No, he couldn’t tell her. Calvin didn’t want to be the one who broke her heart.
With a frown, he turned and walked back into the restaurant, knowing he wasn’t going to say anything.
* * * *
RAYNE TRIED CONCENTRATINGon Sally’s problems. Really, she did. If only her mind wasn’t on other things right now.
She shifted on the couch again – probably for the tenth time in one hour – giving her cousin empathetic smiles and handing her a tissue every once in a while. Sally’s father and Rayne’s father were brothers. As part of the Kennedy clan, Sally’s family was probably just as powerful – if not more – than Rayne’s since her father was the older brother.
When Sally took a break from crying, Rayne leaned over and patted her cousin’s bent knee resting on the couch. “Have you got yourself a good lawyer?”
She nodded. “I’ll use Father’s.”
“Good. Because Calvin said you’re going to need a good lawyer to stop Jeff from taking you for a ride during this divorce.”
“I know.” She dabbed the tissue to the corner of her eyes. “I’m starting to think he just married me for my money.”
Rayne leaned against the cushions of the couch. “What were the signs that he wanted you for your money?”
Growling softly, Sally raked her fingers through her mass of red hair. “When we were dating, my father kept trying to push the prenuptial agreement, but Jeff would get upset. He told me that if I loved him, I wouldn’t make him sign it. He wanted to know that we loved each other equally, and especially, that we trusted each other.” She rolled her eyes. “I should have known then that he wanted my money, but he was so sweet and charming, and I thought I was in love.”
“What were the signs during the marriage?” Rayne wondered.
“When we married, he had a well-paying job. Slowly, he became more and more lazy and didn’t want to go to work. He wanted to hang out with his new friends from the club and spend all morning golfing. He was fired, and my father and I tried to convince him to find another job. Jeff told us he was looking, and yet he spent all of his time at the club.” She sniffed and wiped the tissue under her nose. “We argued about money more. He wanted me to buy him clothes or a new car. When I refused, he made me feel like I was calling him useless because he didn’t have a job. So, because I felt guilty, I gave in and bought him what he wanted.” She swallowed hard. “Then, during our last argument, I snapped. I told him that if he wanted new golf clubs, he could find himself a job and buy them himself.” She took a shaky breath as tears filled her eyes again. “Then I lied to him. I told him I was running out of money. That’s when he yelled at me and called me names... that I don’t even want to repeat. He told me that he was tired of being married to a worthless woman, and that’s when he left.”
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Rayne squeezed her cousin’s hand as she offered a bit of comfort.
Her thoughts shifted again, but this time she wasn’t thinking of Calvin. Instead, she was recalling some moments when she and Eddie had been on a date and he had realized he’d left his wallet at home. She, of course, paid for everything. Those were the times they’d gone to expensive restaurants. Eddie paid when they went out for pizza or Chinese. He wouldn’t even pay to take her to a movie in the evening. It had to be matinees.
She shook her head, trying to get those doubts out of her mind. Eddie wasn’t like Jeff. First off, Eddie didn’t have a well-paid job. Not yet. Once he graduated with his degree in engineering, then he’d be able to find the job of his dreams.
Her thoughts screeched to a halt, once again. He told her he went to school during the day, which was why he worked in the evenings. But... he always came to her shop to take her to lunch. When he called, it was usually during the day. In fact, she’d never seen him study. And the few times she’d been to his apartment, she’d not seen any study books lying around.
When Sally started talking again, Rayne tried to dismiss the doubts quickly filling her head. No! She shouldn’t think this way. Eddie wasnotlike Jeff. She just needed to ask Eddie to explain why he never studied.
Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on her cousin again, but something else popped into her head. Before marrying Calvin, she’d pleaded with Eddie to take her and elope. At that moment, she’d wanted him more than her inheritance. They’d live just fine without the money. And yet, Eddie was adamant. He insisted she marry Calvin. Eddie made her feel that she deserved the inheritance and that he would be patient and wait twelve months before they could get married.
If a man really and truly loved a woman, would he really push her to marry another man, even if he thought it was in name only? If roles were reversed, she would not push Eddie to marry another woman.
Unease settled inside of her, making her restless. She couldn’t stay and comfort her cousin when she felt this way about Eddie. Rayne really needed to tell Sally she had to leave. But what excuse could she give her?
Just then, Sally’s cell phone rang. She wiped her eyes before answering it.
“Hi, Dad.” Sally moved off the couch and into the kitchen.
Rayne took this opportunity to stand, too. She stretched her arms over her head and breathed deeply, hoping the anxiety inside her would leave. But until she talked with Eddie, she knew these feelings wouldn’t go away.
From Sally’s raised voice, Rayne could only assume that her dad wasn’t giving her good news. Blowing out a ragged sigh, Rayne walked to the sliding glass doors and looked out the back toward the ocean. Sally’s condo was along the beach and had the perfect view, both night and day. Calvin would like it out here. In fact, Rayne would love to bring him out here so they could walk barefoot along the beach at night. Immediately, she pictured what it would be like. He’d hold her hand, of course. They’d stare at each other just like they did right before they kissed the other night.
Rayne stepped outside to breathe in the refreshing air. A light breeze came in from the ocean, cooling her face. Slowly, her body began to relax... or was she feeling calmer because her thoughts had shifted to Calvin?
A grin sneaked across her face. Leaning against the railing, she closed her eyes. It was hard for her to admit how enjoyable it was to be with Calvin now. He’d somehow changed since the first time they’d met. Or was she the one who’d changed?
Sally’s hysterical sobs jerked Rayne out of her daydreams, and she turned back toward the double-glass doors. Sally stood just inside, crying into a handful of tissues.
“What’s wrong?” Rayne asked, moving toward her cousin.
“That was my dad on the phone. He told me...” She sniffed and wiped her nose. “He told me that his lawyer won’t take the case because his associate is taking Jeff on as his client.” She ended with a wail.
