Free Fool for Love by Marie Force Page A

my
daddy."
    "You got it," he said gruffly.
"I'll see you soon."
    Ending the call, she turned back to
Maddie. "I need to see David. Can you take me to the clinic?"
    "Of course."
    Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the
entrance to the Emergency Room. Janey reached for the handle to open the car
door but was hit with a sudden bout of paralysis. Waiting inside was the man
she'd loved all her life, the same man who had betrayed her and didn't have a
clue that she knew what he'd been up to while continuing to profess his undying
love for her.
    "Janey? Are you all right?"
    "I don't know if I can do this. How
do I go in there and play the role of the concerned fiancée when I know what he's done?"
    "Just take it a step at a time. Deal
with the injury and what happened with Joe this morning. Later, when you're
alone, you can talk to him about the rest."
    Janey rested a hand on her aching belly.
"I don't want to be alone with him. The thought of it makes me sick."
    "Then you don't have to be. Mac and I
meant it when we told you we'll do anything we can to get you through this in
one piece."
    Janey continued to stare at the entrance
to the ER. "It's funny, you know? A week ago, if I'd heard he was hurt, I
would've dropped everything and gone running."
    Maddie rested a hand on Janey's, infusing
it with much-needed warmth. "That was before you discovered he'd been
unfaithful to you. You don't owe him anything. If you'd rather not go in there,
you certainly don't have to."
    "If I don't, then the whole island
will be talking about why I didn't show. Joe has already given them enough
cause for speculation."
    "Are you angry with him? With
Joe?"
    "I'm shocked, to be honest. It's so
unlike him. I just keep wondering what David could've said to set him
off."
    "You'll find out soon enough."
    "Yeah, well… First things
first."
    "Want me to come in with you?"
    "Oh! Would you? That'd be
great."
    "Let's go."
    Inside, they asked for David and were
shown to a curtained cubicle at the end of a long hallway. Glancing at Maddie
for courage, Janey stuck her head inside and gasped at the sight of David
bruised and bloody and swollen. Damn! Joe had done quite a number on him!
    "Well, look who it is," David
said with a bitter edge to his voice. "My missing fiancée." His face
was so distorted he didn't even sound like himself. "Where the heck have
you been, Janey? I've been trying to call you for days!"
    As if she was meeting him for the first
time, she studied the thick dark hair she'd so loved running her fingers
through, the piercing blue eyes, the strong jaw and sensuous lips. David
Lawrence had always made her heart race, but looking at him now, she felt dead
inside. "I had … um … some stuff to take care of."
    "What kind of stuff? And what the
hell's wrong with Joe?"
    "Did you say something to him?"
    "I said hello. That was it. Next
thing I know, I'm on my ass with a broken nose that hurts like a mother."
Under each eye was the start of what would no doubt be colorful shiners—the
least of what he deserved. "What'd I ever do to him?"
    Since Janey couldn't very well answer that
question, she said nothing. He didn't seem to notice as he continued to rant.
    "You didn't tell me what 'things' you
had to take care of that kept you from calling me back for three days."
    He sounded sulky and petulant. Did she
dare remind him of the many times over their years together that she'd waited
sometimes a week for a return call from him while he was doing who knows what
with other women? As she studied him, she decided it wasn't worth the bother of
the argument. What did it matter now?
    "We need to talk—"
    "Where's your ring?"
    Her brain froze on the image of the buxom
blonde riding him hard.
    "What the hell is going on here,
Janey?"
    "It's over," she said softly.
Thirteen years of her life. Gone. Done. Over. And she had absolutely nothing to
show for them.
    "What is?"
    "We are."
    "What are you—"
    "I saw you."
    His eyebrows knitted with confusion,