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There was also a message from Ben just checking in with her, which made her swallow hard. It was the second time he’d brought her home in tears from his family ranch. She was grateful for both his compassion and his silence. She brewed some coffee, nuked a couple of frozen chocolate croissants in the microwave, and sat down at the counter. It was hard to choke down the food, but she made herself do it. It wasn’t the time to give up or give in. Her son needed her even if no one else did.
At some point, she’d have to think about what had happened with Adam, but she wasn’t ready to face it quite yet. When Ray had walked out on her, she’d learned to take small steps and to take care of her physical health first. That required her to eat, drink, take showers, stand up straight, and show the world her happiest face.
“Smile even though your heart is breaking . . .” Lizzie muttered through her teeth as she determinedly chewed another mouthful of croissant. Even that thought made her want to cry again, but she wasn’t going to let that happen. She’d unwrap the hurt slowly and gingerly when she was ready to deal with it, and not before.
After finishing her brunch, she washed up her plate and mug and set them to drain. With Roman away, her apartment stayed remarkably clean so there was very little for her to do to keep her mind off what had occurred. She worried her lower lip. Should she go to work? She’d already missed a day and it was halfway through a second one. What if Miranda appeared? In her current vulnerable state one wrong word from Ray’s mother might tip her over the edge. She hated crying in public.
Late that afternoon when her doorbell rang, she was almost glad for the opportunity to do something. She went down the stairs, only slowing as she approached the door to check out her visitor through the peephole. She opened the door and Yvonne came in on a cloud of roasted coffee and caramel.
“How are you feeling? Did you eat something weird up at the Millers’ the other day?” Yvonne suddenly stopped talking and took a closer look at her face. “Mon Dieu—is Roman okay? Are you—?”
“I’m . . . going to be okay.” Lizzie beckoned for Yvonne to follow her up the stairs. “I was just wondering whether I should come into work this afternoon.”
“Not when you look as if you’ve been crying for a week. You’ll scare all my customers away.” Yvonne shut the door and came into the kitchen. “What happened?”
Lizzie shrugged. “Adam dumped me.” Her voice shook, and she tried to smile. “So, as I said, I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time he’s acted like a complete ass.”
Yvonne grabbed her hand and marched her over to the couch. “Tell me.”
“I’m not sure what you want me to say.” Lizzie attempted to weasel out of confession time. “We had a fight. He got mad about something I said. I walked out and told him not to contact me again. The usual.”
“But you’re in love with him,” Yvonne said simply.
“I’m not . . .” Lizzie glared at her as a tear ran down her cheek. “Why did you have to go and say that?”
“Because it’s the truth. I’ve never seen you look happier than you have the last month or so.” Yvonne hesitated. “Are you sure this isn’t fixable? I mean Adam obviously has a temper, but maybe he’s sorry for what he said, and wants to make things right with you?”
“He won’t be sorry, and he won’t be apologizing to me,” Lizzie replied. “He thinks I lied to him, and worse, he thinks I lied to him about something Louisa told me because he can’t believe he didn’t know everything about her.”
Yvonne grimaced. “And since she isn’t here to tell him the truth, I suppose he can’t accept it.”
“Exactly.” Lizzie’s voice wobbled. “And I’m not going to chase after him, Yvonne. Either he works it out himself, and comes back to tell me he was wrong, or we’re done.”
From the moment he’d called her a liar that thought had been crystalizing in her head. She’d let the Smith family assume that her lack of pursuing them meant she’d lied about Ray being Roman’s father. She wasn’t going to explain or defend herself to Adam. If he wanted the truth, it was out there. Whether he had the balls to discover it, or would prefer to cling to his beliefs, wasn’t up to her.
