LITMIR.BIZ

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she knew,” Deanna snapped, “but she doesn’t care. Now, if you’ll leave my sister alone.”

      “Deanna Hart,” the reporter said, grinning as though she was a little star struck. “When will you come out with a new CD? Your fans have been waiting for what, nearly three years now?”

      “Leave us alone,” Deanna reiterated, sounding sterner, and Natalie couldn’t help thinking that Hyacinth had hit a nerve.

      Deanna took Natalie by the arm and hurried in the opposite direction toward where the car was parked. Natalie almost made it there, but stopped and turned. It hit her suddenly, the severity of Vance’s betrayal. And Olivia’s. The ink wasn’t even dry on the separation papers, much less the divorce papers. And already Vance was moving on?

      How dare the two of them so publicly flaunt their adulterous relationship at that hotel in Vegas, where Vance had presented Olivia with a huge diamond. According to this morning’s paper, witnesses had heard Vance tell Olivia that he loved her “more than anyone he had ever loved in his life.”

      “Here’s what I have to say,” Natalie began as she reached Hyacinth. “Vance and I are divorced. He’s free to do what he likes. And as far as I’m concerned, he and Olivia deserve each other. I won’t take a guess as to how long their marriage will last, but you know what they say about cheaters. In any case, I couldn’t care less about the two of them because I’ve moved on,” she finished with finality.

      Then she whirled around—and bumped smack into the hard wall of a masculine chest.

      “Excuse me—”

      “I’m sorry—”

      Natalie slowly looked up. The silk shirt she had seen earlier. The sleek sunglasses.

      Michael Jones put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. And then a slow grin formed on his perfectly full lips as he looked down at her.

      “I’m sorry,” Natalie repeated.

      Michael’s eyes swept over her, leaving her skin feeling flushed. Or was that the Cleveland sun?

      “No need to be sorry,” Michael said in a voice that was deep and smooth. He sank his teeth into his bottom lip before speaking. “In fact, I am the exact opposite of sorry. Sweetheart, you can bump into me any time, any day, any hour.”

      I get it, Natalie thought, and stopped herself from rolling her eyes. “All the same, I apologize. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

      She sidestepped him and began to walk toward the car, and was surprised when Michael took her hand. “Oh, no,” he said. “I can’t have you walking away from me, not when fate had us meet. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

      Natalie didn’t speak, just checked out the smile he likely thought could charm any woman into his bed.

      “Angel?” he guessed when Natalie stayed silent. “Yeah, I bet you looked just like a little angel when you were born, and that’s what your mama named you.”

      Now Natalie did roll her eyes. Wow, the guy really did think he was smooth.

      “All that matters,” she began calmly, “is that I know your name, Michael Jones.” She smiled. “You have yourself a good day.”

      Natalie slipped her hand from his and jogged this time, hurrying to the car where Deanna was waiting.

      “What does that mean?” Michael called out to her. “Come on, sweetheart—you really gonna walk away from me like that?”

      “What’s going on?” Deanna asked when Natalie got into the car.

      “Drive,” Natalie said. “Now.”

      * * *

      For the rest of that day and into the next, the news of Vance’s engagement was the talk of all the gossip shows. Like Deanna had speculated, others wondered if Vance had gotten a quickie divorce from Natalie because Olivia was pregnant.

      Natalie had tried to put all the gossip out of her mind, painful as it was. For some reason, it helped to think of her brief encounter with Michael Jones. The quick moment of flirtation, one-sided though it had been. Natalie enjoyed remembering that sexy smile on Michael’s face, so quickly followed by his surprised expression when she’d walked away from him.

      Athletes. They were a different breed. Rejecting him had given Natalie a momentary surge of power at a time when she had been feeling powerless.

      It had also been wonderful to see Callie, Nigel and Kwame upon their return from Tallahassee the previous evening. Natalie had been able to forget about Vance as she spent time with her newly engaged sister, fussing over her injuries like a mother hen and oohing over the beautiful engagement ring Nigel had presented to her. It had been a happy evening, one in which Natalie’s personal life had been firmly put on the back burner.

      But later that night, as Natalie lay in bed alone, she hadn’t been able to get past what Vance had done. And though she didn’t care to hear another word about the man she now considered the biggest mistake in her life, she couldn’t help going to the website for the San Antonio Times the next day after breakfast to check out what Hyacinth had written.

      I’ve Moved On, Vance’s Jilted Wife Insists

      Natalie groaned as she saw the headline on the first page of the paper’s website. If that was the headline, what would the article itself say?

      Natalie scrolled down. There was a wedding photo of her and Vance that had been graphically altered to look like a picture being ripped down the middle. Juxtaposing that photo was one of Vance and Olivia cozying up at a blackjack table in Vegas, looking like the happiest couple in the world.

      Natalie wanted to throw up.

      She didn’t care to read the article. It was too much. Breaking up was hard enough, but doing so in the public eye was unbearable.

      Maybe Deanna was right about that whole Mercury in retrograde stuff. Because each day was bringing more stress. Yes, Natalie had been on a high after learning that Callie would be fine, and seeing her last night had been wonderful indeed. But it was hard to escape the reality that the person she’d married for life had so little disregard for her that he would divorce her quickly in Nevada, only to flaunt his engagement to her former best friend.

      Natalie turned off the computer and went into the bathroom opposite her bedroom on the second floor of her uncle’s home. She didn’t want to wallow in the misery of wondering if Vance had ever loved her, because it ultimately didn’t matter. But yes, the truth was that she absolutely had hoped for the fairy tale with her husband.

      She locked the bathroom door, then turned on the shower. A nice, hot shower was what she needed to push thoughts of Vance out of her mind.

      “You want me to break his legs?” Callie had asked last night as they’d all been at Nigel’s home. “Because I’ll do it. As soon as my injuries heal, I’ll head to San Antonio and take care of him.”

      That had gotten laughs from everyone, including Natalie, who at the time had been able to compartmentalize her pain. Concentrating on the reality that her sister was alive and well was far more important than the fact that she had lost a man who had not loved her.

      At least that was what she had told herself yesterday. But now…Natalie swallowed a sigh. And as she stepped into the hot shower, she began to cry again.

      Angry with herself, she slammed her hand against the tile wall. “Save your tears, Natalie. Just because you always believed in fairy tales doesn’t mean you’re childish enough not to accept that when something is wrong, it’s wrong.”

      And marrying Vance had been wrong. She hadn’t known it at the time, but people made mistakes in this life. They were supposed to learn from those mistakes and move on. At least she knew she had done her part to keep the marriage going—which included being faithful to her husband. She had wanted forever with Vance. He, however, had been so into himself and the fact that he was the great

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