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“You really should go, Broadie. You wouldn’t want to air your dirty laundry where everyone can hear. I mean, you have an image to protect.”
“Stop.”
I halt, turning to face him, not caring who’s in earshot. “What would all of these people think? Huh? If they knew the lengths you went to. Just to get to little old me.” I hurl the last word at him before I hastily walk toward the safety of my department. The hell with lunch. I feel like I could throw up.
“Wait.” He grabs for my arm again, and I step away.
“I said no lies. I put up with everything else. All I said was don’t lie to me.”
All of sudden, I’m whirled around and pushed through a set of doors. It isn’t until I’m able to gather my senses that I realize he’s pushed me into the chapel.
“Poppy. I’m sorry. I kept trying to find a way to tell you. But there was never a good time. I was going to tell you on the last day of the trip. But you needed to get back to your mom. Then there were others, but I’d managed to get out of the doghouse about something else and wanted the smoke to clear.”
“Are you really trying to make excuses for this? You sent me an email saying I’d won. You pretended the whole time we were together it was merely a coincidence. And you kept on lying once we returned home.” I cross my arms over my chest, wondering what the hell is wrong with me that these are the men I’m attracted to.
“I just wanted a chance. One chance to prove how good we could be together.”
“But the chance was built on lies. And not just one or two little white lies. This was full-on manipulation!” I screech before I remember where I am. Heck, God should understand what I’m feeling better than anyone.
“Poppy, I—”
“Sit down.”
“What?”
“For a smart guy, you better listen up. Sit. Down.” I point to the pew beside me, and he quickly takes a seat.
“You want to know why I pulled away from you and needed space?” I don’t wait for him to answer. “Because I found out my deceitful husband had a child with another woman. And hid it from me for years!” I stop for a moment, looking away, hoping to calm the rage I’m feeling before someone calls security on us.
“I still don’t know all of the details. But apparently, he managed to knock up some woman while we were in college, proceeded to marry me without sharing any of the details, and then withheld his having a child while he continued to visit them. The entire length of our marriage,” I say louder than necessary. “I only found out when I saw the boy visiting Dan’s grave.”
Shaking my head, trying to hold back my tears, I can tell Broadie is in complete shock. “What a laugh they must’ve had at my expense. Right here in the same town, all of those years. I thought he was off earning sales on the road. But he was playing catch with his kid. Then coming home to me, acting as if nothing ever happened.”
“Poppy—”
I swiftly throw my hand up, halting him from joining this conversation.
“It took years, but I’d finally healed from losing the man I’d devoted my life to. The man I fed, bathed, dressed, and helped go to the bathroom because he could no longer do it on his own. I gave him everything. And yet, there was never a right time to tell me what he’d done.”
I see the moment he gets it, and Broadie’s head drops. “I went to counseling. Told him I was afraid I’d never be able to trust another man. But he convinced me that trust is a choice. I shouldn’t let the sins of one man ruin my chances at a happy life.”
Broadie glances up, looking defeated.
“Ha! The jokes on me.”
Broadie buries his face in his hands.
“I spent years devoted to a man who betrayed me. Only to allow another one to manipulate me in the most egregious way. How dare you!”
Walking toward the doors to the chapel, I stop long enough to turn back to him and make one last thing very clear.
“This is over.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
POPPY
I stretch across the bed, my face buried in my pillow, feeling for the box of Kleenex. Patting all around, I come up empty. “Grrr…”
