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He felt sick. Not because he cared about the pictures, but because he’d guessed the reason Lucy had disappeared was because she’d seen them. He had to get to her right away. He shoved the paper in the closest recycle bin and jogged down towards the inn.
By the time Jamie got there, Lucy was already gone. She’d left him a note…and the engagement ring.
The note said,
I’m sorry. I obviously can’t do this. I’ve screwed up my chances to get the baby. I’ve embarrassed you and your family. How can I ever be accepted into your world after this? I’m sorry, Jamie. I do love you, but this will never work.
Jamie took out his phone and tried to call her. It went straight to voice mail. He sought out Marie, who said that Lucy had asked her for directions to the bus depot.
“She seemed upset,” she said. And in spite of everything, she didn’t look pleased or even judgmental. She just looked worried about Lucy.
“I’ve got to go after her.”
“I was going to say the very same thing.”
* * *
Lucy refused to take his calls and she never returned to her apartment. When Jamie finally called Grace, the other woman said Lucy was staying with her for a few days. “She doesn’t want to talk to you or see you right now, Jamie. I’m sorry.”
And he could hear how sorry she was over the phone.
When he called back on Tuesday, Grace told him that Lucy’s in-laws had tried to deny her upcoming Saturday visit with Milly, but apparently Lucy had called her own lawyer, who’d taken care of that matter by producing a court order granting Lucy visitation rights.
The fact that she’d called her own lawyer and hadn’t allowed Mason’s family to bully her had given Jamie renewed hope. But when he tried calling her again, she still refused to take his call.
A few more days went by. Then a week.
By that time, Jamie was pissed.
How dare she shut him out like this? She’d told him she loved him, and this was how she treated him, when he’d done absolutely nothing wrong?
He jerked when his phone rang and his eyes widened when he saw the caller was Lucy. Despite his anger, he picked up immediately.
“This is Jamie,” he said.
“I’m not angry with you,” she said quickly. “I’m not angry with anyone but myself. I’m the one who got on that stage and stripped, and I’m the one who pretended to be your fiancée so I didn’t have to deal with the messy consequences of my previous choices.”
He wanted to hold on to his anger, he really did, but he found himself reassuring her instead. “First of all, that strip-tease may have been a poor choice, but who hasn’t made poor choices in Vegas? Second of all, you are that baby’s aunt, her flesh and blood, and you love her. Whether you actually took your clothes off in front of others doesn’t speak to that at all. Anyone who knows you, and I mean the real you, knows that. And I know you. I love you, Lucy.”
She sobbed and he closed his eyes, wanting to ease her pain but knowing he couldn’t do that for her completely. “I can’t do this,” he said quietly. “I can’t make love to you, hear you say you love me, and yet still worry that when something upsets you, you’re going to run away from me. The past week has been devastating.”
“It’s been devastating for me, too,” she said. “I’m sorry for running.”
“I know you are,” he said. “I want nothing more than to be with you. I love you with all my heart. But I have to trust that when you commit yourself to me, you’re going to give me all of you and that, come what may, bad or good, you’ll stand by my side so we can deal with whatever happens together.”
“I want to give you that. I want to promise you that.”
“I know. But like I told you before, it’s not a matter of just saying it, Luce. It’s a matter of proving it.”
“So that’s it? I ran. I disappointed you and now you don’t want me anymore?”
“I can never not want you.”
“But I can hear it in your voice. You’re walking away just like before. All those months ago, you never called me. You never came after me.”
“I was giving you time. Hoping you’d come to me.
“You’re too used to getting whatever you want. You’re spoiled.”
