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He didn’t have the wherewithal to even acknowledge her comment. Looking over at her carried a great amount of risk. Staring directly into her eyes was tantamount to gazing straight into the sun. He was afraid if he stared too long at her, he might forget all the ways she’d trampled over his heart. He might bend, then break.

For the next forty-five minutes he did his best to focus on giving the ladies the best possible legal advice for Savannah House. Sitting so close to Fancy was proving to be difficult. Every now and again he would sneak a look at his watch, praying for the seconds to fly by quickly so he could make his escape. Case wouldn’t feel safe until he’d entered the cool, dark halls of the Duvall Corporation. He let out a sigh as the clock struck one. Case reached for his briefcase and began placing his documents inside. “Ladies, thanks for being so attentive. I really need to get back to Duvall.” He stood up and picked up his briefcase, studiously avoiding any contact with Fancy.

“Case, you’re welcome to stay for lunch,” Hope offered. “Morgan cooked for us. It’ll be quite a treat.”

“Chicken and dumplings if that entices you, with banana pudding for dessert,” Morgan said in a sing-song tone. Her almond shaped eyes teased him by promising culinary delights.

Even though his stomach grumbled with hunger, he had no intention of sticking around to eat lunch with his former fiancée sitting nearby. If he did he might just choke on his lunch. Or he might decide that he couldn’t go another day without kissing those beautiful lips or holding her silky hand. No! No! No! These thoughts were weak ones.

“Another time,” he said brusquely, raising his hand in a goodbye wave before he made a fast exit out of Savannah House.

“How do you fall out of love with someone? How do you tell your heart not to beat faster when he’s around? How do you teach yourself not to yearn for him?” Fancy Tolliver

Chapter Two

Fancy watched Case walk out of the library as if his feet were on fire. A few moments later she heard the front door close with a bang. She shuddered at the sound of it. Case hadn’t been able to mask his annoyance. Or his desire to get as far away from Savannah House as possible. Not that it was Savannah House he was trying to get away from. Everyone knew Case was fleeing her presence.

“Well, that wasn’t awkward,” Fancy drawled, looking studiously at her fingernails. She didn’t know if she was imagining it or not, but it seemed as if Case’s words had been infused with innuendo. She couldn’t imagine that the other girls hadn’t picked up on it. The thick silence in the room seemed to verify her suspicions.

She didn’t dare meet the gazes of her five friends. Some instinct told her that she might see pity in their eyes. Fancy didn’t want to see it, nor did she want to wallow in her own feelings of sadness. She was tired of being depressed and hopeless and guilty. She’d known before moving back to Savannah that Case had shut the door on their relationship some time ago. As Mama always said, there was no use crying over what might have been.“What’s done is done, Francine.”

“This too shall pass,” Morgan said in a firm voice that brought her out of her deep thoughts. “It won’t always be like this. A few months from now you’ll both have moved on…and you might not ever be friends, but it won’t be so…hostile.”

“I’d hardly call it hostile. He was just being business-like,” Charlotte said, her cheeks flushed with emotion. Fancy let out a sigh. Poor Charlotte still felt the need to defend Case at every turn.

Fancy raised a hand to her throat. Moved on? The very idea of Case moving on with another woman made her want to throw herself down on the hardwood floor and have a tantrum of monumental proportions. It would be agony to rub shoulders with his wife or girlfriend in Savannah society. She could just imagine it. Case dancing cheek to cheek with his wife at the “Hearts for Heroes” red tie gala. Or what if she bumped into them at the Valentine’s Day banquet? The mere idea of it made her skin crawl. There were only so many times she could plaster a fake smile on her face and act as if nothing bothered her. Who wanted to live their life doing that?

A sigh slipped past her lips. She couldn’t even respond to Morgan’s comment. She had her pride after all. There was a huge possibility that she might just crumble rather than eke out a response.

“Maybe Fancy isn’t quite ready to move on,” Olivia suggested. “Am I right?” She looked at Fancy with sympathetic eyes.

Fancy bowed her head and didn’t answer. Her tongue felt all twisted up. This subject was so painful. So gut-wrenching. How could she even put into words how she felt about not being with the love of her life? So far, the only one she’d poured her heart out to about Case was God. And He had listened to every word, every cry, every lament. And He still continued to hear her out, every time she needed Him.

“Is she right?” Hope asked. “Are you still holding on?”

Fancy fumbled with her fingers. “I don’t know. Maybe. It’s hard to close a door on something that was such a big part of my life. People always talk about moving forward, but it’s so incredibly painful when you feel as if a big huge chunk of you is missing.”

Charlotte leaned forward in her chair. Her features were strained. “Are you still in love with him?”

She shook her head, feeling helpless in the face of such a monumental question. Did you ever truly stop loving someone who had left such an indelible imprint on your soul? Was it even possible?

“I can’t imagine ever not loving him,” Fancy admitted, shocking herself in the process. She wasn’t a person who felt comfortable baring her soul. And even though she loved these women like sisters, it didn’t come naturally to her to pull back her layers and allow herself to be vulnerable. She’d already been hurt so badly. Ever since then she’d been running away from the searing pain and the betrayal that she still didn’t comprehend. To this day she still didn’t know which one of her friends had told Case about her spending time with Marc. That single action had sealed her fate with Case.

Fancy looked around at the faces of her dearest friends. Their expressions ranged from shocked to sympathetic to emotional. “I know it’s too late. I’m not harboring any illusions about a happily-ever-after,” she said with a sigh. “It’s just so sad that we can’t be friends. Sometimes I look at my phone hoping and praying that it will ring and he’ll be on the other end. Or when I walk down River Street I can’t help but remember all the romantic nights we spent walking by the riverboats.”

“I don’t know why there’s no hope of a reconciliation,” Hope said. “Part of being a Christian means forgiving and moving forward, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, that is part of our faith. But Case has to make those decisions for himself,” Callie added. “Everyone processes things in their own way. We know Case has a lot of pride. He found it impossible to move forward in the relationship. We can’t judge him for that.”

“And I wounded his spirit, as well as bruising his soul,” Fancy said with a groan. “So now I just have to be a big girl and deal with the fallout.”

“Easier said than done,” Charlotte said. “We know how much you loved him. And he loved you just as deeply.”

Although Fancy knew that Charlotte was trying to raise her spirits, it hurt terribly to hear about the love she’d lost. Once upon a time, she and Case had stood on the precipice of a bright and wonderful future, full of promise and the expectation of a life lived in love. It had all crashed and burned around her, leaving her standing amid the ashes. Once again, tears of regret pricked at her lashes. She had no one but herself to blame! She’d been foolish and impulsive in her decisions.

Fancy grabbed her purse and stood up. “I’d love to stay for lunch, but I promised Mama I would help her out with her bridge club meeting.” She rolled her eyes. Mama still loved entertaining after all these years. It wasn’t a stretch to think that Mama believed she was the reigning Quee

n of Savannah high society.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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