Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [81]
"You're making a mistake," he said flatly. "A big one this time. Has he offered to travel with you? To help you with your music? To show you the world?"
She shook her head. "Alex hasn't done any of those things."
"But if he asked you to go with him, you'd go."
"It's not about him," she said, refusing to let herself even consider that question.
"You can protest all you want, but I think you're lying." He paused, his jaw tight, his mouth set in a hard line. "I guess it's over then."
She glanced down at her left hand and slowly pulled off the engagement ring he'd given her almost a year ago. She handed it to him. "You're a great guy, Michael. I hope you find someone who really deserves you."
"Yeah, yeah, nice guys always finish last," he said bitterly. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Julia." He paused. "If you change your mind, I might still be around. Or I might not. You never know."
Julia blew out a sigh as Michael left the apartment. She felt drained of emotion but also relieved that she'd finally broken it off. She glanced down at the tan line on her third finger and knew she'd done the right thing. That ring had been feeling heavier and heavier the last few days.
"What happened?" Liz asked, returning to the room. "I heard yelling."
"We broke up," Julia said, steeling herself for more criticism from Liz, but for once her younger sister was silent. "Did you know about the house?"
Liz gave a sheepish nod. "Michael wanted it to be a surprise. I've been helping him fix it up. That's what I was sewing-curtains." She picked up the fabric on the floor and set it on the table.
"You should have told me, warned me."
"It wasn't my place. You're always telling me to stay out of your relationship, so I stayed out of it."
"You've been helping him fix up the house. How is that staying out of it?"
"I didn't tell him what to do. I just painted and scraped wallpaper. I knew you were going to be pissed."
"Of course I'm angry. What woman would want her fianc? to buy a house without her input?"
"A woman who saw it as a romantic, loving gesture," Liz suggested. "Didn't it please you at all to know that this man wanted to take care of you, protect you, make your life easier?"
Liz's words made Julia feel foolish and a little guilty. But she had to remind herself that she and Liz were very different women when it came to men and relationships. "It made me feel as if Michael had no regard for my opinion or my feelings," she said. "Maybe to some women it would have been a romantic gesture. That just proves we weren't right for each other."
"You should reconsider, Julia. See the house at least. You might love it. And perhaps if you talk things through, you'll be able to compromise, find a way to work things out. Unless you don't want to work things out? Did you break up with him because of the house-or because of something or someone else?"
Julia knew it would be smarter not to answer Liz's question, but she had the sudden reckless urge to con fide in someone, and the words came out before she could stop them. "I kissed Alex last night."
Liz's eyes widened. "So that's it? You dumped an incredible man because you're attracted to a sexy bad-boy photographer? Is Alex really going to be in your life? Doesn't he spend most of the year traveling around the world?"
"I didn't dump Michael for Alex. He was just a small part of it, but a part I couldn't ignore. If I were really in love with Michael, I wouldn't have been so attracted to Alex. How could I marry one man knowing I had feelings for someone else? Michael is an incredible man, but he's not the man for me. And I should have figured that out a long time ago. But everyone loved him so much. I thought I should love him, too."
Liz stared at her for a moment, then shook her head in bewilderment. "You're right about one thing, Julia. Michael is an incredible man. I hope you won't regret this decision."
"I won't," Julia said, praying