LITMIR.BIZ

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She only hoped the landlord didn’t have a rental agreement in place for when her lease was up in a month.

      “All right,” Shayna said. “If you want to talk, let’s talk.”

      Vince’s shoulders sagged with relief. He was still wearing his tux, though it was unbuttoned at the collar and the tie was loose. His dark, handsome face was drawn. “Thank you.”

      Don’t thank me, Shayna thought. No matter what you say, it’s over. Unless he told her that he’d been drugged and taken advantage of and had the toxicology reports to prove it—but that kind of story line only happened on soap operas.

      “Let’s go to the back patio,” Shayna said flatly. “We can have some privacy there.”

      Shayna led the way, holding her head high, though it felt like her insides were being churned in a blender. She opened the back door and stepped onto the patio then took a seat at the small table. As Vince took a seat beside her, Shayna spoke. “I’m not sure what you think you can say that will excuse what you did.”

      “I’m sorry, baby. You have no clue how bad I feel.”

      “Not nearly as bad as I feel.”

      “It was a mistake,” Vince went on. “A stupid, stupid mistake. Baby, I’m begging you—please forgive me. Forgive me, and I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that I’m worthy of you.”

      Shayna could hardly stand being this close to Vince. Part of her wished that a bolt of lightning would suddenly strike him dead. But what she really wanted was to end things once and for all and move on.

      “I’ve got boxes at your place,” she said. “Can you arrange to have them sent to my parents’ house? It’ll be less messy that way.”

      Vince looked crushed. She hadn’t said what he’d wanted to hear. “Baby—”

      “And please—stop calling me baby. You no longer have the right.”

      “I was drunk, Shayna. Do you really think I would have touched that woman if I were sober?”

      “That’s your excuse?”

      “I know it’s lame, but it’s the truth.”

      “So any time in the future when you get drunk, you can’t be trusted to be faithful.”

      “That’s not what I’m saying.”

      “And what about all the women who hit on you in your practice? Or have you already crossed the line with some of your patients?”

      “Shayna, stop it. You know that’s not true.”

      “Do I? Because I never would have thought you capable of…of what you did.” Shayna had to look away, because looking at Vince hurt too much. The beautiful foliage and flowers of the garden her mother had worked hard to cultivate over the years didn’t bring her the sense of peace it normally did.

      How could anything bring her peace right now?

      Shayna flinched when she felt Vince’s warm hand on hers. The gentle touch almost brought out her tears. He had ruined everything, destroyed their dreams.

      “Baby.” Vince sighed wearily. “I know you might not believe what I’m about to say next, but it’s true. Look at me, please.”

      A beat passed, then Shayna raised her eyes to his.

      “When I was in my car with that woman…I was so drunk, so damn out of it that I thought…” Vince paused. Swallowed. Gave Shayna a heartfelt look that on other occasions would have tugged at her heartstrings. And then he dropped his bombshell. “I was so drunk, I thought that it was you in the car with me.”

      It wasn’t so much a bombshell as a slap in the face. An insult to her intelligence. Was Vince actually saying…? Shayna stared at him, gauging just how serious he was.

      The man was serious.

      Seriously full of it.

      “You’re saying you thought that stripper was me?” Shayna asked, for clarification.

      “I told you it would sound crazy, but yes, baby. That’s the only reason I did anything with her. Because I thought she was you.”

      And just like that, Shayna was over him. Irrevocably. So much so that she actually laughed.

      “Oh, Vince.” She shook her head as she chuckled. “You know, I thought that between me and my friends I’d heard every line a man uses when he’s caught cheating. But that—oh, man. That one takes the prize.”

      Vince’s face fell. He looked surprised that Shayna didn’t believe him.

      No, he looked crushed.

      Shayna pushed her chair back and stood. “I can see how you couldn’t tell us apart—with our breast sizes being so similar.”

      Shayna snorted. The stripper’s breasts had been so huge, she and her sister had marveled that the woman could walk. Which only made Vince’s lie all the more lame.

      “Plus her long red hair and white skin,” Shayna continued. “So similar to my brown skin and black hair.”

      “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s—”

      “Have the boxes with my stuff delivered here as soon as possible,” Shayna told Vince before she walked away. “Oh—and one more thing.” She pulled the beautiful engagement ring he’d given her off her finger and plopped it onto the glass table in front of him. “Give this to the next woman fool enough to believe you’re Mr. Right.”

      Then Shayna walked away, leaving a stunned Vince sitting at her parents’ patio table. “It’s over,” she announced to her and Vince’s parents as she strolled through the living room, not even breaking stride. “I’m going home now.”

      No one tried to stop her. They obviously saw her resolve and knew not to test it.

      If they’d held out any hope of a reconciliation, they had to know now that that would never happen.

       Chapter 3

      People stared at Shayna as she got out of the limo in front of her building. Of course they did. They all had to be wondering why a girl with great hair and makeup but dressed in casual clothes was getting out of a Hummer limo—alone. Especially one that had clearly been decked out for a wedding. Shayna had ripped off the “Just Married” sign at the back of the limo, but tissue-paper flowers and streamers still adorned the sides and front.

      Shayna didn’t meet any of the curious gazes. She just hustled into her building and up to her apartment. Once there, she turned off her cell phone and yanked the plugs of her two home phones out of the wall. She knew her parents and others would be calling, but she didn’t want to talk to any of them. She stripped off her clothes and took a hot bubble bath, surprised that she no longer felt like crying.

      Somehow, she had been truly able to put Vince behind her, and she had him to thank for that. If he’d stuck to apologizing profusely, Shayna might still feel some sadness over the end of their relationship. But that bald-faced lie about thinking he was with her…Vince simply didn’t deserve her tears.

      Later that night, after she had repacked her suitcase to include a myriad of books she would now get the chance to read, Shayna called her parents. She got pretty much the same protest from her mother about going to Jamaica alone that she’d gotten from her sister. Her mother didn’t want Shayna alone during this difficult time. She wanted her eldest daughter surrounded by supportive family. Shayna assured her mother that she’d be fine and needed this time to herself.

      “You’re sure I can’t change your mind?” Shayna’s mother asked.

      “I’ll be fine, Mom. I’ll call every day.”

      A beat passed. “Vince says you’re mistaken,” her mother

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