Melissa hugged both women. “You two are the best. Thank you for planning this baby shower for me.”
“Uh-oh. It looks like I’m going to have to go soothe the savage beast,” Avery said suddenly, pointing toward Guy as he walked back into the ballroom. “He doesn’t look as if the encounter with Trevor was pleasant.”
“I doubt that it was,” Melissa said, hating that her family had to deal with yet another conflict.
“I’m afraid I need to get back to Christian,” Erica apologized, rising to her feet. “I see he’s been cornered by someone, no doubt looking for free legal advice.”
As she watched her two best friends walk back to their fiancés, Melissa wondered where Shane was. She checked her watch. He had told her he would only be a few minutes and that had been a half hour ago.
Deciding he would probably be back soon, she left the table to freshen up before the closing speech began. As she started down the hall toward the ladies’ powder room, she couldn’t help but recognize Shane’s voice coming from just around the corner.
“I’m flattered that you asked me to help with the investigation, Senator,” Shane said. Melissa started to join him and the senator, but his next words stopped her in her tracks. “I have a couple of stables to design, but after I send the blueprints to the contractors, I’ll have all the time in the world to devote to the investigation.”
“There could be times when you’ll have to do some frequent traveling,” Senator Kurk warned.
There wasn’t even so much as a moment’s hesitation before Shane answered the man. “That won’t be a problem. There’s nothing keeping me from spending all the time needed on the job sites and giving them my undivided attention.”
Lissa couldn’t stand to hear any more. She and their child were nothing? Hadn’t he listened to what she’d told him just the night before?
Feeling as if her heart had shattered into a million pieces, she turned and walked straight to the resort’s lobby. Shane was no different than her father had been. He intended to put work ahead of his family, and that was something she just couldn’t accept.
At the front desk, she asked for a piece of the resort’s letterhead and an envelope. When she finished scribbling the note, she sealed it in the envelope and handed it to one of the clerks working the reservations desk.
“I want this delivered to Erica Prentice at the head table in the Grand Ballroom,” she said, surprised that her voice sounded so steady. “Take it now before the closing speech starts.”
“Yes, Ms. Jarrod,” the young woman behind the counter said. “I’ll take it to her right away.”
As the woman hurried down the corridor leading to the ballroom, Melissa thought about walking to the lodge, but decided against it. She had left her light wrap at the table and the temperature outside had already dropped considerably. Besides, she didn’t relish the idea of walking that distance in three-inch heels.
She turned to the concierge. “I want someone to drive me to Willow Lodge.”
The man nodded. “It may take a few minutes to—”
“Now!” If she didn’t get back to the lodge soon, there was a very real danger of her falling apart right there in the middle of the lobby.
Never having heard her bark orders at anyone, the man moved faster than she had ever seen him and in no time Melissa found herself seated in the back of one of the resort’s courtesy limousines. She forced herself to remain stoic on the short ride up the road to Willow Lodge. She knew that she had already caused enough gossip and speculation among the employees with her outburst at the concierge. She didn’t want to add more by dissolving into a sobbing heap in the back of the limo.
When the driver stopped in front of the lodge, she got out and hurriedly let herself inside. Only after she had closed and locked the door did she give in to the emotions that she had held in check since overhearing Shane and Senator Kurk.
First one tear and then another slipped down her cheeks and Melissa rushed into the bedroom to collapse on the bed. As she stared at the diamond ring on her left hand the loneliness of a lifetime came crashing down on top of her. She had never been able to live up to her father’s expectations and it appeared that she wasn’t enough for Shane now.
Nine
When Shane and the senator returned to the ballroom the closing speech had just begun and all eyes were focused on Blake Jarrod, Lissa’s brother, the new CEO of Jarrod Ridge. As he thanked the guests and investors, Shane looked around for Lissa.
Where the hell had she gone? Had she become ill and had to leave? If so, why hadn’t she found him to take her back to Willow Lodge?
As he scanned the crowd to see if she might be sitting at another table, he glanced at the head table. Lissa’s sister, Erica, was staring at him and he could tell from her expression that she knew something about where Lissa might be.
Frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t get to Erica to ask where Lissa had gone until after Blake concluded his speech, Shane barely heard his name being called when the investors were asked to stand and be recognized. By the time Blake gave his closing remarks, Shane was already on his feet and threading his way through the crowd to the head table.
“Where did Lissa go?” he demanded when he reached Erica.
“Just before Blake’s speech she sent me a message that she was having someone take her back to Willow Lodge,” Erica said, looking worried. “Do you think she’s not feeling well?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to find out,” he said, already turning toward the door. “Thanks.”
“Please let me know if she’s all right,” Erica called after him.
Nodding that he would, Shane impatiently made his way through the crush of people leaving the ballroom. Was there something wrong with her or the baby?
As all of the things that could go wrong during the first trimester ran through his mind, he quickly decided that he’d done a little too much research about pregnancy. Apparently, ignorance really was bliss. It had to be better than the hell his imagination was putting him through now.
It seemed as if it took an eternity to make his way across the crowded lobby and out the resort’s main doors. Unwilling to wait for the valet to bring his truck around, Shane broke into a run as he headed for the lane leading up to the private lodges.
Why had Lissa sent her sister the message saying she was leaving instead of him? What had happened between the time he and the senator stepped out into the corridor and the time they reentered the ballroom?
As he sprinted up the steps and across the deck of Willow Lodge, he fished for the key Lissa had given him from his pocket. His fingers felt clumsy as he rushed to unlock the door and let himself in.
“Lissa?” he called when he finally opened the door.
The silence was deafening. He glanced around the room. Her handbag was lying on the couch as if she’d tossed it aside so he knew she was there.
“Lissa, where are you?” he called, his heart thumping against his ribs as his fear increased. When he found her in the bedroom, she was lying on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. “Lissa, angel, what’s wrong?”
Before he could sit on the side of the bed and take her into his arms, she raised her face from the pillow she clutched. “D-don’t, Shane.” Shaking her head, she scooted to the opposite side of the mattress. “P-please just…go home.”
What had gotten into her? When he left the table at the dinner, she had been fine.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“I want you…to leave,” she sobbed. “Just go…back to your ranch…and leave me alone.”
“Angel, you’re not making sense,” he said, trying to maintain a patient tone. “Calm down and tell me what happened to make you so upset.”
Pushing herself to a sitting position, she swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, then shook her head. “I overheard you and Senator Kurk.”
“And?” He couldn’t think of a single thing they had discussed that would send her into such an emotional meltdown.
“There’s nothing to keep you from traveling extensively?” She shook her head. “What about me? What about our baby? Are we always going to come in a distant second to whatever project you’re working on? Aren’t we important enough to you that you want to be with us?”
“Calm down, Lissa.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Shane. All my life I’ve come in last place behind a man’s work and I won’t do it again.” Her eyes flashed with a mixture of hurt and anger. “Answer my question. Do you or do you not want to be here with me to make a marriage between us work?”
He had told the senator he was free to travel and devote his time to investigating design flaws in several federal and military buildings. But he couldn’t tell her the reason he’d agreed, because he didn’t like admitting—even to himself—that he needed distance to regain his perspective.
When he remained silent, Lissa’s crushed expression caused his gut to twist into a painful knot. “I think your silence is answer enough, Shane.” Removing the engagement ring he had given her, she reached across the bed to place it in his hand. “I’m just glad we discovered that it wouldn’t work out between us before we actually got married.”
“Lissa—”
“Don’t, Shane,” she said, sounding completely defeated. “There’s really nothing left to say.”
Staring at her for several long moments as he tried to put his tangled thoughts into some semblance of order, he shook his head. “This isn’t over, Lissa.”
Silent tears slid down her smooth cheeks. “Yes, it is, Shane.”
He could tell from the look on her face she wouldn’t listen to anything he had to say, even if he had been able to explain himself. “What about the investors and your family? What are you going to tell them?”
“That’s really no longer any of your concern,” she said flatly. “I’ll handle whatever announcement I need to make regarding our breakup.”
Suddenly angry, he asked, “What about the baby? I want to know—”
“From now on, anything you have to say to me can be done through Christian Hanford. Closer to the baby’s birth, I’ll have him contact your attorney to work out a custody agreement.” She took a deep breath and pointed toward the door. “I’d really like to be alone now, Shane. Please lock the door as you leave.”
He stared at her for a moment longer before turning to walk out of the bedroom. Placing the door key she’d given him on the kitchen counter, he let himself out of the house and descended the porch steps.
As he slowly walked down the lane toward the resort’s main building, the engagement ring he still held felt as if it burned a hole in his palm. When he’d given it to her, he could tell it meant the world to her and he’d suspected then that she’d fallen in love with him.
He knew now that his instincts had been right on the mark. Lissa did love him and he could tell that it had broken her heart when she’d taken off the ring and handed it back to him only minutes ago.