I’d saved every penny I could for the home we would buy after our wedding, forgoing nights out or weekend excursions with my work friends. It was always about our home. Always about our future.
I looked around the apartment we’d shared since college graduation. I’d hated the ultra-modern space from the second we had toured it. Ross had loved it, going on and on about the amenities and close proximity to his work. With family life in mind, I had hoped for a house in suburbia. Instead, I’d bent to Ross’s wishes and moved into the one-bedroom apartment so we could save for the dream home that would no longer be.
Now he didn’t want to settle for a small-town girl from Washington with a blue-collar dad. No, he wanted the pedigree and to be a shoo-in with one of the biggest firms in Arizona. And being the son-in-law of the biggest commercial architect firm in Scottsdale would do that for him.
He took a deep, steadying breath and released a heavy sigh. “She’s pregnant, Amanda.”
I gasped, completely unprepared for that blow.
“I have to do right by her, you know?”
I clenched my hands into fists, my nails biting into my palms. “So you’re marrying her now?”
“She’s pregnant, Amanda,” he said, sounding flustered. “What choice do I have?”
“I don’t understand. You made sure I was on birth control.” I hated him so much right now. Hated the way he stared at me with that puppy dog stare, like I should feel sorry for him. Ha! Sympathy was the last thing he’d get from me. No chance in hell was I going to make this easier for him. “You insisted I get on the pill before we had sex for the first time. What was it—you were so crazy for her that you decided you didn’t need protection?”
All the dreams I’d coveted for seven years were gone. I would no longer be Ross Sullivan’s wife or the mother of his children. Instead, Candace Newberg, a high-school senior, would have his baby and live in that house with the picket fence.
I almost asked him how far along Candace was, but then decided against it. It wouldn’t help me to know that. In fact, I would agonize about it even more.
God, I hated him. I was in my late twenties, and I had lost my man to a teenager.
I couldn’t compete…nor did I want to. Swallowing hard past the lump in my throat, I pried the engagement ring off my finger. The same ring Ross had saved months for, he had said, promising me a huge wedding ring. I hadn’t cared about the size of the ring. I had just wanted him. He had been the prize. He had been enough.
But apparently I wasn’t enough for him.
He glanced at my ring, and in that moment, I recognized a light in his eyes.
Oh my God…he wanted, and maybe even expected, the ring back. What, so he could give it to his baby mama?
I slid the ring into my pocket, and I saw the disappointment flash across his face before he masked it.
Inwardly, I grinned from ear-to-ear, taking what little satisfaction I could from the small victory. “Given all we’ve been through, you could have at least had the decency to break it off with me before you started a relationship with someone else.”
His gaze dropped to the floor between us. “Like I said before, I never meant to hurt you. You can stay in the apartment. I’ve paid for the next two months.”
How generous. I almost told him I didn’t need his charity, then thought better of it. Actually, that two months would help me figure out what I was gong to do next.
Grabbing his car keys from his pocket, he held them tight in his fist. “I’ll take some clothes now and if it’s okay, I’ll come back this weekend and pack up the rest of my stuff.”
Wow, he wasn’t wasting any time…
“What about the furniture and everything in here?”
“You can have it,” he said nonchalantly. “We already have…”
Oh my God, he had already set up house with Candace. My heart raced so fast, I had to hold onto the chair for support. “You’re already living with her?”
How could that be, and again, how had I not seen it?
“Her father bought her a condo for graduation.”
Of course he had. No doubt Ross had helped furnish it. Having a father-in-law with deep pockets was the answer to his prayers. Who knows what else Daddy had bought for them?
Inside I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and I even fantasized about taking all his personal belongings and setting them on fire. Gaining what little control I could muster, I took the step that separated us and looked him in the eye. “One day you’ll regret losing me. Now get the hell out of my apartment.”
CHAPTER 2
Maple Creek, Washington
Three months after my breakup with Ross, I stood in the living room of my new home, a cozy “fixer-upper”, two-bedroom granny house, complete with country porch and large picture windows. The house had been a great find. An uncle of my father’s good friend had passed away last month, and the family had been ready to put the quaint house on the market right about the time I had decided to leave Arizona and return to Washington.