house. Having grass alone in Vegas was expensive, which was why most landscapes were nothing but stone. She rang the doorbell and waited for Kevin to answer it, all the while her heart thumped painfully in her chest. Of all the places in the world to be, this one was the least desirable.
When he had called her the day before, saying he had found something that belonged to her, her first instinct was to hang up. After all, she’d done her mourning for their failed relationship. She didn’t need to walk back down memory lane. But he’d insisted she come to his new home and pick up whatever it was he’d found. If she were truthful with herself, she’d admit that a part of her wanted to see him. Not for any desire to reunite a lost love, but Madeline only agreed to the meeting to answer one little nagging question and that was to see if anything was left between them.
Once upon a time, she had loved Kevin with an almost desperate need to make him happy, and all she’d gotten for her time and devotion was a wave as he left her hospital room.
Then there he was, standing in front of her looking exactly the same as the last time she’d seen him. Kevin had a classically handsome appeal, with perfectly groomed jet-black hair and eyes that constantly looked toward the horizon, as if not fully engaged with the person he was with.
“Madeline,” Kevin greeted her expansively. Charm dripped from the smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes as they briefly locked with hers then drifted to the horizon. Lord of the manor, she laughingly called him the first time that gaze registered with her. At first, she’d taken that stare as being a go-getter, but after time she came to understand that he was honestly disinterested in what was in front of him. Constantly looking for the next best thing. When she ultimately couldn’t give him what he wanted, she’d been one more person he’d left behind.
“Please come in.” He stepped back and gestured for her to enter.
A klaxon warning flashed through her brain to abort, but Kevin was a force of nature with his own gravity. Against her better judgment, she stepped tentatively into the foyer and stared at the elegant entranceway. Marble floor and wainscoting features, with a chandelier that hung from the vaulted ceiling like a crown casting soft light down upon its subjects.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” he said. “It’s good to see you, Madeline.”
All she could do was give him a weak smile because for her, it wasn’t good at all. “What is it of mine that you found?”
“Well, as you know, Rebecca and I just moved in and as I was unpacking some of my personal belongings. I found a book of yours.”
Madeline blinked. “A book?”
He walked over to a side table, opened a drawer, and took out one of her romance novels. “I know how much you love your books.”
When he held it out, she numbly took it. “You didn’t have to call me to come over for this.”
“I didn’t know if it was one of your favorites or not.”
Anger sluiced through her. “If it was one of my favorites, I wouldn’t have been careless about leaving it lying around for you to pack up.”
His eyebrows arched in surprise. Whether that surprise was genuine, she couldn’t tell. “How was I supposed to know? In any case, I’m glad you came over.”
Madeline shoved the book in her coat pocket. “And why is that?”
He gestured around. “To see where I’m living now.”
She wanted to run, but she must have had some type of masochistic streak running through her that day that stayed her feet and had her asking, “Did you get a raise or something?”
“Rebecca’s father is a lawyer,” he replied. A gleam of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.
“So all this is courtesy of your new girlfriend.”
“Fiancée,” he corrected.
“Right,” she muttered.
“And soon to be mother.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in, and when they did, pain sliced through her. Sharp and
When he had called her the day before, saying he had found something that belonged to her, her first instinct was to hang up. After all, she’d done her mourning for their failed relationship. She didn’t need to walk back down memory lane. But he’d insisted she come to his new home and pick up whatever it was he’d found. If she were truthful with herself, she’d admit that a part of her wanted to see him. Not for any desire to reunite a lost love, but Madeline only agreed to the meeting to answer one little nagging question and that was to see if anything was left between them.
Once upon a time, she had loved Kevin with an almost desperate need to make him happy, and all she’d gotten for her time and devotion was a wave as he left her hospital room.
Then there he was, standing in front of her looking exactly the same as the last time she’d seen him. Kevin had a classically handsome appeal, with perfectly groomed jet-black hair and eyes that constantly looked toward the horizon, as if not fully engaged with the person he was with.
“Madeline,” Kevin greeted her expansively. Charm dripped from the smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes as they briefly locked with hers then drifted to the horizon. Lord of the manor, she laughingly called him the first time that gaze registered with her. At first, she’d taken that stare as being a go-getter, but after time she came to understand that he was honestly disinterested in what was in front of him. Constantly looking for the next best thing. When she ultimately couldn’t give him what he wanted, she’d been one more person he’d left behind.
“Please come in.” He stepped back and gestured for her to enter.
A klaxon warning flashed through her brain to abort, but Kevin was a force of nature with his own gravity. Against her better judgment, she stepped tentatively into the foyer and stared at the elegant entranceway. Marble floor and wainscoting features, with a chandelier that hung from the vaulted ceiling like a crown casting soft light down upon its subjects.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” he said. “It’s good to see you, Madeline.”
All she could do was give him a weak smile because for her, it wasn’t good at all. “What is it of mine that you found?”
“Well, as you know, Rebecca and I just moved in and as I was unpacking some of my personal belongings. I found a book of yours.”
Madeline blinked. “A book?”
He walked over to a side table, opened a drawer, and took out one of her romance novels. “I know how much you love your books.”
When he held it out, she numbly took it. “You didn’t have to call me to come over for this.”
“I didn’t know if it was one of your favorites or not.”
Anger sluiced through her. “If it was one of my favorites, I wouldn’t have been careless about leaving it lying around for you to pack up.”
His eyebrows arched in surprise. Whether that surprise was genuine, she couldn’t tell. “How was I supposed to know? In any case, I’m glad you came over.”
Madeline shoved the book in her coat pocket. “And why is that?”
He gestured around. “To see where I’m living now.”
She wanted to run, but she must have had some type of masochistic streak running through her that day that stayed her feet and had her asking, “Did you get a raise or something?”
“Rebecca’s father is a lawyer,” he replied. A gleam of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.
“So all this is courtesy of your new girlfriend.”
“Fiancée,” he corrected.
“Right,” she muttered.
“And soon to be mother.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in, and when they did, pain sliced through her. Sharp and
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