Too Late To Love Me I Already Left With His Twins (Lydia and Dave) novel Chapter 24

Breakup

Dave POV

The merger had taken three weeks, two near-collapses, and more emergency calls than I cared to count. By the time the ink dried, I was done with boardrooms, done with spreadsheets, and done with people who needed things from me.

So I booked dinner.

A private rooftop at one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. The kind of place where discretion came with the bill.

I didn’t usually do gestures.

Not because I didn’t know how.

Because I found most of them performative.

But tonight felt like it required one.

So I arranged the flowers.

The candles.

A violinist in the far corner, subtle enough not to be offensive.

A skyline view.

Soft lighting.

A dessert course I knew she liked.

And, because Cyn loved spectacle more than subtlety, I added a fireworks package timed for dessert. 2

It was excessive.

She would like that.

When I arrived, everything was already set.

The table sat near the edge of the terrace, overlooking the city in a spread of gold and white lights. Tall candles flickered inside glass holders. White roses were arranged low across the center of the table so they wouldn’t obstruct the view. 1

The staff moved like trained ghosts.

Quiet.

I checked my watch once.

Then again.

Cyn arrived twenty minutes late.

Naturally.

She stepped out of the elevator like she was making an entrance at an awards show instead of dinner with a man she had been dating for nearly two years.

1/5

Black dress.

Cald heels.

Hair perfect.

+15 Bonus

Smile expensive.

She kissed my cheek as she sat.

“You’re in a good mood,” she said, glancing around. “This is beautiful.”

“It should be,” I said. “I paid for it.”

She laughed.

And for a while, things felt easy.

The kind of easy that had kept us together this long.

We ordered.

She talked about an event she had attended the previous weekend, some designer who had flown in from Milan, a socialite who had worn the wrong jewelry with the wrong neckline and apparently committed a public crime in doing so.

I listened where required.

Contributed when necessary.

Watched the city move below us like a machine that never slept.

When the appetizers were cleared and the mains arrived, she lifted her wineglass and smiled.

“To your merger.”

I picked up mine.

“To your input,” I said. 1

She looked pleased with that.

Of course she did.

“I told you they were unstable,” she said. “You almost let that one slip.”

“I didn’t let it slip.”

She tilted her head. “You hesitated.”

I let that pass.

Because tonight wasn’t meant to become one of our circular arguments where she wanted emotional recognition and I wanted peace.

So instead, I said, “It paid off.”

“It did.”

We ate in relative silence for a minute before she set down her fork and sighed dramatically.

2/5

“What now?”

gave me a look. “Can I not sigh in peace?”

“You can,” I said. “But with you, it’s usually attached to an invoice.” 2

That made her grin.

“There is a bag.”

Of course there was.

I leaned back in my chair. “How tragic.”

“It’s limited edition.”

“How devastating.”

She reached across the table and touched my hand. “Don’t be mean.”

I looked at her.

At the manicured nails.

The practiced pout.

The way she always knew exactly how to position herself between charming and demanding.

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