“Eris, he’s loaded. Richer than James could ever fathom to be.”
Kallie watched as her friend furrowed her brow.
“I went to the island looking for something and thought I found a hookup that was nothing like James. And instead, I snagged a man that is every bit as much as James. Rich. Throws his money around. Nonchalant about it. And a liar to boot.”
“Then you can’t trust him,” Eris said.
“But I want to.”
“But you can’t. He wasn’t upfront with you about who he was. You were trapped on a boat and stuck in a storm with a man who didn’t exist, Kallie.”
“Is it possible he kept up that facade because of gold diggers? Maybe ... to shield himself from women who prey on him because of his money?”
“It doesn’t matter. You can’t start any decent relationship off on a lie,” Eris said.
“James and I didn’t start on a lie and look where we ended up.”
“Yeah, about that. You have flowers from him sitting on that table. What gives?”
“He came by yesterday looking for a second chance.”
“And you didn’t call me to come kick his ass to the moon?”
“He cried in front of me, Eris. Real, bona fide tears.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Begged for me to come back. Begged me to at least consider it. And I think he’s telling the truth. I think he seriously feels guilty for what happened at our wedding.”
“You’re not actually thinking of going back to him, are you?” Eris asked.
“I don’t know!” Kallie exclaimed.
She took another large gulp of her wine and settled back into the couch.
“I don’t know,” she said with a whisper.
“Look, you need to stop making excuses for all these rich guys and find a man who isn’t afraid to be himself. And just so you know, if you go back to James, I’m breaking up with you.”
“Really?” Kallie asked. “Breaking up with me?”
“Yep. Our years-long relationship will be over. You know that man’s no good for you.”
Kallie shrugged before she took another sip of her wine.
“I don’t expect to take him back,” she said. “But it’s hard to ignore him completely. I still care about him. In some ways, I think I still love him.”
“Kallie...”
“I do. I think his emotions were genuine. And we were planning a life together. A house. Children. Moving my office into an actual building he would help fund so I could meet with clients outside of the home. James was supportive of all that.”
“Yeah. After fighting for five months over it.”
“At least he went with it eventually,” Kallie said.
“And there you go with the excuses again.”
“Look, not everything was terrible with James, that’s all I’m saying. Remember when you fell and broke your leg?”