Free Fall for Me by Sydney Landon

down and ordered a
grande
margarita. She held her hand up to keep everyone silent until the large drink was sitting in front of her. After a dramatic gulp, she said, “All right, let’s hear it.”
    Nervously stirring her drink with a straw, Beth said, “I . . . I, um, joined a dating service a while back. It’s no big deal. I just wanted to meet some new people.”
    Looking stunned, Suzy asked, “You joined a dating service while you were sleeping with Nick?”
    “Oh, no, it was right before. Since Nick and I aren’t really in a relationship, I’ve still been dating casually.”
Oh, God, they are all staring at me. Why did Ella look so shocked? She knew about the dating service. Beth had even tried to talk Ella into joining with her.
    “Sis, I’m not a cheerleader for Nick or anything, but how can you still be dating when you are involved with him? Doesn’t he notice how often you are busy?”
    “It’s usually only once or twice a week. He just assumes I’m with Ella. I’m not lying to him; he just doesn’t ask,” she defended herself.
    With a smile, Claire said, “Well, in his defense, he is Nick Merimon. As much as I love my husband and as sexy as he is, I can still appreciate the fact that Nick is hot, hot! It probably never occurred to him to think that you were seeing anyone else. I’m betting this is the first time . . . ever. Just out of curiosity, why are you automatically counting him out? You obviously have feelings for him or you wouldn’t be practically living together. Why won’t you give him a chance? He’s said he wants to marry you and raise this baby with you.”
    Beth’s shoulders suddenly slumped as she whispered what she already knew. “Because he’ll leave. I can’t let myself get attached to him. I know I am not the type of woman that someone like Nick will end up with.”
    “Has he said something to you?” Suzy demanded. “I’ll kick his ass. Who does he think he is running my sister down? You’re way too good for him!”
    Suzy was getting to her feet, her face enraged, but Beth managed to pull her back down. “No, no it’s not that. Nick has never said anything negative to me.” Looking down, she added, “He seems to love my body . . . a lot. I just know it won’t last, though. I’ve always known that we were short-term.”
    “My God,” Suzy said. “You’ve continued to date this whole time so you would have someone to rebound with immediately, in case Nick left. You never intended for him to last this long, did you?”
    This lunch seemed to be going from bad to worse. Beth was never comfortable being the center of attention, even around her closest friends, and Suzy, Claire, and Ella hadn’t stopped staring at her since she dropped the dating-service bomb. She knew that they weren’t judgmental people, but she could see the shock and another emotion she knew well: pity. “Guys, it’s not that bad. Nick and I have a good time and when he leaves, life will go on. He’ll see the baby whenever he wants to. I would never deny him that right. I just can’t get caught up in what he’s selling. Soon, the new-baby glow will wear off and he will be looking for a way out. I refuse to be a stage-five clinger like all the other members of the Nick Merimon Fan Club.”
    Suzy chuckled beside her. “Stage-five clinger? God help you, Beth, because you are my sister through and through. Hell, you actually shock me on a regular basis now, and I didn’t think that was possible. So you’re testing Nick now to see if he’ll run? Aren’t you? Maybe a little torture? No boom-boom? Making him jealous?”
    “Um, no, I’m not doing that.” Then with a laugh of her own, she said, “There is no way I can withhold the boom-boom. I never get enough of him.”
    “Ugh, TMI! Please don’t say anything else. I can’t get drunk since I have to go back to the office, and this sure isn’t a conversation I can deal with sober,” Suzy moaned.
    Beth took pity on Ella