Free Entangled Moments (Moments in Time) by Dori Lavelle Page A

secret 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