Free Moments In Time: The Complete Novella Collection by Dori Lavelle Page A

from him? It killed me to willingly choose to
walk out of his life, but it was better than being thrown out of it
when he discovered the truth. It would only be a matter of
time.
    “But you love him. You can’t walk away from
a good thing,” Melisa urged. She was the only person I could bring
myself to talk to.
    I placed her cup of coffee on the table in
front of her and cupped my own mug with both hands. The heat
comforted me. “You don’t understand, Melisa. He will find out.”
    “Or maybe he won’t.”
    I sipped my coffee and stared out the
window, watching the clear morning sky, listening to the sounds of
traffic outside. “It’s impossible to keep a thing like that from
someone.”
    “And yet it happens all the time. For
instance, do you have any idea how many kids are raised by men who
aren’t their biological fathers?”
    “Yes, until the child falls sick and needs
some organ only the real father can donate.”
    “That only happens in the movies. In real
life, people are better at hiding secrets.”
    I lifted my feet up onto the couch and
crossed my legs. “I don’t want to lie to him. He deserves
better.”
    Melisa grasped my hand and her eyes grew
serious. “He deserves you, and you deserve him.”
    “No, it’s not right. I have to tell him. I
forgot the slip of paper I’d written his number on at the hotel, so
I’ll go back to work on Monday and wait for him to show up.”
    “You have to think about this carefully.
This could change everything. He might never forgive you.”
    “ Maybe he will. I’ll explain everything. If
not, at least I’ll know I did the right thing.”
    Sunday evening, I stood in front of the
mirror and rehearsed how I would tell Nick the truth. After
repeating a string of words to myself for almost thirty minutes, I
showered and went to bed.
     
    ***
     
    The doorbell woke me up around two a.m. I
slipped into my satin robe and stumbled to the door.
    It had to be Melisa. She visited me often
now. But never so late.
    I yanked the door open and green eyes stared
back at me. “Nick.” I swallowed hard.
    “Can I come in?”
    “Hmmm... Yes.” I stepped aside. My hand
grasped the door for support. I wasn’t prepared to see him yet.
    “How did you know where I lived?” I asked,
closing the door.
    “You gave me your address at the hotel. We
were supposed to have dinner at your place tomorrow night. Or have
you forgotten that?” Nick’s gaze swept the room. “Nice place.”
    “Thanks.” My apartment was airy and
comfortable. A big contrast to how I felt. “What are you doing
here?” I sat on the couch, hands tucked under my bottom so he
couldn’t see them shaking.
    “I missed you. We spent a great night
together, and then you don’t call for a week and don’t answer my
calls? What’s going on? Have I upset you in some way?”
    I shook my head and blinked back tears.
    Nick came to sit next to me, and drew me
close. “Then what is it? Why do you look so upset?”
    “It’s nothing...” I’d planned to tell him
the truth, but now the knot in my stomach rose up and choked
me.
    He shot to his feet and paced the room. “I
don’t get this. There’s obviously something wrong. Why won’t you
talk to me?”
    “I can’t.”
    Nick ran both hands through his hair and sat
back down. “You can tell me anything, anything at all. Whatever’s
bothering you, we can work through it together. I promise you
that.”
    “No, we can’t... Nick, I—”
    “Look,” he said seriously. “It was not a
coincidence that we met that day at the chapel. We were meant to
walk into each other’s lives. That’s why we bumped into each other
again at Stalford. I feel so much for you. I’d like to believe you
feel the same for me. When we were together, I really felt you
liked me as much as I like you.”
    “I do, I really do. But—”
    “Let’s not throw this away. One doesn’t come
across something like this often. Carlene, I want to be with you. I
know you’re still