“I did. Over and over.” Not that it had made a difference in their relationship. Wedding arrangements should have solidified the bond between them, not driven them farther apart. Their relationship had disintegrated and neither one had acknowledged the warning signs in time to rectify the problem. If Peter searched his heart as she had searched her own, would he also discover that he really hadn’t cared enough to bother? They’d each wanted something out of their relationship. Unfortunately they’d been two people with parallel goals. Their needs and desires had never crossed.
She glanced up at him through watery eyes. “You never wanted to hear.”
“All couples go through last-minute jitters right before the wedding. I’m sure we can work things out. Compromise on
some issues, things like that.”
Laughter bubbled from within, threatening to erupt in tears or hysterics, she wasn’t sure which. She shook her head. “No more, Peter.” She’d made her decision and intended to stick with it. The determination in her voice took her by surprise.
Peter slammed his hand on the desk. “I knew I couldn’t trust my do-gooder brother.” Peter stood and walked around the desk, kneeling in front of her. “If this is about Regina, it’s over. I swear she has nothing to do with us. She never did. From now on...”
Carly tried to absorb Peter’s words and meaning, but her head whirled and she couldn’t manage to think straight. Feelings, however, pulsed through her, their message clear. Betrayal, pain and anger. Every reason she’d picked Peter as her safe fiancé disintegrated in front of her eyes.
And as his excuses turned to pleading, she rose from her chair, obviously too fast because the room began to spin around her and she leaned against the wall for support. Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to believe the truth. “Are you telling me you cheated on me?” Carly needed to hear the words.
“You didn’t know?”
“No.” But Mike did. And that, Carly realized, hurt most of all.
She swallowed hard. “Well, I’m only sorry I lost so much sleep agonizing over how to tell you.” She wrapped the remains of her tattered pride around her like a warm cloak, but nothing helped ease the chill inside her heart.
“Carly, please.” He rose and stood beside her.
“Please what?” she asked. “Don’t do this?” She shook her head. “It took everything inside me to do what’s right for both of us, while you never once thought of me.”
“That’s not true.” He placed his hand on her arm.
She shook off his grasp. “Don’t touch me.”
“I’m sorry.”
A brief knock jolted Carly into sudden awareness of her surroundings. She might not agree with how her mother had lived her life, but one lesson Carly had learned well: Keep private things private and never wear your heart on your sleeve. Although she’d never agreed with her mother’s refusal to discuss the pain that rocked their lives, Carly suddenly understood that defense mechanism better than ever before. A lawyer’s office was no place for theatrics or confrontations, and her emotions were hers. Peter didn’t deserve to know how badly his betrayal had hurt her.
The door behind her swung open wide. Mike stood in the door frame. In his standard denim jeans, black T-shirt and hiking boots, he looked sexy and masculine. A man confident in his own skin.
She shook her head. Her conservative ex-fiancé had never stood a chance. With a flash of insight, she realized that Mike appealed to her wilder side. The part she’d tried unsuccessfully to suffocate. To hide.
Seeking comfort from Peter’s admission, and what she viewed as Mike’s betrayal as well as her own, she wrapped her arms around her chest. “What a great time for a family reunion,” she muttered.
“Okay, what the hell’s going on?” Mike asked, his gaze darting between Carly and his brother.
She had no intention of explaining anything to the man who hadn’t seen fit to tell her the truth. Even as he’d spouted all the reasons she shouldn’t marry Peter, he hadn’t revealed the most important one of all.
“Ask your two-timing brother.” Suddenly exhausted, she leaned against the wall once more. “I’ll handle notifying the guests and the caterers and returning gifts.”
The small office felt suffocating. She walked around Mike, ignoring his burning gaze. She’d reached the door when she paused in midstride and glanced at Peter. He looked stricken, but at this moment Carly couldn’t bring herself to care. Nor could she bring herself to reassure him about his partnership. Before finding out about his affair, she’d made sure her decision wouldn’t affect her father’s feelings about Peter.
“One more thing.”
“Yes?” he asked warily.
“Take this.” She twisted her engagement ring off her finger and smacked it into his hand before turning on her heel and storming out of the room.
* * *
Mike started to sprint after Carly, but Peter’s strong grip on his arm halted his departure. He pivoted and came face-to-face with his brother.
“What?” Mike asked. He didn’t want to waste time dealing with Pete.