Free Forever Starts Tomorrow by Ellen Wolf

bachelor-style home. Mementos from their trips and from happy moments together tugged at her heartstrings and made her eyes smart with stubborn tears.
    ‘Can I get you something to drink?’ Scott’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see him bustling around the kitchen. Was it only a few days ago that she was cooking there, setting the table for their meal with his sister and her husband? It felt like another lifetime. His polite question reduced her to the position of a guest—welcomed, yet definitely not belonging.
    ‘Just some water.’ Melanie walked over to the sofa and plopped down. Her knees were shaking, and she would be damned if she’d let him see what a mess she was at that moment.
    He was back in an instant, carrying two tall glasses, one already covered with tiny beads of condensed water. The ice cubes made a soft sound as he put it down in front of her, and another memory assaulted her at his simple gesture. Scott had been trying to convince her to abandon her habit of adding ice to her drinks, his eyes serious as he laid out his arguments. Ice was too cold and was bad for her digestion, he insisted. His concern about her health was endearing. In the end, they agreed to disagree and made up, kissing.
    ‘How have you been?’ He sat across from her in one of the armchairs, his long frame folded with catlike grace. He watched her with an intensity that made it impossible to lie. Her brain lost its battle with her heart instantly.
    ‘Miserable.’ She was probably making an idiot of herself, but it was too late to take back her words. ‘How about you?’
    ‘Same.’ There was a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and his large frame relaxed a little. ‘A week from hell, you could say.’
    She needed to get back to the reason for her visit, and fast. She was in imminent danger of losing her resolve, she realized, with every cell in her body screaming to forget everything and focus on her and Scott.
    She couldn’t do it, not if she wanted to be able to live with herself and, most importantly, help Scott avoid a mistake that would make him wretched in the long run.
    ‘Look, I am here to talk to you about something important,’ Melanie started, not sure how to broach the topic.
    ‘OK.’ He leaned back in his chair, his eyes cautious. The moment of understanding was over and he was ready to listen. She'd gotten his attention, and she needed to hurry before she lost her nerve for good.
    ‘I’ve had a visitor.’ The words came out shakier than she’d intended. She cleared her throat and started again, determined to get a grip on her emotions. ‘A woman came to see me yesterday. She said she was trying to reach out to you, but since it didn’t work out, she’d talk to me. She didn’t know we broke off our engagement, Scott.’
    ‘Let me guess: Dolores Martin.’ How was it possible that his voice dropped a hundred degrees in just a second? Icy cold and deceptively calm, it rattled her to the bone. She was probably in much deeper water than she could handle, she realized. With his narrowed eyes and thinned lips, Scott couldn’t make it any clearer how he felt about the whole thing.
    ‘I am sorry she bothered you.’ At least his wrath wasn’t directed at her. For a second, his gaze warmed as he leaned forward, his hand coming to cover hers. ‘She won’t do it again, I promise.’
    ‘I can’t stop thinking about some things she said.’ She had to risk his fury, which was simmering just under the thin layer of self-control, and which she could tell could slip at any moment. Dolores Martin had been a part of his life he didn’t want to talk to her about in all those months they were dating. Heck, Melanie didn’t even know the woman existed until she ambushed her during her lunch break.
    ‘What kind of things?’ He reached for his glass, finishing his drink in three gulps. His eyes were on her with a hawkish intensity. His coworkers must have dreaded that