Page 27 of A Family Affair: The Ring
“Personal?That’s what you say to the woman you’re supposed to…” Her voice trailed off.“I really believed we had a future together.”
How had she found out about Melanie?And why—
“You were never going to ask me to marry you, were you?”
Delaney was over the sad-and-want-to-cry routine.What to say to her question?I don’t know?I was waiting to see if I could develop stronger feelings for you?I had my doubts but didn’t want to face them?She wouldn’t want those kinds of answers, even if they were true.But hecouldshare the other piece, the one that was also accurate.“I didn’t want to rush things.I preferred to let everything play out and see where we landed.”
That made her laugh.“You’re anaccountant, Will.You love your projections and analyses.You didn’t need spreadsheets or data points to talk yourself in or out of this or to ‘see where we landed.’That’s what a creative, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person says.Not someone like you.It wasn’t going to happen, no matter how good I was in bed or how much you loved my Veal Scallopini.I see that now.”Pause and a cold “It’s always been her, hasn’t it?”
“It was a bad breakup and I struggled to commit again.”There.He’d said it.That should be enough.What more did she want?What more did she—
“You struggled to commit?No kidding.I thought if I made life easy on you, no expectations, no pressure, and gave youeverythingyou wanted, you’d see how good we were together.You’d want more.”Her voice shifted and there was no denying the hurt.“I thought you’d want forever.I stopped by to talk to you because obviously you weren’t accepting my invitations for dinner, or anything else.”
Will dragged a hand through his hair, wished he could feel more than fondness for her.“Sorry.I’ve been busy and…”
“Can we just be honest about it?I could dye my hair, become a nurse, change my name and youstillwouldn’t want me.Do you know why?”
He had a feeling, but he also realized Delaney’s need to tell him.“Why?”
“Because you wanther, or think you do.You and Melanie Russell have unfinished business and until you take care of it, you can’t move on.”
“Unfinished business?What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know.I thought you’d tell me.”She raised a brow, a faint smile pulling across her lips.“Your mother is absolutely not a fan.”
“My mother?What did she have to do with any of this?”
“Mothers always know.Haven’t you learned that by now?Marjorie told me a lot of things, including the real reason you and your ex split.She questioned your integrity and basically called you a liar.Yourfather andhermother?Ugh, that is pure disgusting.And she—”
“That’s enough.My mother had no right to tell youanything.”Once this conversation was over, he planned to head straight to his mother’s and demand an explanation.Why did she always feel the need to play the victim, the one misery always landed on top of, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it?Maybe she should look at herself, admit to the vindictive streak that caused most of her problems.
“Your mother thought I deserved to know about your past with that woman, especially after I found the engagement ring.”
“What?”
The shrug said she did not consider this admission an invasion of privacy.“Your mother decided to do a load of laundry and I was helping her put things away.I thought I’d organize your socks by color and that’s when I found the ring.Silly me, I thought you were waiting for the right time to propose.I couldn’t stand the excitement and rushed to show your mother.But the anger on her face when I opened the box to show her the ring said there was a whole other story behind it, and it had nothing to do with me.”Her next words sliced him.“She told me Melanie Russell, the fiancée I never knew existed, had worn that ring.”
“You had no right and neither did my mother.”
“You made me look like a fool.All this time and everyone knew about her but me.”
“I wasn’t ready to talk about it and maybe if we reached a point in our relationship where I thought you needed to know, I would have told you.But that didn’t happen, and it wasn’t going to happen untilIwas ready.Sometimes I wondered why we couldn’t get to the ‘next’ stage of the relationship, but now I understandexactlywhy.You’ve brought it all into focus for me, and I should have realized it sooner.If I wanted to spend my life with you, I wouldn’t need spreadsheets or data to figure that out.I would have felt it inside because you can’t hide or pretend around that sort of feeling.So, thank you for making me see that.”
“And that’s it?”She glared at him, nostrils flaring, lips pinched.“Ten months together and we’re done?We don’t even get to talk about, see if we can compromise and work on a fix?”She fisted her hands on her hips as though ready to do battle.
Will blew out a quiet breath.“I’m sorry, Delaney.”
The woman he’d almost talked himself into believing he loved scowled.“Does she know you still have a thing for her?”
Will ignored the taunting, wished he’d trusted his gut months ago instead of ignoring it.“Goodbye, Delaney.”
“Goodbye?You think you can just send me away like I don’t matter?Think again.”A snarl, followed by “This isnotover.”
And then she was gone, leaving Will to contemplate the mess he found himself in.Delaney and he were through, no matter what she thought.His mother could not be trusted.And Melanie?She was at the center of it all, and there was no sense denying it any longer.
Surprises often revealedcertain truths and did not permit the other person to conjure up a tale that bore no resemblance to reality.Will’s mother had a lot of explaining to do, starting with what she’d told Delaney and ending with the conversation she’d had with Melanie.
Will didn’t bother to knock when he entered the house where he grew up, the one that had never quite reached “happy,” but rumbled with constant unrest and disappointment.His father had not been a model husband or a standup person, but Will couldn’t pretend his mother had nothing to do with what tore their family apart.Why had she never been able to find a shred of happiness or contentment, not even a kind word about her husband or other people?Bitterness, jealousy, anger.All of those had festered in their lives and he didn’t blame his sister for escaping to another state the second she could.
