Page 25

T uesday morning, Anastasia Dupont arrived on Sara’s doorstep.

The woman swept inside with a flourish and removed her overcoat. Ana wore a black Dolce she’d missed their banter.

“Yeah, like people,” Sara snickered as she curled back onto the end of the sofa.

“Did you see Carla in New York?” Lily asked with a smile.

“I did. She’s marvelous, darling, and she will be flying out here next week.”

“Oh, she doesn’t need to make a special trip,” Lily said guiltily.

“The hell she doesn’t.” Sara sniffed.

“Don’t even go there,” Ana warned, scowling at Lily.

“You want coffee?” Sara shoved up from her spot and walked toward the kitchen, but Ana’s next words had her stopping in the doorway.

“Oh, god no, pour me some wine,” Ana shuddered.

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning!”

“It’s one o’clock in New York.” One perfectly sculpted eyebrow lifted.

“Somethings never change,” Sara volleyed back.

“Yeah, like people,” Ana mimicked, before gazing at the big beast lying in front of the fireplace.

“Who’s that?” Ana pointed.

“That’s Leo.”

“Um…since when have you had animals, Sara?”

“He’s Max’s dog,” Sara answered from within the kitchen.

Whirling, Ana approached the couch.

Lily had been holding the comforter up to shield her face, with only her eyes peeking over the top.

“Sara’s text said you’re leaving Blake because of spousal abuse,” Ana said flatly. Her gaze turned deadly serious. “Show me.”

With a soft sigh, Lily lowered the blanket to her lap.

After taking a long look at her face, Ana hissed, “He’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

“Can you do that?” Lily asked.

“No, but I’ll make him pay,” her friend promised.

Sinking down onto the couch next to Lily, Ana wrapped her tightly into her arms.

And Lily clung.

A little over two hours later, and after Ana had filled up her notepad with all the information she needed, the woman changed the subject.

“Max has been guarding you,” Ana said, taking another sip of wine. Sara had opened a bottle of merlot.

Every time Lily had woke up during the night, Max had been sitting in the recliner next to the sofa. A few times, he had placed more wood on the fire.

When daylight filtered through the window near the door, Lily had looked for him, but he had already gone from the couch. She spotted him outside sitting in his jeep.

Max left only a note asking her to let Leo outside in the backyard when she could.

That gave her something to do and she was grateful for the dog’s company.

“How do you know he’s guarding me?” her voice trembled.

“I spoke to him outside,” Ana said. “He was sitting in his jeep.”

When Lily gazed toward the window, Sara got up from the couch and pulled back the front window curtains. “It’s only those two guys, Levi and Steve,” Sara said, letting the drape fall closed.

Lily shook off the lingering disappointment.

Ana headed into the kitchen, mentioning something about hot chocolate. Hot cocoa and wine, that was an odd combination, Lily thought.

Ana had spoken with Max. Lily’s mind raced. If Ana spoke with Max, then they must have kept in touch with each other.

“Wait a darn minute, did you two keep in touch with Max after we broke up?” Lily asked, suddenly feeling betrayed.

“I only talked to him in passing,” Ana replied from the kitchen.

“The only contact I’ve had with Max was when he called me,” Sara assured her.

“Called you?”

“Yes, he would call every time he took military leave,” Sara said.

“And you didn’t tell me?” Lily knew she sounded affronted, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Why in the hell would I bring up your ex-boyfriend? Especially the one who broke your heart?”

“What did you talk about?” Lily shifted stiffly on the couch, her body ached.

“He would ask about you.”

“What did you tell him?” Lily plucked at the comforter on her lap.

“Nothing really…until he called me nearly a year ago. I told him you were married.”

Lily sighed and Ana returned to the room. Lily took the cup of freshly made hot cocoa that her friend handed her. It smelled delicious and she took a tiny sip.

“You do know that Max cut us out of his life when he broke up with you,” Sara added.

“And that’s my fault?” Lily lowered the mug.

“No, sweetie. Nobody’s blaming you. I’m just telling you,” Sara said, pulling part of the comforter over her own lap and continued. “Max recently told William that he kept tabs on you.”

“Kept tabs?” Lily echoed blankly.

“Yeah, William said that every time Max came home on military leave, he watched over you from afar.”

“He watched me for five years and he never said a word?” Lily stared at her friend.

“He was still enlisted for most of it, Lily. And that’s the reason you guys broke up,” Sara gently pointed out.

“I know,” Lily whispered.

Max had chosen the Army over her. And Lily had planned to wait for him, but Max had told her no. And with no hope of a future, what the hell was she supposed to do? Wait anyway?

Oh, that man! Damn, he pissed her off.

She would have waited if he had asked her.

Sure, the thought of waiting until he retired had been daunting—yet here they were five years later.

“When he got out of the Army, he concentrated on getting his business up and running. By the time he reached out, you had already married Blake,” Sara murmured.

“This is my fault.” Lily rubbed her face and then winced.

“No way,” Ana said, butting in and shaking her head. “Men as a rule don’t effectively communicate. How is that your fault?”

And while her friends’ words went a long way to ease her guilt, some of it still remained.

She had loved Max with her heart and soul.

She still loved him.

But their love story had a heartache ending and she wasn’t sure she could get through it again and remain standing.

Of course, there was always the chance that it would end differently between them.

Only Lily wasn’t sure she wanted to take the risk on them.

Right now, though, all that was neither here nor there.

She had bigger things to take care of.

Mainly, breaking free from Blake.