An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [121]
“Stop it, both of you!” Lesley yelled. She was surprised none of the neighbors were out yet to watch the show. “This is ridiculous.”
“You love me,” Tony said. “You can’t marry this…this barbarian.”
“Just watch her,” Chase returned with a wide smile.
“I’m not doing anything until both of you stop behaving like six-year-olds,” Lesley said. “I can’t believe either one of you would resort to this childish behavior.”
“I’ll divorce April,” Tony promised. “I swear by everything I hold dear that I’ll get her out of my life.”
“I’d think a husband would hold his wife dear,” Chase said. “Apparently that isn’t so. Your vows meant nothing the first time. What makes you so sure they’ll mean any more on a second go-round?”
“I’m trying to be as civil as I can,” Tony muttered, “but if you want to fight this out, fine.”
“Anytime,” Chase said, grinning broadly as if he welcomed the confrontation, “anyplace.”
“Fine.”
They were chest to chest once more.
Lesley managed to wedge herself between them and braced a hand against each of their chests. “I think you should go,” she said to Tony. It was useless to try to discuss anything now. She wanted to believe him, but Chase was right. The first message Tony had left claimed that April was away for a week visiting her mother. He hadn’t said a word about his marriage being a mistake or that he still cared for her.
“I’m not leaving you, not when you’re making the biggest mistake of your life,” Tony told her. “I already said I’d divorce April. What more do you want me to do? The marriage was a mistake from the first! What else can I do? Tell me, Lesley, tell me and I’ll do whatever it takes to make amends to you.”
“I believe the lady asked you to leave,” Chase said with the same easy grace. “That’s all she wants from you. Get out of her life.”
“No.”
“It’ll give me a good deal of pleasure to assist you.”
The next thing she knew, Chase had grabbed Tony’s arm and steered him toward his parked car.
Lesley stood on the porch, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she watched the unpleasant scene. She was furious and didn’t know who with—Chase or Tony. Both had behaved like children fighting on the playground. Neither of them had shown any maturity in dealing with an awkward situation.
The two men exchanged a few words at Tony’s vehicle and it looked for a moment as if a fistfight was about to erupt. In the end, Tony climbed inside his car and drove away.
Lesley was pacing her living room when Chase entered the house. “How could you?” she demanded.
“How could I what? Treat lover boy the way he deserved, you mean?”
“You weren’t any better than he was! I expected more from you, Chase. The least you could’ve done was…was be civil about the whole thing. Instead you acted like a jealous lover.” She continued pacing. Her anger had created an energy within her that couldn’t be ignored.
“Did you want to talk to him alone?”
“No.”
“Then what did you expect me to do?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Something different than strong-arming him.”
“You sound like you wanted to invite him in for tea and then sit around discussing this like civilized adults.”
“Yes!” she cried. “That would’ve been better than a shouting match on my front porch. The two of you behaved as though I was a prize baseball card you both wanted. Tony had traded me away and now he wants me back and you weren’t about to see that happen.”
Chase went still. “Is that what you wanted?” he asked. “To be handed back to Tony?”
“No, of course it isn’t!”
“He can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“He’s the one who ended the relationship, not me. It’s over, Chase.”
Chase walked to the window and stared outside. He didn’t speak for a long time and seemed to be weighing his thoughts.
“You…you told me once that you had a problem with a woman playing one man against another,” she said. “I’m not doing that, Chase. I wouldn’t. You’re the man I’m marrying, not Tony.”
“You love him,” Chase said,