“Hey!” Vanessa said. “You cheating scum!”
The man turned and stared. “Do I know you?”
“Not you. Her!” She pointed at Ginger.
The small blonde gaped. “Vanessa?”
“I would’ve never believed this if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. What the hell?”
The shock vanished from Ginger’s face. She put a hand on her hip. “Do you mind? I’m trying to have a nice evening out with my date here.”
“Oh my god, are you serious? You’re engaged to my brother!”
“I’m completely not engaged to your dickhead of a brother. He dumped me five months ago.” She turned to her date. “Really, I’m not engaged to anyone. I swear.”
Vanessa’s jaw slackened. “What? How… He contacted you?”
“No, like an idiot I went to see him. After I didn’t hear from him for weeks, I might add.” Something dark and painful flickered in her eyes, then died as she tightened her fists. “I’d waited since forever, and he acted like he didn’t even know me! So I’m moving on, because you know what? Shane’s not the only man out there.” Ginger linked fingers with her date. “Now if you’re just all done jumping to conclusions, we have a movie to catch.” They turned and walked off.
Justin put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”
Vanessa stared after the two. “I don’t get it.” Her mind felt blank. “They were so in love.” Was love not enough after all?
“Sometimes couples break up.”
“But with the love of their lives?”
“Maybe it wasn’t really the love of their lives.”
“No, no. Shane and Ginger were together since high school.”
“Well…feelings change.”
Like her parents. All those passionate love letters, but the love had turned into poison and they were now divorcing. Logically, she knew it was better than staying together and being miserable. You didn’t have to be alone to feel lonely. But emotionally…
Her mother’s words came back to her. Love wasn’t enough. And children certainly weren’t enough to keep a couple together. They were often pawns used to squeeze more concessions out of the other party.
Vanessa’s marriage didn’t even have love as the foundation. They were together for the baby, but would that be enough for them in later years? Or would Justin resent the fact that her pregnancy had trapped him into doing the right thing?
“I’m sure there’s more to the story than just her version,” Justin was saying. “We won’t know the whole truth until Shane gets back.”
The ring on her finger flashed, and she looked at the brilliant diamond, the sapphires…this supposed symbol of his commitment to her. But was it? Unlike most men, Justin could buy millions of those rings without a second thought. It was about as significant as a lollipop she’d received from a boy in kindergarten.
Suddenly cold, Vanessa hugged herself.
Chapter Eighteen
Vanessa went to a mid-morning class at the yoga studio. She was restless, and hoped some exercise would help her regain some balance. The previous night had been awful, full of crazy, vivid nightmares about her being trapped. She’d been as small as a cricket, and a clear glass jar had been put over her. She punched and kicked it, but it didn’t even crack. Then as panic grew in her chest, she saw a gigantic Justin outside. He had a forefinger on the jar, and he was staring at her with a smug smile. “Gotcha.”
“Where’s my family?” she’d yelled, but it had been no use.
Dane, Shane, Iain and Mark wagged their fingers at her, and then Ginger was there. She put her hand on the back of Justin’s head and kissed him deeply, and he kissed her back.
Vanessa shook her head to clear her mind. It was just a bad dream, a mix of her anxiety and Ginger.
A petite brunette walked up. “Hey,” she said.
There was an instant of non-recognition, then the name clicked. “Hi, Peggy.”