might not love her. And heâd definitely lied to her. But he wouldnât cheat on her. Somehow, she knew that. The same way she knew the sun would come up tomorrow morning. To think otherwise was to be wrong. âWho is she, Steve?â âNo one important. You have to trust me on this.â âIf sheâs no one important, then tell me who she is.â âIâll tell you everything. But not here. Letâs go back to my place,â he pleaded. There was a time in a womanâs life when she had a choice to make. She could buckle down and scream and rant and make a scene or she could walk away with her head held high. Orâ¦she could jump in the ocean and swim far, far away. Choices one and three were tempting. But neither one felt right to her. They walked back to The Harbor House in silence. In less than twelve hours, she was supposed to stand by her fatherâs side on what would hopefully be the happiest day of his life. How was she supposed to do that when her own life was falling apart right in front of her? She couldnât do this tonight. She just couldnât. âI donât think itâs a good idea to talk right now. Can we do it tomorrow? After dadâs wedding?â When I can fall apart in private with no one to see me? He looked like he was going to be sick. She knew the feeling. âIf thatâs what you want. The limo will take you home. Iâllâ¦wait here for it to come back and get me.â She nodded. âKitty,â he said, his voice cracking with emotion. âPlease. Say something.â âWhy do I feel like we just had good-bye sex?â she whispered. âAre you crazy ? This isnât good-bye anything,â he said gruffly. âListen, baby, you know me. Donât you?â The limo circled to the front of the parking lot and one of the restaurantâs valets came forward to open the door for her. She wished she could say something, but her throat felt too tight to allow her to speak. So she got inside the limo before he could see her cry. # Steve took one of the empty stools at The Harbor House bar and waved the bartender over. âIâll have a Scotch. Neat.â He had just put in a call to the limo driver requesting that he come back to pick him up in an hour. Maybe if he got drunk enough he could forget the look on Kittyâs face tonight when sheâd said good-bye. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was it so hard for him to give her the words she needed to hear? He thought heâd have more time, but now there was no choice. Heâd have to do it tomorrow. Heâd have to lay it all on the line or lose her forever. But what if what he had to say wasnât enough for her? What then? The sick feeling in his chest came back again. Heâd thought those times before that it was indigestion, but now he knew what it really was. The heavy acidic burning was his own body telling him what an idiot he was. There wasnât enough Maalox in the world to cure the mess heâd made of his own love life. The bartender handed him his drink and went off to take another order. âHey, boss.â Steve glanced up to see Tom Donalan take the stool next to him. âMind if I join you?â Steve shrugged. âSure, why not?â He took a long slow sip of the Scotch. âWhat are you doing here?â âI was having dinner with my ex and her family. I was just about to leave when I saw you.â He hesitated. âIt looked like you could use a friend.â âItâs that obvious?â Steve signaled the bartender back. âGet this man whatever he wants on me.â Donalan quietly ordered a beer. âDinner with your ex, huh?â Steve said. âYou must be pretty evolved.â âYou could say that. We have a son, and we were lucky enough to stay friends.â âAh. Well, good for you.â âIt works.â The beer came and Donalan