Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [159]
Kayla didn't sleep all night. In her mind she ran through a dozen possible scenarios of what could have happened to Nick. Maybe he'd been robbed, hit over the head, knocked unconscious. Maybe he was sitting in a hospital right now with amnesia, not knowing who he was. She hoped to God it wasn't worse than that. But no news had to be good news, right? Finally, she curled up in a chair by the window, watching the moon go down and the sun come up over the lake. It was the longest night of her life.
A knock came at the door just before nine o'clock in the morning. She ran to open it, hoping she'd see Nick in the hallway, wearing a sheepish smile, offering some crazy explanation about losing track of time. But it wasn't Nick. It was the security guy from the night before, George Benedict. His expression was serious, his eyes somber.
Putting a hand to her suddenly racing heart, she said, "What's happened?"
He held up a tuxedo jacket in his hand with a now limp and wilted white rose boutonniere hanging from the lapel. "We found this in a men's room off the lobby. Is it your husband's jacket?"
"I- I think so. I don't understand. Where's Nick?"
"We don't know yet, but this was in the pocket." He held out his hand, a solid gold wedding band in his palm.
She took the ring from him, terrified when she read the simple inscription on the inside of the band, Forever Love, the same words that were engraved on her wedding ring. She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. This was Nick's ring, the one she'd slipped on his finger when she'd vowed to spend the rest of her life with him. "No," she breathed.
"I've seen it happen before," the older man said gently. "A hasty marriage in a casino chapel, second thoughts…"
She saw the pity in his eyes, and she couldn't accept it. "You're wrong. You have to be wrong. Nick loved me. He wanted to get married. It was his idea. His idea," she repeated desperately.
She closed her hand around the ring, her fingers tightening into a fist. Her husband had not run out on her… had he?
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Table of Contents
Other Books by Barbara Freethy
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23