tried
desperately to swallow the huge lump in her throat.
And he certainly didn’t run around with the
top three buttons of his shirt undone. Definitely not without an
undershirt.
“Are you sure you don’t want to…”
But he was already shaking his head. “No. I
just came to get my ring.”
“Your ring,” Bobbi repeated. Okay, this
wasn’t going the way she had envisioned at all. “Gerald, honey,
don’t you think we should talk about,” she swallowed nervously,
“About what happened?”
His eyes hardened as he stared down at her in
silence. Gerald was kind and gentle and kind and…
His glare deepened and so did her discomfort.
Christ, the man’s favorite movie was March of the freaking
Penguins. What had she done to him?
“Please, Gerald. You have to let me explain.
Let me apologize.” She knew she sounded desperate but suddenly she
didn’t care. Gerald was part of her life plan and she couldn’t let
him slip away.
She had made a mistake dammit, and she was
willing to do whatever it took to make amends. She had to make him
see that.
“Please, Gerald.” She reached for him but he
moved back, his lips screwed up in distaste.
“What’s there to talk about? You didn’t show
up for our wedding. There is nothing else to say.”
Bobbi’s stomach twisted painfully and for a
moment she was lightheaded. She blew out a long breath as she
stared at the man she’d expected to, well, she hadn’t expected him to welcome her back with open arms, but
certainly she’d envisioned a calm conversation ending with Gerald
accepting her heartfelt apology for what she’d put him through and
for the two of them to move on.
Her life—the perfect, serene life—the one
with the white picket fence, two golden retrievers, maybe a cat,
and definitely no worries, was crumbling in front of her and the
panic mice were starting to nibble at her feet. “Gerald, I’m so
sorry for what I put you through. You have to believe me. I didn’t
mean to hurt you.”
“But you did,” he said roughly. He ran his
hands through the thick mess of hair on his head, though Bobbi
looked away when he got his fingers caught in the gelled waves and
he had to work to extract them.
“I made a mistake. I want to work through
this Gerald,” she tried again softly, hoping the underlying panic
she felt wasn’t seeping through.
“Last week I wanted to hear that. When I was
standing at the front of St. Paul’s fucking church—”
Bobbi winced. She couldn’t recall ever
hearing Gerald swear.
“And I knew you weren’t going to show, I
wanted to hear that.” Gerald’s face was a shade past plain old
pissed off. “In the hours afterward, between the twenty-five or
thirty phone calls I made to your cell? I damn well wanted to hear
that. Even when my mother convinced me it would be best to go away
without you…even then, I still needed to hear you say that, but now
it means nothing.”
“Gerald,” she whispered. “It means
everything.”
“Really,” he said sarcastically.
Bobbi took a few moments to try and gather
her thoughts but it was hard. Her stomach was a mess of knots and
she was suddenly flush and not feeling so great. Everything was
slipping away from her and she had no clue how to fix any of
it.
Why hadn’t the old Gerald showed up? The one
who would listen patiently and look at the argument from every side
and angle. The man who would think things over in a calm, logical
way and realize that sure, she’d screwed up—big time—but she
deserved a second chance. After all, they loved each other.
Right?
“Gerald, I can explain. You have to let me
explain.” She moved forward again and placed her hand on his
forearm.
Gerald shoved his now product coated fingers
into the front pockets of his jeans and scowled. He actually
scowled at her .
“This is what I know to be the true facts of
that night, Bobbi. While I stood at the front of the church,
waiting in front of our friends and family,” he leaned closer.
desperately to swallow the huge lump in her throat.
And he certainly didn’t run around with the
top three buttons of his shirt undone. Definitely not without an
undershirt.
“Are you sure you don’t want to…”
But he was already shaking his head. “No. I
just came to get my ring.”
“Your ring,” Bobbi repeated. Okay, this
wasn’t going the way she had envisioned at all. “Gerald, honey,
don’t you think we should talk about,” she swallowed nervously,
“About what happened?”
His eyes hardened as he stared down at her in
silence. Gerald was kind and gentle and kind and…
His glare deepened and so did her discomfort.
Christ, the man’s favorite movie was March of the freaking
Penguins. What had she done to him?
“Please, Gerald. You have to let me explain.
Let me apologize.” She knew she sounded desperate but suddenly she
didn’t care. Gerald was part of her life plan and she couldn’t let
him slip away.
She had made a mistake dammit, and she was
willing to do whatever it took to make amends. She had to make him
see that.
“Please, Gerald.” She reached for him but he
moved back, his lips screwed up in distaste.
“What’s there to talk about? You didn’t show
up for our wedding. There is nothing else to say.”
Bobbi’s stomach twisted painfully and for a
moment she was lightheaded. She blew out a long breath as she
stared at the man she’d expected to, well, she hadn’t expected him to welcome her back with open arms, but
certainly she’d envisioned a calm conversation ending with Gerald
accepting her heartfelt apology for what she’d put him through and
for the two of them to move on.
Her life—the perfect, serene life—the one
with the white picket fence, two golden retrievers, maybe a cat,
and definitely no worries, was crumbling in front of her and the
panic mice were starting to nibble at her feet. “Gerald, I’m so
sorry for what I put you through. You have to believe me. I didn’t
mean to hurt you.”
“But you did,” he said roughly. He ran his
hands through the thick mess of hair on his head, though Bobbi
looked away when he got his fingers caught in the gelled waves and
he had to work to extract them.
“I made a mistake. I want to work through
this Gerald,” she tried again softly, hoping the underlying panic
she felt wasn’t seeping through.
“Last week I wanted to hear that. When I was
standing at the front of St. Paul’s fucking church—”
Bobbi winced. She couldn’t recall ever
hearing Gerald swear.
“And I knew you weren’t going to show, I
wanted to hear that.” Gerald’s face was a shade past plain old
pissed off. “In the hours afterward, between the twenty-five or
thirty phone calls I made to your cell? I damn well wanted to hear
that. Even when my mother convinced me it would be best to go away
without you…even then, I still needed to hear you say that, but now
it means nothing.”
“Gerald,” she whispered. “It means
everything.”
“Really,” he said sarcastically.
Bobbi took a few moments to try and gather
her thoughts but it was hard. Her stomach was a mess of knots and
she was suddenly flush and not feeling so great. Everything was
slipping away from her and she had no clue how to fix any of
it.
Why hadn’t the old Gerald showed up? The one
who would listen patiently and look at the argument from every side
and angle. The man who would think things over in a calm, logical
way and realize that sure, she’d screwed up—big time—but she
deserved a second chance. After all, they loved each other.
Right?
“Gerald, I can explain. You have to let me
explain.” She moved forward again and placed her hand on his
forearm.
Gerald shoved his now product coated fingers
into the front pockets of his jeans and scowled. He actually
scowled at her .
“This is what I know to be the true facts of
that night, Bobbi. While I stood at the front of the church,
waiting in front of our friends and family,” he leaned closer.
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