Page 2

“I’d been too cocky to think my wife would ever cheat on me. The scene still replays in my mind, even when I don’t want it to. It was our anniversary, and I came home early from a business trip to surprise her. I had flowers and dinner reservations. That was when I found her with Turner.”
“I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you,” Chase said. It hadn’t taken much digging with his extensive resources to figure out that Orchid had been seeing Turner for quite some time. Eventually, she admitted the truth to him, and his worst fears were confirmed. “Benson told me you two went out to celebrate.” Chase and Benson had gone to high school with Kane, and they’d stayed close over the years.
“Yep.” Thank goodness Benson had already left the restaurant when Orchid had shown up. He didn’t know anything about the baby. He didn’t think his friend would tell anyone, but he couldn’t be too careful. He didn’t want anything getting back to the media. The paparazzi would eat up a story like this. That could be devastating for their company when they needed the merger so badly.
“Do you have your eye on anyone new?” Chase asked.
Kane shook his head. “I haven’t even thought about it.” He hadn’t had the chance with everything going on. Although the circumstances were sad, he was glad to be getting away from the city for a while. He desperately needed a break from all the drama. The simple life of the small town called to him.
“What about Sariah?” Chase asked. “She’s still single.”
“That was a long time ago.” They had dated back in high school. It seemed like another lifetime.
“It’s too bad you two didn’t work out.”
Kane shrugged. “Our lives went in different directions. I moved to Manhattan to go to school and start working with my grandfather, and she stayed in Maple Creek to work in her grandparents’ jewelry shop.”
“You would have been better off if you’d ended up with Sariah instead of Orchid.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Are you thinking about giving it another shot with Sariah?” Chase asked.
“No. I think I need to take a long break from dating.”
“Why?”
“My trust with women is shattered.”
“I know what Orchid did to you was horrible, but that doesn’t mean all women are like that.”
Kane looked out the window at the rolling green hills. “Try telling that to my heart.”
“That’s rough, man. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“I think I need to spend a lot of time on my own without a woman complicating everything.”
“Women can make things better too, though. Think about how happy I am with Lauren.”
“That’s lucky for you, but I don’t see it ever happening for me that way.”
Chase shook his head. “You never know. I wasn’t expecting to get together with Lauren.”
Kane couldn’t imagine bringing a woman into his messy life. Especially not with the news that he might become a father soon. Chase didn’t have the entire story.
“You should at least be open to giving it a shot with Sariah.”
His heart pounded to think about it. He’d loved her so much in high school. He’d seen her since then, but he’d always been a married man then. It was different now. Would she be open to starting again with him?
She wouldn’t if she knew everything he’d been going through. She would turn and run in the other direction. He’d had women throw themselves at him since he’d announced his divorce, but he knew they were only after his money. Sariah wasn’t like that. They had history. She’d wanted him before the money was a part of his life.
“What do you plan on doing when you get into town?” Chase asked.
“I’d like to go straight to see my grandmother.”
“You got it.”
“You still remember where she lives?” Kane asked.