfect mate.

“I hate that damn word!” she said. “Jason feels passionate about the Yankees. Do you know I had to strip the bed the other night because he’d eaten tortilla chips in it? I refused to sleep in crumbs and salt.”

Lacey looked at her. “Are you all right?”

“Sorry, I think I’m PMS-ing today. I could be a dangerous weapon the way I’m feeling,” she said, taking a deep breath and doing a 360 degree turn in the conversation. “How do you feel about shopping for a wedding dress for your sister?”

“I’ve been instructed by my mother to show support for my sister, even though I think she’s making the biggest mistake of her life, or be barred from the wedding party.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Your family is interesting.”

Lacey sighed and stared at Amanda, like she wasn’t certain Amanda was really okay. “We’ve talked way too much about my life. How are you and Jason doing?”

Amanda thought about her response and decided now was not the time to talk about her doubts regarding Jason. Her hormones were clouding her thinking, and she needed to wait until her judgment was clearer, so she gave Lacey the facts. “We’re doing well. I see him several times a week, and we spend most weekends together.”