Dominic looked down at Gwen in disbelief. “You had lunch with Ava last week?”

Nodding, Gwen said, “I did.”

“We only pulled each other’s hair once before things turned civilized,” Ava joked as Dominic continued to look stunned at their banter.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, and then without waiting for Gwen to answer, he turned back to Ava. “Does Mac know?”

Ava looked a bit sheepish as she shook her head. “No, I haven’t mentioned it to him. I know how strange men are about stuff like that. I mean, look at you, we didn’t even date and you have that whole jerky feet thing happening.”

Gwen looked down to see that he did indeed seem to be shifting nervously. “Don’t worry,” she patted his arm reassuringly. “Ava didn’t say anything bad about you. Actually, she was pretty complimentary.”

They had all begun walking toward the doors. As they stepped inside the building, Gwen had her second awkward moment of the morning and it was far worse than the first. Mac stood in the lobby speaking to a man wearing an East Coast Security uniform. Ava smiled brightly as her new husband’s eyes landed on her. Mac grinned lazily at her before seeming to realize that Gwen and Dominic were standing just inches away. Gwen saw shock and discomfort flit quickly across his face before he turned to say a few parting words to the security guard. Gwen thought he probably needed a few seconds to regroup. She was going to excuse herself on the pretext of needing to get to her office early, when he returned as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Good morning, Gwen.” He gave her a genuine smile before turning to Dominic. “Glad to see you made it back in one piece and hopefully without killing Gage.”

“It was pretty close a few times,” Dominic joked as he took Gwen’s hand, clasping it firmly. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to give Mac a message or attempting to reassure her, but she was glad for the show of support. They all stood for another five minutes, and she was surprised that the conversation flowed easily. Finally, Mac had to leave to take a call and Ava walked away with him. Dominic dropped a distracted kiss onto her lips and promised to bring her by some coffee in an hour.

When she stepped off the elevator, Crystal was waiting near her doorway with a Kleenex in her hand. Noting the other woman’s puffy eyes, Gwen was certain that either her mother or her ex-husband had been at it again. “Hey, Crys,” she said gently as she opened her door and motioned her friend inside. Shutting the door behind them, she asked, “What’s going on?”

Crystal took one of the chairs in front of Gwen’s desk and she perched on the other one. “Just the usual crap. My mom started bright and early this morning telling me what a big mistake I’d made by divorcing Bill. She assured me that he’d probably take me back if I really showed him how sorry I was and that I was willing to change to make him happy. Oh and agree to take his last name again. I had that changed back to Webber as soon as we divorced.”

Gwen slumped back against her seat, rubbing her head. “You’re kidding? She’s completely taking his side?”

Sniffling, Crystal shook her head dejectedly. “Nope, there was more, but that’s the gist of it. I’m a colossal disappointment to her. She thinks that I’m going through some rebellion. I swear I’m half-afraid that she will join forces with Bill and they will try to have me committed somewhere for temporary insanity because that’s exactly what they both feel has happened. It just hasn’t occurred to either of them that they might be the problem and not me.”

Handing Crystal another Kleenex from her desk, Gwen asked, “Did you tell Ella yet?”

Crystal looked away but not before Gwen saw another tear trickle down her cheek. “No. Ella has too much going on in her life to worry about me.” Gwen didn’t know Crystal’s sister that well, but from their interactions at lunch, she couldn’t doubt that Ella loved her sister and would want to know that she was this upset.

“From what you’ve told me, Crys, Ella went through something similar when she began dating Declan. She, better than anyone, would understand what you’re going through.”

“I know she would,” Crystal agreed, “but she has a new baby, a wonderful husband, and a life away from our mother. She served her time as the single daughter catching hell. Back then, I was the golden child because I went along with the program. It’s shitty, but I admit to sitting back and letting Mom give Ella hell because I was just relieved that it wasn’t me. But when Ella met Declan and refused to let Mom control her, it made me realize how unhappy I’d been for years. You would think that getting a divorce would prove that it’s over with Bill, but I’m still living in turmoil that I can’t seem to escape from.”

“Oh, Crystal,” Gwen murmured, taking the other woman’s hand between her own. “I had no idea that things were this bad for you. I mean, I knew that your mother harassed you, but I thought it was more of a random thing.”

Crystal gave her a watery smile full of misery. “Oh no, there’s nothing random about it. I mean, I might go a few days between calls or e-mails, but a whole week never passes without some kind of speech about how I’ve made a fool out of her in front of her church or how disappointed Daddy is in me. Then there are the ones about ‘poor Bill’ who just doesn’t understand why I left him when he gave me the world. I swear, Gwen, a few times I’ve even thought of just going back to him so she would leave me alone. It’s not like I haven’t been a Stepford wife before.”