When Staci Takes Charge (Leave Your Shoes On 2)

“Monday afternoon.” Her heart sank as low as her stomach, the two organs hanging out somewhere around her knees. “That’s Valentine’s Day.”

“I know.” He let out a long breath. “Jesus. Staci. I’m so sorry. I just…I can’t go to Paris. I have to be here. There are a few jaunts I have to make for speeches, but they’re now going to be cut short, and I’m going to have to turn around and come back to finish my work, and I…I just…I can’t deal with your shoe situation right now. Or for some time. A long while, actually. I’m so sorry. I know I said I’d help. But now everything’s just…Goddamn it.”

His fist balled again, and he stole a glance around the room as though he were looking for something to smash.

“Evan,” she said, her heart constricting, everything she’d put faith in recently because of him grinding to screeching halt within her. But what was he supposed to do? She knew why he’d worked so hard in the prosthetics area, knew what the project meant to him. It tore her apart to say so, but Staci told him, “You had plans and projects in the works before I came along. I can’t derail any of that, Evan. I wouldn’t want to.”

“Staci.” He stepped toward her.

“No.” She held her hand up. “It’s okay.” A huge lie. But damn it. What else was she going to do but bow out gracefully? She said, “I dropped into your life and made a plea for you to champion my cause. But you have your own cause. I understand that. And—”

“Staci, I wouldn’t just walk away from—”

“Evan.” Emotion swelled so fast and furious in her throat that it nearly choked her. “I get it, okay? You have plenty to juggle right now. Adding me and my shoe dilemma and Valentine’s in Paris…Christ…I mean, what were we thinking, anyway? We both have huge responsibilities. We can’t just go jetting off to Paris for dinner.”

Tears burned her eyes. Everything was suddenly crashing down around her, and Staci had no control over it. But she also couldn’t just stand here and let it all crush her.

Been there.

Done that.

She hitched her chin, fought back tears, and said, “I should be in Baltimore, anyway. That’s where my life is. My company. My everything.”

With one exception…her heart.

“I’ll figure something out,” he insisted.

“No,” she said, knowing that she had to extract herself now before they got in any deeper and the inevitable fallout worsened. “It was a whirlwind romance. Those never last.”

She dropped the sheet and stepped into her dress.

“You know that’s not true about us.”

Pulling on her boots, she said, “Evan, I can’t invest in we’ll figure it out. Neither can you. We’re too wrapped up in our own agendas. That’s not unusual…It’s life. So we should really consider ourselves fortunate that this happened sooner rather than later.”

Not that it didn’t shred her now to be walking out the door. But what was Staci going to do? Be a roadblock to him achieving his goals? Of course not.

“Staci.” He followed her to the foyer. “It can’t just end like this.”

“We’ll survive. We’re used to going it on our own.” She collected her coat and purse.

“Hey.” He grabbed her arm. “Don’t go. Let’s talk about this.”

“I can’t talk about this,” she said. And felt the heartbreak creeping in. “I don’t get involved specifically for this reason, Evan. I’ve been devastated before. I can’t go through it again.”

“I know I’m canceling everything on you all at once. I know how bad this looks, Staci. How shitty it is.”

“Evan, I’m not blaming you. Please don’t think that. It’s circumstance. But I don’t have to fall victim to it. I can’t. Please understand that.”

She wrenched free of him and walked out of Dr. Evan Hart’s life.

Just as all the tears started to fall.

Chapter Sixteen

Man, this is one massive Debbie Downer moment,” Maxi said.

“Yeah,” Staci concurred. She reached for another tissue and dabbed at the corners of her eyes. She’d done such a great job holding the tears at bay when she’d severed the ties with Evan. But as soon as the door had closed behind her, the floodgates had opened. And, two days later, she was still crying a river.