“So you say.”
“Have you asked Ginny?”
“No. She’ll be devastated it’s gone especially knowing someone she trusted stole it.”
“Talk to her. Maybe she took it for some reason.”
“Since her surgery, my grandmother hasn’t left the house except to see her surgeon.”
“What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”
“That applies to the law, not me. Don’t make this harder than it already is. Just give it back.”
“I can’t because I didn’t take it!”
Zane was rigid and unyielding. There had to be a way to reach him. To make him see she couldn’t have done this to Ginny, but more importantly to him. She walked toward him, but he stiffened more. When she reached out, he stumbled backward as if she’d hit him.
“Do you really believe I could steal something? That I could I do that to Ginny? To you? After all we’ve shared? I care too much to hurt you that way.”
I love you.
She swallowed the words, knowing he wouldn’t believe her. He’d think she said them to gain his sympathy.
“There’s no other explanation.”
“If you really think I’m capable of this, there’s nothing else to say.”
She held her breath, praying he’d say he believed her. That she couldn’t have done this, and they’d discover what happened. For a brief moment, Zane’s stance and gaze softened. Then he clenched his jaws, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
She’d lost him.
How could she have gone from being happier than she’d ever been to her world falling apart in a few minutes? Nothing this bad should happen without notice. There should be a life warning siren like for tornadoes or floods to allow a person to brace for impact.
Not that it would ease the pain or the devastation. Nothing could. Including time. This would leave a scar, but at least she would’ve have been caught unaware.
“I’ll pack my things and be gone in five minutes.”
“Good. That saves me from firing you, and Ginny from paying unemployment.” Zane stared through her as if she weren’t there. “Congratulations, sweetheart. You’re the most expensive lover I’ve ever had.”
*
As Zane watchedMcKenna drive away in her stupid orange car, he berated himself for being a first-class idiot. He’d been careful in relationships since he started dating. He’d had been satisfied with his life when he’d returned to Wishing. Then he met McKenna and foolishly let down his guard. He’d let her past his defenses and was happy. Maybe for the first time since college. Had he fallen in love with McKenna?
Of course you did. Otherwise her betrayal wouldn’t have nearly destroyed you.
He fought the urge to collapse. He’d wanted her as battered and bruised as he felt, hoping her anguish would ease his. But the final insult he’d thrown at her had been beyond brutal. When McKenna recoiled as if he’d hit her, he knew his blow had drawn blood. However, he hadn’t counted on his comment almost leveling him, too.
How could he have been so wrong? Between dating and working together he’d thought he knew her, but it had been an act. How would he tell Ginny what McKenna had done? That the woman she’d almost trusted to manage her business in her absence had stolen from her? Maybe he could wait a while.
Working together. Damn. His chin sank to his chest. Nausea rolled over him. With McKenna gone, until Ginny returned everything with Lucky Stars Weddings fell to him. Client meetings, weddings, rehearsal dinners, receptions. He’d have to tell his grandma because without McKenna to rely on, he’d have questions about upcoming weddings.
He’d tell her about McKenna quitting, but not about the shadow box. Not yet.
Don’t tell me you’re dumb enough to hope she’ll change her mind and return the box?
Brushing aside the thought, he headed to the main house and found Ginny on the back porch, sitting in her rocker. He kissed her cheek, wished he could be anywhere but here, and sank into the other rocker. The one that had belonged to his grandfather.
A cold sweat enveloped him. He set the chair in motion, the rhythmic creaking pounding in his head. What could he say when he’d failed the woman who, along with his grandfather, had saved him?
