Chapter 13
“Do you think he knows what we’ve got planned for later?” Laura asked as they left her father’s house a short time later. He’d offered them a place to stay for the night, but Laura had told him they’d made other plans.
“I sure hope not,” Owen said.
“I bet he knows.”
“I can’t think about that, let alone talk about it, until we get past part one.”
Her deep sigh had him reaching for her hand. “I’ll be right across the room watching every second. No matter what happens, it’s going to be okay.”
“I hope you’re right.” Laura wanted to believe it was all going to be fine, but she knew Justin and wasn’t convinced he’d let go without a fight, especially once he found out about the baby.
“I gotta ask you . . . I mean, it’s none of my business, but . . .”
“You can ask me anything. You know that.”
“What’d you ever see in this guy? He sounds like a world-class dick.”
Even though she sensed he hadn’t meant to be funny, Laura laughed. “I suppose he does from what you’ve heard of him. But no one’s all bad or all good.”
“You are. You’re pure goodness. You don’t have a mean bone in your body.”
Touched by his sincerity, she said, “You haven’t seen me when I get mad. Watch out.”
“Spare me, killer. I’m not afraid of you.”
“You say that now . . .”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
The amusing banter was exactly what she needed to stay calm and focused.
“You still haven’t told me what you saw in him.”
“He was handsome and charming and ambitious.”
“Everything I’m not,” Owen grumbled.
“How can you say that? You’re all of those things—and then some.”
“I’ll give you the handsome and charming,” he said to her laughter, “but how do I rate ambitious when I call an old van home?”
“You’re living your life on your own terms and no one else’s. You do what you want, when you want and make a damned good living doing it. Not to mention, you’re doing something you love. What’s not to respect about that?”
“Hmm, I hadn’t thought of it that way. Still, I’m not exactly a lawyer.”
“Thank God for that. I’ve been around lawyers my whole life. You’re a refreshing change of pace.”
Out of the corner of her eye she watched him mull that over. Even as he drove the car, taking directions from her, she could see his wheels turning a mile a minute. “I can tell you’re dying to say something else. Why are you suddenly holding back on me?”
He looked over at her, seeming surprised by her insight.
“What is it?”
“I, um, it’s just that I wonder if the refreshing change of pace can hold your interest long term.”
“Owen,” she said, flabbergasted. “I can’t believe you’d say that! I can’t wait for us to be together—truly together without my estranged husband and divorce hanging over us. I think about that all the time.” She took his hand and held it between both of hers. “You believe me, don’t you?”
“I want to. Tell me this—am I the first guy you’ve ever dated who called a van home?”
Laura smiled. “Yes, you are.”
“I bet every other guy you’ve been with has an Ivy League education and a Brooks Brothers wardrobe.”
“Those things don’t matter to me. Not anymore.”
“I knew it!”
“So I might’ve had a type in the past. That was then.” She held on tighter to his hand. “This is now. I want you. I want to be with you.”
“I want you, too, Princess. But I’m not looking for a fling. Been there, done that. I’m ready for something more.”
“I am, too. That’s what I thought I was getting when I married Justin.”
“I’m worried that you haven’t given yourself enough time to get over what happened with him.”
“I remember asking Janey about that when she got involved with Joe so soon after she caught David with someone else. She said when you find out the man you love has been unfaithful, all the love you once felt for him disappears as if you never loved him at all. That’s what happened to her—and it was the same for me.
After my friends told me what Justin had done, I couldn’t even look at him without feeling sick.
All the good feelings were gone, and there’s nothing he could say or do to ever bring them back.
They’re gone. I was over him the minute I knew he still wanted other women.
Some women can forgive that kind of transgression.
I’m not one of them, and neither was Janey. ”
Owen was quiet for a long a moment as he thought about what she’d said.
“Do you believe me?”
“I want to, but I’ve been around the block enough to know that it’s not always that simple.”
“Sometimes it’s exactly that simple.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I usually am,” she said with a cocky grin, hoping to lighten the mood.
She wished there was something she could say or do to set his mind at ease and let him know he was exactly what she wanted and needed.
No one, other than her dear dad, had ever cared more about her than Owen seemed to.
She’d never been more in tune with anyone, and she couldn’t wait to see what the future held for them.
The thought strengthened her resolve to get through this encounter with Justin and get on with her life with Owen.
“Thanks for coming with me,” she said as he pulled into a parking space across the street from the restaurant.
“No problem. I’ll be watching the whole time. If you need me, tug on your earlobe, and I’ll be right there.”
“You’ve been watching too many spy movies.”
He stopped her from getting out of the car with a hand to her arm. “Promise me you’ll do it if you need me.”
Because he seemed to need it, she nodded. “I promise.”
“Whatever happens, it’s nothing you can’t handle. Remember that.”
“I will. Let’s get this over with.”
Owen sent her in ahead of him, promising to follow in a minute so they wouldn’t be seen together.
The ma?tre d’ greeted Laura by name. She’d been called “Mrs. Newsome” only a couple of times before it all went bad. Fortunately, she hadn’t gotten around to legally changing her name. “Your husband is already here. Follow me.”
“Here we go,” Laura whispered to herself as she held her head up as he led her to Justin’s usual table in the far corner where he’d once told her he could see everyone in the place.
Justin was all about seeing and being seen, which was why he stood up when he saw her coming.
She was counting on the fact that the Justin she knew would never be anything other than gracious and polite in public.
She’d worn the oversized black sweater intentionally, so he wouldn’t notice her pregnancy until she was ready to tell him.
At the sight of the face she’d once planned to wake up to for the rest of her life, her entire body went on alert against imminent danger.
Her reaction to him was so powerful she nearly took a step backward in self-defense.
Because he’d never given her the slightest reason to be afraid of him, she forced herself to take the final steps to the table.
Justin put down the vodka cocktail he’d been nursing and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
She had to force herself not to cringe or pull away from him as his lips brushed against her skin.
“It’s good to see you.” He made sure to keep his voice low so the ma?tre d’ wouldn’t hear as the older man settled Laura into her chair and handed her a menu. It occurred to her right then that her back would be to Owen, which only added to her growing anxiety.
Justin wore one of the custom-made suits he paid a thousand dollars a piece for with a crisp white shirt and burgundy tie. As always, his dark hair was immaculately styled, and his brown eyes were shrewd as he took a long, measuring look at her.
Laura did her best not to wilt under his intense scrutiny even as she tried to remember what she’d ever seen in him.
He’d once been charming and amusing and romantic with grand gestures she now realized were all for show.
It’d been all about wooing Judge Frank McCarthy’s daughter and had nothing at all to do with her.
Unfortunately, she’d fallen for his game like a lovesick fool.
Being picked up off the bathroom floor after a vicious bout of vomiting was her idea of romance these days.
“Your server will be right with you,” the ma?tre d’ said.
“Ask him to give us a few minutes,” Justin said.
“Of course.”
The moment they were alone, Justin’s charming smile turned into a satisfied smirk. “I knew you’d come around in time. You’ll be glad to know I’ve decided to forgive you.”
Laura was stunned. “For what?”
“Like you don’t know. Let’s start with giving up a primo apartment and having all my stuff sent to my mother. Thanks for that, by the way. I needed to deal with a thousand questions from her like I needed a hole in the head.”
“I didn’t know where you were living.”
“You could’ve asked me.”
“I didn’t wish to speak to you.”
“Clearly you’ve changed your mind about that. You’re here, aren’t you?”
“Only because we have some things we need to discuss.”
“I’ve already told you there isn’t going to be a divorce, so if that’s why you’re here, you’re wasting my time—and yours.”
She fought to keep her voice even so he wouldn’t know how upsetting and difficult this was for her. “That’s not the only thing we need to talk about.”
He sat back in his chair and took a sip of the cocktail, looking arrogant and smug, which put her on even higher alert—if that was possible. “There’s nothing you can tell me that I don’t already know.”
Laura sat up a little straighter. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know you’re living on Gansett Island, working at the Sand & Surf Hotel.
The owners have charged you—someone with absolutely no experience in such things—with the task of restoring that dump.
I know you’ve taken up with the big dude with the shaggy hair who’s over there staring daggers at me.
” He nodded toward Owen. “A homeless guitar player? Really, Laura? Gone slumming, have you?”
“He’s worth a thousand of you,” Laura shot back before she could stop herself. Angering him wouldn’t accomplish anything.