“Have you sorted things out with that man of yours yet?” Gina’s sharp gaze sliced and diced, her mouth pursing as she figured out the truth for herself. “I should knock your heads together.”
“Just leave it alone. Nolan and I…it’s not meant to be. He doesn’t want me.”
“Did he tell you that?”
Yvonne blinked rapidly. No way did she intend to cry and compound her problems. “He left. That’s all the answer I need.” Yvonne turned away and tried to shut up a conscience that had suddenly turned yappy. Like a small persistent dog, her mind went back and forward and her moral code kept wavering to Nolan’s side.
She’d been the one in the wrong.
What she’d done was unforgivable because Nolan was nothing like her ex. Time and time again, he’d demonstrated his sincerity. Her boys loved him, and she…
Damn and blast.
Yvonne blinked hard, misery determined to pull tears from her blinking eyes.
“Ring him,” Gina said. “Apologize. Do whatever it takes to get him back.”
Yvonne stiffened and turned to glare at Gina. “Why should I apologize?”
“You’re not going around muttering it’s his fault, ergo you’re the one who stepped out of line. Besides, you admitted it yesterday when you were dragging your heels with a hangover. Apologize.”
“Ergo? Who the heck says ergo?”
“Apologize.” Gina stood and folded her newspaper. “I’m off to make bacon and egg pies.”
Yvonne stared at the front door of the café. Someone was waiting outside, checking their watch. Sighing, Yvonne grabbed her apron and tied the strings as she walked to the door.
“What have you done to Nolan?” Elizabeth Penrith subjected her to a hard stare before she brushed past and took a seat at the counter. “I’ll have a…a latte with non-fat milk.”
“Good morning to you too.” Yvonne stomped behind the counter and started bashing her coffee machine around. It was only the start of her day.
“Nolan is going around in a blue funk. He’s depressed. He told me to butt out of his life and leave him alone.”
“And you’re not listening to him,” Yvonne snapped.
“He’s my son. You want the best for your sons, and it’s no different for me.”
Yvonne started heating the milk. “There’s a difference between caring and wanting the best. You tried to break us up. You spread rumors about me and called me a loose woman. You judged me when you know nothing about me.” By the end, she was shouting. The internal door squeaked as Gina popped out from the kitchen.
“Is everything all right?” She wore flour on her cheek and several smudges of an unidentified substance on her apron.
“I’m standing up for myself,” Yvonne said.
“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said. “I haven’t been fair to you. Nolan has been different since he met you. He’s happy, or he was until recently. I don’t know what has gone wrong between the two of you, but if it’s something to do with me, please make up. I want family. I want grandchildren to spoil.” Tears swam in the older woman’s eyes as she stared pleadingly at Yvonne. “I don’t want to be alone anymore. I’ve had to take a good hard look at myself recently, and I didn’t like what I saw.”
“You what?” Yvonne was pretty sure she resembled a fish, and she forced her lips together while she stared at the woman. “You’ve tried to break up Nolan and me for ages, and now you want us back together?”
Elizabeth chewed the last of the pale peach color off her bottom lip. “I understand my about face has shocked you, and I’ll need to earn your forgiveness. I intend to try. That is a promise.”
“I see.” Had she tumbled into Alice’s wonderland?
“Please, talk to Nolan,” Elizabeth said, and there was a quiet dignity to her manner.
Gina, her children and now Elizabeth Penrith—all of them thought she and Nolan should be together.
“I’ll take your views under consideration,” Yvonne said.
“Don’t be so stubborn,” Gina said.
