“I was pretty much shell-shocked after discovering Karl was unfaithful.”
And acknowledging his abuse, don’t forget that part.
She shook her head. There was no way she could forget.
“Was he that good at covering his tracks?”
She shrugged. When you were with a powerful man like Karl, it became easy for him to cover his tracks. Only, she knew there was more to her situation than that.
“I’d always known somewhere in the back of my mind that there were others besides me even though he’d never been blatant about it. He’d never provided me with any concrete proof. So when he openly admitted his indiscretions to me, at first, I was just shocked that he would actually confess so easily.”
She lifted her eyes to meet his and found an inscrutable expression plastered across his face that almost unnerved her. It was like he was looking right through her, reading between the lines and coming to a conclusion she didn’t want him to reach.
“Is that why you divorced him so quickly? You were so surprised at his infidelity?”
“No,” she answered quickly. “At the time, it didn’t seem all that quick. It was three agonizing months to the day before I began proceedings, and another nine months before the divorce was actually finalized.” Her therapist assured her that needing time to process it all was completely normal and healthy. Vanessa didn’t actually believe that at the time, but through the course of her healing journey, she’d come to understand it was the truth. She needed that time to process what was happening and what was the best course of action for herself. In the grand scheme of things, the only thing thatmattered was that she’d eventually found the strength to do what she needed to protect herself. She’d survived.
“It wasn’t the shock of discovering his infidelity that forced me to file. Him not bothering to try to conceal it let me know our marriage was over. He was no longer concerned with whether or not he hurt me. I didn’t matter in the least to him in that moment. I realized then the best thing for me to do was end the marriage. It was hard, and Karl fought me tooth and nail, dragging out the process for a full year just to spite me. But in the end, I knew where he kept all of his metaphorical dead bodies buried, so he gave me what I asked for and I took my freedom and ran.”
She tried to drop her gaze again. The last thing she needed to see in his eyes was pity. She’d gone through a terrible ordeal at the hands of her ex. She didn’t want that to define who she was for the rest of her life, though. She’d worked hard to shed the pain and scars Karl had inflicted. She’d survived. But every time she saw that pity in someone’s eyes, it made her feel as if she were still stuck in that nightmare.
She knew she wasn’t. She’d found her way to healing herself through therapy and doing the hard emotional work. Now she was ready to put it all behind her and finally embrace who she was meant to be. Her current lack of purpose was definitely a sore spot for her. Not because of her past. But because she was eager to live her future. This was her time now.
Warmth enveloped her hand. She glanced up and found Michael’s palm gently covering hers. When she lifted her eyes, his gaze was heavy, filled with a sternness that made her chest fill with relief. As long as it wasn’t pity she saw staring back at her, she could handle anything.
“The next time you tell someone that story,” he said, in a quiet whisper that was powerful enough to send shivers through her system, “make sure you tell it with a bold smile. There is no shame inending a toxic relationship before it destroys you. I only wish my sister could find the kind of strength you managed. Because if she had half your fortitude, I wouldn’t have needed to barge into your life and bring you down here.”
She blinked, trying to give herself a moment to process his words. By the time she’d found her tongue, the server returned with their food. Michael pulled his hand away and the sudden loss of its warmth left her bereft and slightly bemused. Then he grabbed his fork and a huge grin parted his lips.
His joy was contagious, and even without tasting them, she knew these would be the best pancakes she’d ever had because they gave her the chance to witness him in what she could only describe as bliss.
“Dig in,” he encouraged her. “I promise, nothing will ever taste as sweet and decadent as these pancakes.”
She seriously doubted that. Playing with the memory of him walking around the house in sweatpants and a T-shirt last night, she could think of quite a few things that she knew the confection in front of them paled in comparison to.
She reciprocated his smile while she cut into her food and let her thoughts flow. It wasn’t smart to enjoy this man so much. Especially with the complicated nature of their connection.
Consequently, smart or not, Vanessa accepted this moment for what it was. A good time with a handsome man. She’d deal with the rest later.
They left the diner and walked up the block until they were standing in front of a closed storefront.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“My sister’s floral shop. She’s the local florist. Along with your everyday floral arrangements, she also deals in rare and out-of-season flowers. This means she draws in business from all over.”
He pulled a set of keys from his back pocket and tapped in a security code on the keypad above the doorknob. The familiar scent of perfumed blooms filled the air and made him take a deep breath. He savored it, before quickly flipping the lights on so Vanessa could see her surroundings. He didn’t need the light. He’d spent so much time in this place growing up, he knew every corner of it by heart.
He watched her stand in the center of the shop, taking in all the flowers in the refrigerated units against both parallel walls.
“How long has your sister been in business?”
“My parents started this business when they got married. Built it up from nothing and made it into a success. Both Cindy and I were pretty much raised in this place, considering all the hours they worked.”
A pang of loss tugged at his heart as the memories of his family together, as an intact unit, ran across his mind.
“I considered selling it when they died. Ultimately, I just couldn’t part with it. It was the last tangible piece of them I had. One of only three gifts they’d given me that still remained with me.”
He saw compassion fill her eyes, soothing the dull ache that tried to emerge. “What were the other two gifts?”
