Resigning himself, he poured himself a glass of wine and took a chair across from her.“To what do I owe this honor?”
“I came to get Lara’s stuff.”
The statement made him blink.On some level, he’d expected she’d come herself.Hoped, maybe.Which was probably why he hadn’t boxed it up and returned it himself.Instead, he’d left dresses hanging in the closet, lingerie in the laundry hamper, her hairbrush on the vanity, even a bar of soap in the bathtub tray.Everything as if she were coming back.
“So, tell me.What the hell happened between you two?We’ve all been waiting to hear news of the wedding, then poof, nothing.What are we supposed to think?”
“You’ll need to ask Lara.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“Other than saying things had worked out for both companies and that it was no longer necessary, she was pretty quiet.Well, except for the tears part.”
That got to him.
“So I asked her for details.She gave me none.”
“And?”
“Hello, dumbnuts.She’s been a friend for years.We share everything.That she’s not telling me means she’s protecting you.And that annoys the crap out of me.What did you do that you called off the wedding and she feels the need to protect you from my wrath?”
“Clearly that didn’t work.”
“Clearly.”She took a long drink before putting her glass down.“I want the details, Conn.And you can skip the platitudes.”
“You’re assuming it was my fault.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Really, Erin, it’s none of your business.”
“You hurt my friend,” she countered.“And that makes it my business.”
All week, Julien’s words about Connor being an ass had returned to haunt him.Julien had said love was a messy thing and Connor’s personal experience had proved him right.
After she’d left his office on Friday afternoon, Connor had been angry.He’d felt betrayed that she hadn’t turned to him and that she’d made a decision about their future without consulting him.
Anger had built, and after he’d canceled the appointment with the judge and let his lawyer know that the prenuptial agreement was now void, he’d turned up the notch until he was pissed.
Saturday he’d woken up morose.It should have been his honeymoon.Instead, he’d been taunted by the sight of their rings on his dresser.He’d spent too much time that evening with a well-aged bottle of whisky.
He’d woken on Sunday with a determination to forget about her.He’d worked out, grabbed his bike and gone for a grueling ride in the punishing heat then had returned home to pump some iron and finally swim his way into exhaustion.
Sometime yesterday, he’d tried to convince himself that her decision had been a good one.
But no matter how hard he worked out, he couldn’t outrun her last words.She loved him.
That statement had him tied in emotional knots.
And his little sister’s visit wasn’t helping.
“You know why I’m confused?I thought you liked her.She’s the only woman you’ve ever brought to a family function.”
“We were supposed to be getting married,” he reminded her.
“But I saw the way you looked at her, the way you touched her.”
