Jessica looked at her mother, who had seen Alex as well, then frowned.
“What is he doing here?” her mother whispered.
Jessica shrugged. She’d told him she was coming over, but had never expected him to just show up. Then she recalled how he’d shown up uninvited to Ellen’s house. Twice.
“May I come in?” Alex was asking her dad.
“We’re right in the middle of dinner,” he said. “Why don’t you come back later?”
“I’d really like to see Jessica, sir. I’ve only seen her briefly since the . . . attack. And, well, I just need to see her.”
Her dad turned and looked at her. She shrugged, not knowing what else to do. As far as Alex knew, they were on the verge of being engaged. Why would she refuse to see him? And if she did refuse, would he make a scene? She preferred to break up with him under her own terms, not in front of her parents.
“Come in,” her dad said, pulling the door open wider.
“Thank you.” Alex walked in and headed straight for her. “Jessica.”
She stood, a tentative smile on her face, and accepted his embrace.
“After talking to you earlier, well, I couldn’t wait any longer to see you. I’m so happy you’re in town.” He seemed oblivious to the fact that he’d interrupted their dinner. Or maybe he just didn’t care. “How are you, Debra?” he asked her mom.
“We’re fine, Alex.” She put on her hostess face. “Would you like some dinner?”
Alex glanced at Jessica, then nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Jessica, why don’t you set another place?” her mom said.
She nodded, then went into the kitchen and took out a place setting. Her mom appeared a moment later. “What are you going to do?” she asked in a whisper.
“Nothing.”
Her brow creased. “Nothing? Why not?”
“What should I do? He has no idea I’m about to break up with him. I don’t want to do it now. So I’m just going to go along with this charade.”
Her mom sighed. “Okay. Whatever you think is best.”
She laughed softly. “I have no idea what is best, but since I don’t have a better idea, that’s what I’m going to do.”
A few minutes later the four of them were sitting at the table, eating their food and talking about Douglas Harrington.
“Are you going to have to testify at the trial?” Alex asked, ever the lawyer.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I haven’t heard yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised.” The idea stressed her out. As if I don’t have enough stress in my life.
When it came time to serve dessert, Jessica felt more relaxed, although every time she imagined the look Alex would surely get on his face when she told him she wouldn’t marry him, her relaxation turned to anxiety.
“I’m looking forward to lunch tomorrow,” Alex said, when he finally decided to tell everyone good-night.
Jessica smiled tightly, knowing he would feel differently soon enough. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Alex.” She allowed him to kiss her, then she shut the door behind him and turned to her parents. “Thanks for keeping my secrets.”
“We’d never do anything to blow it for you, honey,” her dad said.
“I know. But still, I’m glad nothing slipped.”
Her mom smiled. “We may be getting old, but we’re not that old yet.”
Jessica laughed.
As she lay in bed that night, she wondered what Kyle was doing. Was he with Melanie and Avery? Would he choose Melanie over her? He hadn’t called or texted her, and loneliness flooded over her as she thought about not only breaking up with Alex, but Kyle choosing Melanie.
By morning she was feeling better, though still not eager for her lunch with Alex. Nevertheless, at the appointed time she drove to the restaurant and headed inside. As opposed to her last break-up lunch with Alex a month before, this time she arrived first. The hostess brought her to a booth, and Jessica looked over the menu while she waited for Alex to arrive. Half an hour later he still hadn’t shown.
Tension had been building inside her ever since she’d gotten up that morning, so when Alex finally called to say he’d had an emergency meeting and could they go out to dinner instead, she thought she would explode from anxiety. “Yes, that would be fine,” she said, although she hated that she would have to stew over this for the rest of the day.
“I’ll pick you up at six thirty,” he said.
Not knowing how he would take the break-up, she didn’t want to be trapped with him in his car afterwards. Thinking quickly, Jessica said, “I have some errands to run, and I’m not sure how long they’ll take. Why don’t I meet you there?”
“Sure. Okay.”
Relieved he’d agreed, they said their good-byes, then Jessica ordered a small salad to tide her over until dinner.
By the time she got to the restaurant that evening, her insides were twisting, and her appetite had disappeared.
“I’m meeting Alex Tyler here,” she told the hostess, then looked around. She hadn’t been to this restaurant before, and noticed that it was quite nice. As she followed the hostess to the table in a back corner where Alex was waiting, she wondered why he’d chosen this place.
“Jessica,” he said as he stood, then he pulled her against him for a warm embrace. He held her for a moment, and when he let go, he held her chair out for her, then sat across from her. “I’m sorry about lunch. I called you as soon as I could.”
“It’s okay.” Then she thought that if they’d been able to have lunch, the unpleasantness would already be over. “This is a nice place.”
“Do you like it?”
She laughed softly as she glanced at her slacks, then at his suit and tie. “I just feel a little underdressed.”
He waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
She picked up the menu and noticed there were no prices listed.
“What sounds good to you?” he asked, smiling.
She looked at his earnest face and felt guilt slice through her. He had no idea what was about to happen. “Uh, I think I’ll just have a bowl of soup.”
He frowned. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“I guess I ate too much at lunch,” she lied.
“Well, I suppose that’s my fault for missing our date.”
Our date. She set the menu on the table, then reached into her pocket for the engagement ring.
“Jessica.”
She looked up and met his gaze, and saw something in his eyes that made her think her news would blindside him. He put his hands on the table with his palms up, obviously requesting that she place her hands in his. She left the ring in her pocket and played along, setting her hands in his larger ones.
“Jessica, I think I’ve made it clear how much I love you,” he began.
Here we go.
“And you know that I want to marry you.”
She nodded, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“But I want to start our family as soon as possible. As soon as we’re married.”
Whoa. Though she wanted to have a family one day, she wasn’t quite ready to start one just yet. But it didn’t matter. They weren’t going to get married. She stared at him, a smile plastered on her face. “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
He looked at her expectantly.
“Alex, I came home to talk to you about your marriage proposal.” She paused, gathering her thoughts.
A look of concern fell over his face, but mercifully, he stayed silent.
“Alex, after a lot of thought, I’ve decided that I can’t marry you.”
His grip tightened on her hands and he shook his head. “What? What are you saying?”
She tried to pull her hands out of his, but would have to yank them to get loose, and didn’t want to do that just yet. “I’m saying that I realized that I can’t accept your marriage proposal.”
“You came all the way home just to tell me that?” His voice showed obvious distress. “Why?”
“I didn’t want to do it over the phone.” She thought about Kyle’s phone call five years before. “It just didn’t seem right.”
“But why won’t you marry me? I don’t understand.” The lines on his forehead deepened. “Is there someone else?”
She could tell the question pained him, and though two days ago the answer would have been a resounding Yes, after her conversation with Kyle the day before, she wasn’t sure it was still true. Because of her doubts, and to spare Alex’s feelings, she shook her head. “No. It just doesn’t feel right to me.” Guilt at breaking his heart began to swell within her, and her voice dropped. “I’m sorry.”
“I brought you here to celebrate,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper.
His grip slackened and she took advantage of it by pulling her hands free and placing them firmly in her lap.
“What can I do to change your mind?” The look of desperation on his face was heart wrenching, and Jessica wanted nothing more than to get out of there and flee the guilt that was beginning to consume her.
She picked her purse up from the floor and hugged it to her stomach, ready to dash out of the restaurant as soon as possible. “Truly, Alex. I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I tried to tell you the other day when you came to my aunt’s house.”
He was silent for a moment, then his eyes narrowed, pinning her with his gaze. “Does that construction worker have anything to do with this?”
Kyle. Her eyes wanted to widen in shock at his accurate guess, but she held them steady on his face. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want to bring Kyle into this—though she wondered whether she would be accepting Alex’s proposal if Kyle hadn’t shown up at her aunt’s house.
“No,” she managed to say, though her mouth had gone dry. “It has nothing to do with him.” Which was mostly true. Right then she didn’t know if she and Kyle would actually work out their issues, but regardless, she was ending it with Alex. That logic buoyed her confidence in her answer. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
His eyes narrowed fractionally more. “Me thinks thou doth protest too much.”
He’s quoting Shakespeare, she thought absently as she scrambled for a response. “He’s just a friend,” she said, but immediately realized that was a mistake.
Alex’s eyes widened and his head tilted to one side. “A friend? I thought he was just a hired worker.” He frowned. “A worker who saved your life.” His hands rested forlornly on the table, and he studied them as if they held a particularly challenging contract. Then he looked at her under hooded eyes. “What kind of hired help would risk his life for a client?” He raised his head and smirked. “I know I wouldn’t.”
She didn’t say anything, afraid she would say something that would give herself away. Why not just admit it? she thought. Tell him you and Kyle were once engaged, and that you’re back together. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt it was important to keep that to herself.
“This all seems very suspicious,” he said, pulling his hands back and resting them on the edge of the table.
“May I take your order?” the waiter asked, materializing next to the table.
“Give us a few more minutes,” Alex snapped at him.
Jessica felt bad for the man as she watched him scurry away.
“Where was I?” Alex said. “Oh yes. You were going to explain to me how you and the worker are friends. How could you possibly know some random construction worker who lives three hours away?”
She shook her head. She’d had enough. “Look, I’m sorry about how this turned out, but I don’t owe you any more explanations.” Standing, she slung her purse over her shoulder. “Good bye, Alex.” She took the ring out of her pocket, then set it on the table. She turned, and hurried out of the restaurant, dejavu washing over her as she recalled the similar exercise she’d gone through with him four weeks before.
She just hoped that this time he would move on.