False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [106]
As their lips melted together, her conscience squirmed with the knowledge that she had won his love by pretending to be someone she wasn’t. She quickly dismissed it. Wasn’t her love genuine, her devotion sincere? Why should she let the past rule the present or the future?
She pulled her lips back from his just far enough to say, “I never knew I could love any man the way I love you. You are my soul mate. The one—the only one—I will ever love.”
As Pierce slowly unleashed the passion he had restrained during their engagement, she responded freely and eagerly, feeling none of the fear or revulsion she had associated with her father’s abusive advances. Why should she? Shelby Sieger no longer existed.
The next day, she and Pierce flew to Grand Cayman, a wedding gift from his many aunts and uncles. They spent their days bathed in the warm, shimmering green waters of the Caribbean Sea, their nights enchanted by the showcase of dazzling diamonds spilled across the black velvet heavens—and the ecstasy of two becoming one.…
“I’m leaving now.” Pierce’s voice startled her, and she remembered where she was and what was about to happen. “I’ll call and let the phone ring once when I get to Mom and Dad’s—so you’ll know I made it.”
“I wish you would stay—and work this out together.”
“I can’t, Zoe. Not now. I need to be by myself and think.”
Zoe swallowed the fear and sadness that threatened to steal her voice. Did this man who had once declared she was his heart’s desire now feel so betrayed by her that he would never recover? She breathed in slowly, then turned around, trying not to look as desperate as she felt.
“At least you’re willing to think about it,” she said.
“It’s not like I asked for this, Zoe. How are we supposed to live together when I can’t trust you? It was humiliating enough to realize I’d been duped. Do you really think I can allow myself to be that vulnerable again?”
Zoe took a step closer to him. “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t trust me again. But I want you to know that you can. You know everything now. I have no secrets to protect.”
He rolled his eyes. “Like I could tell if you did. I just wanted you to know I’m leaving. Don’t call me, Zoe. When I’ve got something to say, I’ll let you know.” He turned around and disappeared through the living room. She heard the front door open and close and listened to his footsteps as he walked away.
“I love you, cher,” she whispered, salty puddles clouding her vision. “You’re never coming back to me.”
CHAPTER 34
Zoe opened her eyes, realizing that the obnoxious buzzing in her head was actually her alarm blaring. She groped the nightstand on Pierce’s side of the bed and hit the snooze button—something he always did. She hugged his pillow and relished the masculine, woody scent of his Tuscany cologne. She pictured him lying in the brass bed in the guest room at his parents’ house. Was he awake yet? Had he ever gone to sleep? Had he missed her for even a fleeting moment? Then again, why would he? All he wanted to do was get away from her.
Zoe struggled to sit up. Did she have the emotional strength to push off the weighty guilt that seemed to have her pinned down and get up and face the day—and the probing questions she would get from employees, friends, and customers? One thing she didn’t have was the luxury of nursing her own heartache—not with Remy’s funeral this afternoon.
She threw her legs over the side of the bed and lowered her bare feet onto the floor and headed for the shower. At least she wasn’t camping out at Langley Manor without air-conditioning or running water. Wasn’t that something she could be grateful for?
She turned on the shower and thought of how pitiful Vanessa had looked, covered in bloody scratches, a bullet wound in her shoulder. Poor thing probably couldn’t wait to shower—to cleanse herself of Cowen. Hadn’t that been Zoe’s reaction on Saturday night after Cowen grabbed her and cut her face, threatening to do worse if she didn’t