After she’d sampled from each piece, she set down her fork. “Daniel got married.”
“Daniel?”
She sniffled. “The ex-fiancé.”
Ah. “I’m sorry.”
“Rachel told me not to look at his social media, and I thought I went through and blocked him on all of the sites so I wouldn’t be tempted but then he popped up on this one with a huge photo of him and Kalynn standing in front of an officiant. In Vegas. They eloped to Vegas. Can you believe that?” She started crying again and stabbed the red velvet cake with her fork. “It was bad enough he cheated on me with Kalynn, but then he goes and marries her after six months of dating. We were together for five years, and engaged for three of them, but he wouldn’t set a date. What was wrong with me?
“Nothing,” He spotted a box of tissues on the desk and handed them to her. “Some men are jerks.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled between sniffles. Taking the box, she removed a tissue and wiped her face. “I don’t know if I’m more pathetic for staying with him that long or for letting him upset me even now.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, far enough away not to crowd her, he offered the same advice he’d once given one of his sisters. “You’re not pathetic. Love is blind and there are men who are experts in leading woman on for whatever reasons they have. No matter the case, he is a coward for being dishonest and unfaithful. The flaw lies in him, not you.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.” He sent her a smile of assurance. “This might sound trite, but you are truly better off without him. Your pain now is understandable. You shared a history with him, and itappears he was a major part of your life for five years. Yet, it’s better to hurt now before you married then find out what a cheating scum he is. You said he married the woman he cheated on you with?”
She nodded her head. “Kalynn.”
“Did she know you and Daniel were engaged?”
“Yes. She was a former student of his.”
He grimaced, disliking the man he’d never met. Did the guy have a working moral compass? “Think of it this way. Kalynn may have been the woman he married, but she will never have full trust in her marriage. How could she when it began under immoral circumstances?”
“That’s true.” Her cries subsided. “When I do marry eventually, I want to trust my spouse completely and vice versa. I know I dodged a bullet, but it helps to hear somebody else say that.”
“We tend to listen to others better than ourselves. I had a case of that myself this evening.”
“Rachel usually keeps me in check, but obviously she isn’t here, and I saw that post and lost it.” Her mouth gaped and her entire face turned red. “I am so sorry. You have your own life issues, and here I am blubbering and crying like a simpering nimrod, stuffing my mouth with cake. This is not like me at all, but you caught me in a weak moment.”
He chuckled, finding her adorable as she babbled with hyperbole, then was horrified when she buried her head in her hands, and he realized he’d embarrassed her further. “I’m not laughing at you. I promise, not in how you think. We all have ourmoments. If you would have seen me a half hour ago, you would understand.”
She slowly lowered her hands. “I’m not sure your moment was filled with the theatrics of mine but thank you nonetheless.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Want to talk about your moment?”
“Not really,” he answered automatically. Grant and one of his sister’s were the only people he talked to about Crystal, and that was only on rare occasions anymore. “But I will.”
“You don’t have to. I completely understand if you don’t.”
“It’s fine.” He took his fork and broke off a piece of carrot cake. “However, I’ll need more cake first.”
Cece gave a weak laugh. “I’d join you, but I’m pretty sure I’ve hit my sugar quota for the next two months.”
He finished chewing his bite. “I wasn’t even hungry for cake until now.”
“Cake is our gift from God to feel better.”
“Until you eat too much.”
She rubbed her stomach. “Don’t remind me.”
Chapter Eleven
