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“I’ll be back. This isn’t what it seems.” And then he turned and quickly strode out of the kitchen.

Mochi followed him as far as the doorway but then turned back and came to stand by her. It was like the pup knew where Shaun was going and didn’t want to see that woman again. She couldn’t blame her.

Overhead, she could hear heavy, quick footsteps on the stairs. Someone was in a hurry to see their spouse. Leah’s back teeth ground together.

She knelt down and looked into the pup’s big brown eyes. Mochi looked as though something was bothering her. “It’s going to be okay.”

Then she reached out and gave Mochi a hug. She didn’t know what to expect, but Mochi didn’t move, as though she could sense Leah’s inner turmoil.

Chapter Twenty-Four

This couldn’t be happening.

Shaun took the stairs two at a time. He couldn’t remember if Leah had told him what room number was Mandi’s, but it didn’t matter. It was too early for check-ins, so whatever door was closed would be her room.

Of course, Mandi wouldn’t worry about the check-in time. She didn’t care about being polite and courteous. She only worried about herself and her needs.

When he came to room number four, the door was shut. This must be her room. He clenched his hand and rapped his knuckles firmly on the door. “Mandi, open up.”

There was no response.

Would she have gone out? Then he recalled seeing a little red car in the driveway. He could only assume she’d gotten a new car.

He knocked again. “Mandi, open this door. Now.”

He couldn’t believe his ex-wife had tracked him to Vermont. How in the world did she know where he was staying? He certainly hadn’t told her. That left his father…but he knew Shaun didn’t want anything to do with his ex.

“Mandi—”

The door swung open. And then his ex-wife stood there. She was yawning as she slouched against the door.

He used to think that she was cute. Not anymore. Now that he’d ditched the rose-colored glasses, he saw her clearly.

Mandi used her good looks to get what she wanted. She had flirting down to a fine art. In the past, he had usually given in to whatever it was she wanted, but not anymore.

“Hey, Shaun. Aren’t you happy to see me?” She sent him a timid smile, acting all innocent.

“No. I’m not. You shouldn’t be here.” He worked hard to restrain his voice to a normal level. He didn’t want to upset Leah any more than she already was.

Mandi reached out to him, but he backed away before she could touch him. “Oh, come on. You know you missed me. And when you mentioned you had an accident, I had to come.”

“I didn’t have an accident. And even if I did, you’d be the last person I’d want to come to my aid.” He meant it. “Have you forgotten that we’ve been at each other’s throats for the past two years with the divorce?”

She softened her voice. “But that’s all in the past. We can start over.”

He looked at her—really looked at her. “Have you been drinking?”

“What?” She straightened. “No. Why would you say that?”

“Because you’d have to be drunk to think that we could start over. We never should have gotten married in the first place.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

It was a mistake. Even though it was how he felt, he could already see the fire in Mandi’s eyes. She was going to get riled up, and he’d never get rid of her.

“You loved me,” she stated flatly. “I know you did.”

He sighed. Sadly, that was the truth. He’d been young and naive. “Maybe I did in the beginning. But you know we weren’t meant to be together.” He didn’t want to talk about their past. “Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriend...” He struggled to recall the guy’s name. “Ted...Fred...”

“Red. And no, we broke up.”