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“It won’t hurt you,” he said firmly, scooping out a serving of the entrée onto her plate. “You’ve hardly eaten a thing since you’ve been here.”
“That’s not true,” she muttered. But she didn’t waste any time digging in. The food was amazing.
They chatted about random subjects in the beginning. Then, after a few moments of silence, Harry quizzed her. “How was today?” he asked.
She grimaced. “Not terrible, but not great. I didn’t think about everything that had to be dealt with after the wedding.”
“Not surprising.”
“My mother and my sister have gradually been returning all the gifts. So many gifts...”
“Was that the problem?”
“Not really. Becca gave me a hard time about not helping, but I think she was mostly kidding. Mom swears she doesn’t mind dealing with the presents. I guess I believe her. She’s always been a bit of an organization freak, so she has the process down to a fine science.”
“I still haven’t heard any real friction.”
“It was my parents,” she blurted out. “They asked me if I had cheated on Jason, and he discovered the truth.” Even now, the accusation bothered her. “Everybody assumes the problem isme, because he’ssuch a great guy.”
Harry poured more wine for each of them. “Are you angry, Cate? Nice Southern girls are taughtnotto be angry, but you’re entitled. So I’ll ask you again. Are you angry?”
She had to bite down hard when her bottom lip trembled. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Louder,” he said, watching her carefully.
Harsh breaths sawed in and out of her lungs. “Yes.”
“One more time. Make me believe it. Are. You. Angry?”
Her pulse raced. Her forehead dampened. Tears trickled from her eyes. Every emotion she had tamped down in the last six days came roaring to the surface. “Yes,” she yelled. “I’m angry. I’m furious that Jason dumped me on our wedding day. There. Are you happy now?”
Harry reached out and squeezed her hand. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. And I have an idea.”
“For what?” she asked, confused.
“Finish your meal, and I’ll tell you.”
Strangely, her outburst hadn’t upset her. If anything, she felt calmer than she had all day.
Harry asked more questions about how she spent the hours they had been apart. She told him additional details about the visit with her family—omitting the embarrassing sex and marriage talk with her mother—and then she admitted stopping by the church.
His hand stilled in midair, a bite of chicken halfway to his mouth. “How was that?” he asked studying her face.
“Okay, I guess. Or no, I suppose it was good. I think it helped me to stand where I stood and to go through it all one more time. A shrink would say I needed closure, right?”
“Maybe.”
“The old rector came in while I was there. We chatted briefly. Evenhewouldn’t take Jason’s name in vain.”
“Poor Cate,” Harry said with a smile.
“Don’t patronize me,” she huffed. “You think he’s wonderful, too.”
“I do,” Harry said slowly, as if he were choosing his words. “But that doesn’t mean I take any pleasure at all in the pain he caused you. You didn’t deserve what happened to you, Cate.”
There was no answer for that, so she finished her meal in silence.
When they were done, Harry glanced at his watch. “Do you have exercise clothes with you?”
