being so close to her after all these years, made his head spin.
He’d always hoped that he had been successful in his attempt to rid her from his mind. But he had found just because he’d taken her out of his life did not mean her spirit no longer lingered. She was the standard that he challenged other women to meet, she was the ghost with whom they competed.
When she first called him, he’d told himself that it would be harmless to meet with her. She no longer had any power over him. But when she walked into his office that afternoon all hopes of being over Katie Devonworth faded. The girl of his dreams had turned into a woman, more beautiful than he could imagine. Her chestnut hair had been cut to her shoulders, framing her big brown expressive eyes. She was as slim and athletic as she had been in high school, but now with curves in all the right places. The blouse she’d worn had clung to her breasts, allowing him to see their fullness.
From the moment he saw her, he knew that he would have to make their lunch as short as possible. That he would have to endure his time with her and then do his best to forget her again. He had little choice. Katie had made it clear long ago that she no longer loved him.
Once again, he thought of that moment at the creek, the day she confessed her feelings for him. He could still remember the taste of her lips, the smell of her skin.
He had loved Katie more than life itself, and it had taken every ounce of conviction to walk away from her. But he had little choice. He knew only too well what happened when love was consummated too soon. He himself was the result of such a liaison.
When he first met Jack’s mother, his father, Robert, had been nineteen, a college freshman in the small town of Addison Park, Iowa. His mother, June, was only sixteen, still in high school. They fell in love at first sight and quickly became inseparable. They pledged their love, determined to spend the rest of their lives together. But June’s parents were not pleased with the match. They had hoped their only daughter would do better than an orphan dependent on scholarships. When June got pregnant, Robert begged her parents to allow them to marry. But her parents wouldn’t consider it. Embarrassed by their daughter’s pregnancy, they sent her away without telling his father where she’d gone. Robert had found out too late that she had been sent to live with an aunt in the country.
His father never saw his mother again. When his mother went into labor, her aunt had tried to deliver the baby herself. June had died in childbirth. His father had taken Jack and returned home to Newport Falls, but he’d never forgiven himself.
Jack was reminded of his parents’ doomed relationship every day of his life. He vowed that no matter how much he loved Katie, no matter how much he desired her, he would not allow her to suffer the same fate as his mother. He needed to become the type of man Katie deserved; then, and only then, would they have a future.
Jack left for college determined to prove himself, determined to make something of himself. And when he did, only when he did, would he be able to marry the woman he loved.
But he had misjudged the situation. He had convinced himself that he and Katie had a special connection, a connection that didn’t need to be spoken of to be real.
But he was wrong. Just when he had begun to make something of himself and felt ready to propose, she had married his best friend.
The marriage had shocked him. How could she? If she had felt for him one tenth of what he did, she would never have been able to escape into someone else’s arms.
And Matt? Matt wasn’t interested in Katie until he found out how Jack felt about her. He remembered the night in junior high when he told Matt he loved her. They were lying in Old Man Kroner’s field, arms crossed, looking up at the sky. Just the two of them. Matt had been teasing him about some girl in school when Jack told him he had it all wrong.
“What do you mean?” Matt had asked.
“I mean,” Jack said, “that I love someone else.”
Matt rolled over. Love was a big word, and being in tenth grade, neither had ever used it to describe a feeling before. “You?” Matt asked. “Who?”
“Katie,” Jack said. “I’m going to marry her one day.”
“Katie?” Matt laughed. “Oh, right!”
“What’s so funny? I have it all figured out. I even have the ring.”
“Where did you get it? A Cracker Jack box?”
“It was my grandmother’s. My father wanted to give it to my mother, but he never got a chance. It’s a diamond, with two rubies on either side—”
“Wait a minute,” Matt interrupted. “Katie is someone you play basketball with. She’s not the type of girl you fall in love with. And marry? Come on!”
“She’s who I want,” Jack said. “Who I’ve always wanted.”
Matt fell silent again. Then he said, “Does she know?”
“No. I can’t tell her yet. Not now.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re too young. Katie and I aren’t going to end up like my parents.”
Matt was silent.
“I have to wait,” Jack said. “I have a plan. I’m going to make a million dollars and then I’ll marry her.”
“If you make a million dollars there’s gonna be a lot of women you can marry.”
“I don’t want a lot of women. I want Katie.”
Jack should’ve known that Matt would then want her, too. Matt had always competed with him. Jack never understood it. After all, his friend had such a head start in life. He came from a good family, was a natural athlete, went to all the best schools. Yet he always seemed to be looking over his shoulder at Jack.
Shortly before Jack returned from Europe, he had called Matt. He was worried about Katie. Her father’s death had been extremely hard on her, and she’d had to leave college to take over the reins of his struggling newspaper. Jack couldn’t stand to be so far from her, knowing that she was in pain and not being there to provide comfort. So even though he had not yet acquired the financial position he’d hoped, he could no longer wait to propose to Katie. He was coming home. It was time to tell Katie how much he loved her and ask for her hand in marriage.
Matt, his best friend, had betrayed him, rushing forward with his own proposal. He and Katie were married the day Jack returned. Jack had attended their wedding with his grandmother’s ring still in his pocket.
But it was not a clear victory. On the day of the wedding, right after Matt had gloated over his “win,” he had asked Jack to stay away from her. To break off contact. “You’ll only confuse her,” Matt had said.
“Confuse her?” Jack had asked. “What are you talking about? I thought you said she loves you.”
“She married me, didn’t she?” Matt had said, before walking away. But Matt needn’t have worried. Jack could no longer stand to be around Katie. Even when he heard about their divorce, he convinced himself that it was best not to call her. Still, he’d hoped she might call and tell him she’d made a mistake marrying Matt. That it was he she had loved all along, not Matt. But the call never came. And
