can’t believe Vince would do this to you’ talks. No one is going to be able to look at me without pity—not even you—and I don’t want that. I already feel bad enough. I need this time—time to digest what’s happened and pull myself together.” Emotion finally got the better of her, and a sob escaped Shayna’s throat while a tear rolled down her cheek.
“Oh, sweetie,” Brianne crooned, rubbing Shayna’s arms. “This is why I don’t want you to be alone.”
“I can’t believe Vince did this to me,” Shayna said, trying to keep herself from completely falling apart. “How could he destroy everything?”
“I know. No one expected him to betray you like this, least of all me.”
“If he calls again, tell him I’m in an undisclosed location and can’t be reached. I have nothing to say to him. That’s another reason I want to be in Jamaica. He won’t be able to drop by and see me. Won’t be able to try and beg me to forgive him. I think I’d rather be in Timbuktu than Jamaica—as far away from Buffalo as possible—but Jamaica will have to do.”
“I can’t talk you out of it?” Brianne asked.
“Please don’t worry about me. I’m going to be at a five-star resort. Nothing bad is going to happen to me. And I’ll call you, every day if you want.”
“All right,” Brianne said. “You’re a big girl. If you want to go on a trip alone, that’s your right.”
“I love you,” Shayna said.
“I love you, too, sis.”
Shayna gave her sister one last hug, then opened the front door. And when she did, the blood froze in her veins.
Vince was standing there.
A full five seconds passed with neither of them speaking, only staring at each other. Shayna was too startled to speak or even move.
“Shayna.” Vince broke the silence. His voice was full of pain and perhaps also regret.
Shayna’s eyes darted beyond Vince to her parents and then back to Vince. All of them looked distressed. And of course they were. The day that had begun with so much hope had ended in the worst possible way.
And it was all Vince’s fault.
If not for their parents, Shayna was tempted to give Vince a piece of her mind and stalk off. Instead, she held herself together.
“Shayna, can we talk?”
Shayna swallowed. Her throat was suddenly dry, but she managed to find her voice. “There’s nothing to say.”
Mrs. Danbury stepped forward. The woman’s eyes were red, as though she’d been crying. “Shayna, I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but what Vince has to say…it might help.”
So Vince had told his and her parents a pack of lies. Something that had them believing he was worthy of a second chance?
“Hear him out,” Shayna’s mother said. “No matter what happens, at some point you’re going to have to talk.”
Shayna gritted her teeth. As much as she didn’t want to acknowledge it, her mother was right. At some point she and Vince would have to talk, settle everything. Thank God Shayna hadn’t given up her apartment yet, because now she would not be moving into Vince’s house as planned. She only hoped the landlord didn’t have a rental agreement in place for when her lease was up in a month.
“All right,” Shayna said. “If you want to talk, let’s talk.”
Vince’s shoulders sagged with relief. He was still wearing his tux, though it was unbuttoned at the collar and the tie was loose. His dark, handsome face was drawn. “Thank you.”
Don’t thank me, Shayna thought. No matter what you say, it’s over. Unless he told her that he’d been drugged and taken advantage of and had the toxicology reports to prove it—but that kind of story line only happened on soap operas.
“Let’s go to the back patio,” Shayna said flatly. “We can have some privacy there.”
Shayna led the way, holding her head high, though it felt like her insides were being churned in a blender. She opened the back door and stepped onto the patio then took a seat at the small table. As Vince took a seat beside her, Shayna spoke. “I’m not sure what you think you can say that will excuse what you did.”
“I’m sorry, baby. You have no clue how bad I feel.”
“Not nearly as bad as I feel.”
“It was a mistake,” Vince went on. “A stupid, stupid mistake. Baby, I’m begging you—please forgive me. Forgive me, and I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that I’m worthy of you.”
Shayna could hardly stand being this close to Vince. Part of her wished that a bolt of lightning would suddenly strike him dead. But what she really wanted was to end things once and for all and move on.
“I’ve got boxes at your place,” she said. “Can you arrange to have them sent to my parents’ house? It’ll be less messy that way.”
Vince looked crushed. She hadn’t said what he’d wanted to hear. “Baby—”
“And please—stop calling me baby. You no longer have the right.”
“I was drunk, Shayna. Do you really think I would have touched that woman if I were sober?”
“That’s your excuse?”
“I know it’s lame, but it’s the truth.”
“So any time in the future when you get drunk, you can’t be trusted to be faithful.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“And what about all the women who hit on you in your practice? Or have you already crossed the line with some of your patients?”
“Shayna, stop it. You know that’s not true.”
“Do I? Because I never would have thought you capable of…of what you did.” Shayna had to look away, because looking at Vince hurt too much. The beautiful foliage and flowers of the garden her mother had worked hard to cultivate over the years didn’t bring her the sense of peace it normally did.
How could anything bring her peace right now?
Shayna flinched when she felt Vince’s warm hand on hers. The gentle touch almost brought out her tears. He had ruined everything, destroyed their dreams.
“Baby.” Vince sighed wearily. “I know you might not believe what I’m about to say next, but it’s true. Look at me, please.”
A beat passed, then Shayna raised her eyes to his.
“When I was in my car with that woman…I was so drunk, so damn out of it that I thought…” Vince paused. Swallowed. Gave Shayna a heartfelt look that on other occasions would have tugged at her heartstrings. And then he dropped his
