he saw her differently. She was beautiful, no denying that. Her stubborn jaw and curt attitude, however, when she was the one who had walked out on him, felt displaced. Adolescent, even. And yes, she was young.
“Once the newness of wearing your engagement ring wore off,” she told him.
“When was that?”
“Two months after you put it on.”
He glanced at her hand, wasn’t surprised to see she wasn’t wearing the two-carat ring he’d spent a small fortune on. Other men would have asked for it back.
She must have noticed his attention on her hand. She lifted it up, wiggled her fingers. “I sold it.”
That, he didn’t expect.
“If you knew you didn’t want to go through with the wedding, why did you plan it? Why wait until the last moment to run away? Was I so impossible to talk to? Didn’t I deserve a face-to-face conversation saying you were leaving?” Because while he admitted he didn’t give the woman as much attention as he should have, or maybe even the love she deserved, he had never fought with her or denied her whatever she wanted when it came to their wedding plans. He gave her gifts . . . what woman didn’t like gifts? They went to nice places . . . yeah, he was sometimes late, and there were times his phone interrupted.
“I got caught up in the process and waited until no one was looking.” For a nanosecond, her hardness ebbed and her eyes moved to her lap.
He reached across the table, and she snapped her arm away. He opened his mouth to say he understood her position, but she didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“Then I realized that you’d kept me waiting over and over again, and it was my time to return the favor.” Her anger was back.
Around them, people hushed their personal conversations to watch them.
Victor lowered his voice. “I’m sorry you didn’t feel you could talk to me.”
She leaned forward, her voice tight. “You don’t know me. I was told you addressed our families with a nice speech about me getting cold feet and then you mingled. How could you mingle?”
“I thanked our guests for coming and encouraged them to enjoy their stay regardless of what happened.”
“Then what did you do? Catch the next flight home to go back to work?”
He was not going to have this pissing match with her. Not in public. What was the point, anyway?
Closure, he told himself, he was searching for closure. For him, for her . . .
Victor’s silence had her sitting up as if he’d answered her question with a yes.
“While you were mingling, I was out getting laid.”
She was trying to hurt him.
He couldn’t muster a jealous ounce of adrenaline.
Her nose flared. “He was fabulous.”
And there it was . . . the age gap in Technicolor.
Scooting his chair back, he picked up the keys to his car and paused. “I have a box of your things at my place. Should I send it to your parents?”
“Burn it.” Her foot tapped against the air.
He wouldn’t, but he stood and finished their conversation. “Goodbye, Corrie. I hope you find someone who deserves you.”
Outside of the coffee shop, he took a deep breath.
That didn’t go well.
“I need advice.” Shannon looked out over her secluded backyard under the shade of her patio, her phone to her ear.
She could count on one hand how many times she’d been in her pool, and twice had been after her return from Tulum. Both of those times she’d ditched her swimsuit and hoped none of the neighbors was flying drones in the area.
“Is this about getting pregnant?” Lori was on the other end of the line. It was just after three in the afternoon. Shannon wanted to catch her friend before the end of the business day in hopes of luring her over for an hour after work.
“No. Nothing to do with that at all, actually. Is there any chance you can swing by after work today?”
“Oh? It’s something important?”
Shannon rubbed the back of her head with her free hand. She’d been up late, huddled over her computer, and woke with a crick in her neck.
“To me, but nothing you have to drop everything for. If you’re busy—”
“You never ask for me to drop by after work. I’ll be there. Should I bring wine?”
“I have plenty, just bring yourself.”
“Since there seems to be a lift in your voice, I’m going to assume I can leave my lawyer hat at work.”