Starting Over by Cheryl Douglas Page A

you see this is an impossible situation? I need
to build a life here. Your life is in New York. There’s no way to
make that work. I tried to be happy in your world for years. I
couldn’t do it.”
    Alex couldn’t
deny her claim. He knew she’d made the effort to find a place in
his world, especially in the beginning of their marriage. During
the last couple of years, he’d sensed her unhappiness growing to
epic proportions. He should have addressed their problems before it
was too late, but he hadn’t known how. He wasn’t sure he was ready
to be a father, and that was the only thing that would make her
happy. They were at an impasse that would force them to take a
long, hard look at their marriage, so he tried to pretend things
would get better. “I kept telling myself what we were going through
was normal. Relationships go through cycles, at least that’s what
I’d always heard.”
    “I suppose
that’s true,” Eve said. “But the downturns don’t last for years, do
they?”
    “Were you
unhappy for that long?” he asked. All he’d ever wanted was to make
her happy, but he’d obviously failed miserably.
    “It’s not your
fault,” Eve said, setting her glass down on the broad arm of her
chair as she laced her hands over her flat stomach. She was wearing
black dress pants, high-heeled sandals, and a black and white,
silky tank top. She’d left her black blazer inside, complaining it
was too hot inside with all of the people crowding the lounge and
dining area. “We’re just two different people. We came from
different places. This is my home. It’s where I belong.”
    Alex hated to
admit he could see why she felt she belonged there. Lakeside Inn
was a little piece of paradise on earth. He could imagine himself
settling down in a place like it in twenty years, when he was ready
to think about retiring. The community was filled with wonderful
people who’d grown up, raised families, and grown old there. Like
Eve, they felt they belonged and couldn’t imagine living anywhere
else. Alex, on the other hand, liked making deals, putting out
fires, taking on new challenges, and meeting new people. He liked
his career most days, and he could imagine running Bolton
Enterprises for many more years. But without Eve to come home to,
his business would be the only thing he had left in his life.
    “Why are you so
quiet?” Eve asked. “It’s not like you.”
    “I want to give
you a million reasons why you belong in New York with me, but I
can’t.” He’d heard the saying about loving and letting go, but he
couldn’t imagine Eve stepping back into his world if he let her go.
That realization felt like a stake through his heart. If he gave
her the divorce she was asking for… it would be over. He would have
to figure out how to get through every day for the rest of his life
without her.
    “You’re an
amazing man, Alex,” she whispered, reaching for his hand. “That’s
what makes this so hard. If you were a self-centered, egotistical
pain in the ass, this decision would be easy.”
    “Thanks, I
think.”
    She winked when
he gave her a wry smile. “You’re going to find someone amazing
someday. Someone who will love your life and you with everything
she has.”
    “You used to
love me that way.” Even if she was determined to let him go, he
couldn’t walk away without reminding her of when she was his world
and he was hers. “You still do, Eve. I see it when you look at me.”
He licked his lips and let his eyes fall to her mouth. It was full
and sensuous, outlined in a pale coral that enhanced her bright
green eyes. “I felt it when you made love to me.”
    “I’ll always
love you,” she whispered fiercely. Her eyes looked even more vivid
when they brimmed with unshed tears. “No matter what happens or
where life takes us, a part of my heart will always belong to you
and only you.”
    Alex kissed her
hand, wishing he still had the right to strip her and kiss every
inch of her beautiful body.