CHAPTER ELEVEN

Didi stood frozen in the doorway.

Kevin glowered at her. “In case you missed it, I said where have you been?”

“I was at the bookstore, not that it’s really any of your concern.” Didi congratulated herself on sounding cool and unruffled though her heart was thumping like a derby winner.

“I’ve cruised by to check on you a dozen times. Don’t you know enough to come in out of the rain? I’ve been waiting half the night, hoping you’d manage to get home at a decent hour, but here it is after ten o’clock, and you’re just now moseying in the door. Who are you skulking around with?”

He’d been watching her? Kevin might not have touched her, but her skin crawled. For half a second, vengeance flitted through her mind. She toyed with the idea of telling him she’d been out kissing another man, but it wasn’t her style. Besides, with his eyes narrowed to slits, it would be foolish to antagonize him.

As much as she was tempted to act petty and small, her pesky integrity spoke up. “As I said, I just came from the bookstore. See?” She dangled her Barnes and Noble bag in front of him. Righteous resentment stirred, and her back stiffened with resolve. She refused to let him intimidate her.

Didi slipped behind the wing chair, angling it between them for protection. She’d planned to marry this stalker? “And I have to say, it’s very disturbing you’ve been scrutinizing my every move. I’m not the one who was two-timing.”

“I’ve already explained that.” Kevin scowled as heat flared in his eyes. “All I did was make a simple mistake.”

“A mistake?” cried Didi. “You made a mistake? My, now that’s the understatement of the year. You know, Kevin, I don’t trust you anymore, and I don’t think I ever really did. You don’t seem to understand it’s over between us.” She swallowed as her mouth went dry. Placing her hands on the back of the chair, she steadied herself.

Kevin’s face darkened, but he blew out a breath in an obvious effort to stay calm. “I want us to be like we were before. So I exercised poor judgment. It didn’t mean anything. What if I tell you I won’t see Mindy again?”

His eyes shifted, and he stared at a spot in the distance behind Didi’s ear. She might be naïve at times, but she could smell the lie from her side of the room.

Didi circled the chair and sat on the edge of the cushion, weary to the bone. “You want to forget it? Just like nothing’s happened?” Kevin didn’t seem to be getting the message. She studied him, noting the way his perfect hair fell perfectly against his forehead. With the chiseled muscles of a bodybuilder and the mysterious charm of a coiled cobra, he was indeed a striking man. But what did appearance matter? Tonight, his nearness chilled her down to her socks.

Tilting her head, she skewered him with a glare and spoke plainly. “Kevin, you have no idea what a real marriage should be.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m willing to forget everything that’s happened and jump back on track. You’re still my girl, and don’t you forget it.” Kevin’s lips twisted into a familiar sneer.

Why had she ever thought he was so attractive? “I’m not your girl anymore, Kevin. I…”

Her landline rang. Didi was tempted to ignore it, but it was after ten, so it could be important. On shaky legs, she rose from the chair. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”

Didi hurried from the room to take the call in her bedroom. Dreading the thud of Kevin’s footsteps behind her, she looked over her shoulder, but there was no sign of him.

The caller I.D. showed it was her mother.

“Hi, Mom. Everything okay?”

“I’m fine, dear. Sorry to call so late, but I wanted to make sure you’re home safe and sound. There’s a flood warning on the news for Airy Ridge.”

“Thanks for checking. I made it home a while ago, and it was raining awfully hard, but I’m fine.” This was not the time to tell her mom about Kevin. She could imagine her petite dynamo of a mother speeding over to stand up to Kevin’s six foot four inches. Her money would be on her mom.

“Good. Don’t stay up too late, now. Tomorrow’s a work day.”

Didi couldn’t help but smile at that last statement. Growing up, they’d fought over her bedtime night after night. “Sure, Mom. Thanks for calling.”

She hung up the phone and crashed on the bed to gather strength. Light from the bedside lamp fell on her left ring finger. The impressive one-and-a-half carat diamond flashed with fire. Mesmerized, Didi stretched out her hand and gazed at the glittering facets. She fixed her eyes on the kaleidoscope of colors. Why was the ring still on her hand? She didn’t want to marry Kevin. She wouldn’t marry Kevin. Obviously, she hadn’t made it crystal clear to him yet, but that was about to change. She was very sure it was over.

Pulling her engagement ring off with a twist, she yanked open the top drawer to her dresser and grabbed the ring box. Without an ounce of regret, she stuffed the ring back where it belonged—away from her. Taking a deep breath, Didi pulled herself together and prepared for battle. As she left the bedroom, she seized the box and shoved it in her pocket.

Striding back into the living room, Didi eyed Kevin with suspicion. While she’d been gone, he’d taken up residence in her wing chair. And where the heck was her cat? She pinned Kevin with a pointed glare. “Have you seen Maisie?” She tried to sound calm but couldn’t quite pull it off.

“Your furball was annoying me, so I chucked her into the bathroom and closed the door.”

He chucked her into the bathroom? She was annoying him? How dare he come into her home, uninvited, and harass her cat? Didi swallowed, pushing down a hard lump in her throat. Her hands balled into fists, and she gritted her teeth, eyes locked on his.

She stomped out of the room and let her precious kitty out of her prison.

Kevin had the nerve to growl. “Why’d you have to let that sneaky creature out? She’s always slinking around underfoot.”

“Kevin.” Didi’s voice hardened. “She lives here, and you don’t. I’ll make this really simple. I don’t want to marry you anymore.” Her hand slid into her pocket and came out with the ring box.

With a determined step, Didi marched over to the man she hoped never to see again. She flung the ring in his lap.

Kevin’s lips thinned and twisted into a sneer as he snatched up the box. “You’ve got to be kidding. This is all your fault, not mine.”

“My fault?” Didi’s tenuous veneer of composure faded. “How could this possibly be my fault?”

“You’re the one who kept hounding me to marry you. Always asking if I really loved you, where this relationship was going, when I was going to get serious, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I didn’t have much choice. And then Uncle Chad said…” He clamped his mouth shut quick.

Mystified, Didi had no idea what he meant. “Your Uncle Chad said what?”

“Nothing.” Kevin rubbed the skin between his eyebrows with his index finger and stared at the carpet, and then he angled his head and leered. “Why do you think I mentioned Mindy?”

“Believe it or not, I thought you wanted to be honest with me.”

“Hardly.” Kevin snorted. “I had it figured you’d be put out with me. I thought you might postpone the wedding for a while, but I had to teach you how a real man operates.”

“Are you trying to tell me ‘real men’ cheat on their wives?” He couldn’t be serious.

“Hey, you can’t deny I’m a handsome devil. Can I help it if women throw themselves at me? I’m only human. It never occurred to me you’d be stupid enough to toss away the best thing you ever had.”

“Really? You thought I’d merely scold you for seeing other women but keep seeing you?” Didi was incredulous. “You underestimate me, Kevin.”

“I guess I miscalculated.” Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “Besides, how else was I going to get you to sleep with me? With that ridiculous Puritan streak of yours, if I hadn’t asked you to marry me, I’ll bet I’d still be waiting.”

A wave of shame whooshed over Didi, and her face flamed. Tears sprang to her eyes. He knew just how to twist the knife.

“Don’t act all uppity now,” Kevin scoffed. “You know you wanted me.”

“And that was my mistake,” Didi whispered. “I think you’d better leave now.”

Rising to his feet, Kevin shoved the diamond in his pocket and headed toward the door.

“Before you leave, I’ll take my keys back.” Didi’s heart quaked, but she lifted her chin and stood her ground. After Kevin had popped the question at Christmas, Didi had given him a set of house keys. Carmen’s Jeweler was the best in town, and she’d spent a great deal of time and money finding the best sterling silver keychain. Another mistake.

Kevin slithered toward her. He whipped the keys from his pocket and hissed, “You want your keys? I’ll give you your frickin’ keys back!”

He lobbed the keys in her general direction, but instead of hitting Didi, they struck a heavy glass cat figurine on the mantelpiece. Seemingly suspended in space, the statuette teetered for a brief moment then fell with a crash to the tiles below. Shattered pieces of frosted glass littered the hearth.

Maisie shot like a rocket across the living room carpet, little feet barely missing the cutting shards.

Kevin shrugged. “Oops.”

Livid didn’t begin to describe Didi’s surge of emotion as she flew at Kevin. Trembling, she halted a scant foot away from him and raised her hand. Everything in her longed to slap his face. Hard. Instead, she gulped, breathing fast, and pointed at the door. “Get out!” she yelled. “I don’t ever want to see you again!”

Giving her a crude gesture, Kevin pivoted on his heels and stalked toward the door. He wrenched the door open and turned to deliver his parting shot. “You’ll regret this, Didi. And in case you’re wondering, Mindy’s way better in bed.”

He knew just how to knock her flat.

The door slammed, and she rushed to bolt it behind him. She locked both locks and rammed the rarely used safety chain into place. Shuffling on weak legs back into the living room, she collapsed on the sofa.

When the shuddering finally subsided, Didi went in search of Maisie. The creature cowered under the bed, and it took a great deal of coaxing to get her out. Gently, she examined her cat’s plush body, checking her paws for cuts. Thank goodness, the smashed bits of figurine hadn’t injured her precious cat.

Scooping up Maisie, Didi cradled her and carried her out into the kitchen. To her darling’s delight, she cut up roasted chicken and served it up on her prettiest saucer. The cat displayed resilience when presented with her favorite meal, and the purring feline soon seemed to forget all about her scare. Didi wished that she, too, were as easily soothed.

While Maisie was distracted, Didi took the opportunity to pull out the broom and dustpan. On her knees in front of the hearth, she carefully picked up the larger pieces of glass and swept up tiny splinters. The damage was irreparable. As she worked, tears flowed down her cheeks unchecked. The figurine had been a present from her father on her twelfth birthday, and she remembered her delight when she’d opened her gift. She’d cherished the sleek glass feline even more after her father had died.

Kevin had known what that figurine meant to her. He had known.

With a whopper of a headache coming on, the comforting waters of a warm bath called to her. Gliding with a sigh into a vanilla-scented tub, Didi submerged herself and reflected on some of the things Kevin had said. She was ashamed she’d justified sleeping with him because they were going to be married. After all, he’d told her he loved her, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It hadn’t seemed so wrong at the time, but now, despite the warm water, she shuddered.

With a raw and aching spirit, she mulled over everything she’d done. How could she have been so wrong? In trying hard to make Kevin happy, she’d ended up hurting herself. She should have known better. She did know better. With a bruised and broken heart, she prayed to God for forgiveness.

At midnight, Didi fell into bed cleansed in body, if not in soul. Though she was certain her prayers had been heard, the stain of guilt tarnished her fragile psyche. As she floated off into what was sure to be a fitful sleep, she wished with all her heart she’d never met Kevin Francis Cabot.

* * *

The low-slung car nearly swerved out of control as he approached the end of Chestnut Lane. Overpowering rage surged through him, making him sweat. No one had ever talked to him like that. Ever.

She didn’t know who she was dealing with. She was his girl, and she’d better not forget it.