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that easy. You tell him.” He offered her the phone.
    She took it, looking at it as if it were new technology. Slowly, she put the phone to her ear. “Hello, Jerry. How are you?”
    “Hello, doll face. I’m doing great. I’m looking forward to seeing you. But, I guess you knew that.”
    She wanted to faint.
     
    ***
     
    Marty watched the expression on Lacy’s face. She tried desperately not to show any enthusiasm. Her face always lit up when she talked to Jerry. Not this time. She looked at if she were talking to customer service at the cable company.
    That will soon change.   And if he knew Jerry, which he did very well, he would be the one to change it.
    “I’m looking forward to your visit. Three weeks? Do you think Berman, Hostead and Kendall can afford such a long absence?”
    Marty grabbed a chair, slid it next to her and fiddled with one of her desk puzzles. He needed to see how this played out. After the conversation he and Jerry had, this should be very interesting to watch.
    “What am I working on?” Lacy continued. She turned to face him. The look on her face could only be described as sheer panic. “Oh, you know, the same old, same old. I don’t want to bore…how’s that? It’s just another chick book, nothing that would interest a macho guy like you. So, what do you plan to do when you get here? I see, playing it by ear. No, nothing. Look, don’t mean to be rude, but I really need to get back to this book I started. Sure. Hold on.”
    She handed the phone back to him, and immediately left the room.
    “Well,” Marty said, as he took the seat at Lacy’s now-vacated desk.
    “Are you sure she’s interested?” Jerry asked. “She didn’t mention the subject matter of the book.”
    “She’s a bit—what’s the word—perplexed.” Which intrigued him even more. The fact she didn’t try to shut down the conversation downstairs earlier, made him even more curious. She had to be considering it. That was the only thing to explain her unease.
    “But she didn’t flat out say no,” Jerry said.
    “No, which tells me the option is open. She just needs a little more convincing.”
    “And you? You’re still willing?”
    “I told you how I felt, anything to please Lacy.” He glanced over her desk and saw several false starts to her latest project.
    “And, help her with the book.”
    “Exactly. This is with the woman I love. But since the opportunity seems to be presenting itself, I don’t see why not. I loved what we shared back in college. I’m curious to see if I can bring that bond in with Lacy. I want that. I don’t want her thinking if she thinks about you, she’s cheating on me. I want her to think of us as one.”
    Besides, Marty all but fantasized about Lacy in both their embraces and being so turned on she didn’t know what to do. He wouldn’t have done this for anyone else but Jerry. He trusted him with Lacy’s heart, because he knew his friend loved her just as much.
    “All right then. If she’s still not fully persuaded by the time I arrive, we’ll think of something else.”
    “Don’t have to think hard, buddy. She still finds you very attractive, coupled with the fact she’s known us for fifteen years, I think there’s quite a bit of trust there.”
    “Fine. Go do your magic and keep me posted.” He disconnected.
    Magic, indeed. The fact Lacy found Jerry attractive didn’t mean squat. It helped, but not enough to push her to the edge of engaging in a threesome. Trust? That remained to be seen. Doubt, definitely.
    To find out the man you love is willing to share you with another could break a lesser relationship. For all he knew, she could be in the bedroom packing and calling her sister, letting her know she had a new roommate.
    He put his cell phone in his pocket and went downstairs. Once there, he found Lacy sitting on the couch looking at the television. Not watching, just staring at it.
    “Lacy?”
    She slowly turned her head and faced him. Lines of doubt