Free Remember Love by Jessica Nelson Page B

apologize
enough. If you’ll follow me, I’ll get that box for you." She hated how
formal she sounded, how far time and guilt took them from what they once had.
    Alec held up a
hand to stop her. "The other little thing I’m here for is business."
    Katrina slowly
sat back down in her seat, pulse tripping unevenly. Was this where he’d
pressure her into selling? She’d read in the papers years ago about his
corporate piracy, the way he pushed a small construction firm into selling. All
legal, of course.
    Please, Lord, not
that. She needed Kat’s Korner. She felt as fragile as the china cups in her
cupboards and hoped Alec didn’t notice.
    "I had a
plan, a very good plan. But things have changed now."
    "Rachel
thinks you want revenge." She worked hard to keep her voice steady.
    "Revenge?"
His mouth twisted. "You think I would wait ten years for some silly plan
of revenge, just because you started weeping at our wedding? Left me at the
altar? No, I understand why you ran." A mirthless laugh escaped his lips. "Marrying
an unemployed eighteen-year old from the wrong side of the tracks would scare
anybody, especially a girl with dreams as big as yours."
    Katrina exhaled
softly. He didn’t sound angry or vengeful about their failed wedding. Perhaps
God would not allow her to reap all that she’d sown, for surely bitterness and
sorrow had been planted in her rejection of his love. In her withholding of his
child.
    But his words
bothered her. They stirred up worry from deep inside. Did he really think his
financial status was why she’d rushed from the altar? She watched him fiddle
with the tablecloth and frowned.
    He looked up,
questions in his dark eyes. "What happened to you, Katrina? Why are you
still here? Discovering you own Kat’s Korner shocked me."
    "Dreams
change," she murmured. And found she didn’t regret it.
    "You wanted
to see Paris. Rome. Have you even left the state?"
    "My
priorities are different." She took a deep breath. "Look, I don’t
know why it even matters to you. What are these business plans of yours?"
    "I thought
your mom owned the store and out of curiosity, I went in to check things out."
    "Just
because you were curious?"
    His eyebrows
pulled together. "I wanted to see you. Make sure you were okay. Married."
He stopped abruptly.
    Prompted by a gut
feeling, she leveled a steady stare his way. "And?"
    "If you were
alone..." He paused, and his gaze seemed to become more intense, narrowing
until she felt the breath in her body still, waiting for him to speak. "I planned
to steal your heart and marry you."
    She exhaled
sharply.
    "You’ve got
to be kidding me." She faltered, yet some part of her believed it of him.
He’d always been singular in his pursuits. Persistent. "It’s been ten
years."
    "I was
completely serious at the time." His eyes rested on her and a ripple of
uneasiness shivered through her. The harsh line of his jaw told her clearly his
plans had recently changed.
    Blinking, she reined
back the urge to fall on her knees and weep her remorse. Instead, she focused
on what had anchored her throughout the storms. "As you’ve already
guessed, Kat’s Korner is not doing so well. It wouldn’t be in your best
interest to become involved like you intimated at the reunion." She rose
and walked to the sink, feeling his gaze on her back. Her knees wobbled when
she turned to face him. "The box is in the garage. I’ll carry it to your
car."
    Alec stood. "I’ll
get it. You don’t look like you can lift much over twenty pounds."
    "I’m
stronger than I appear."
    He grunted his
disbelief but she ignored it, battling instead the goose bumps that rose on her
arms. The chill residing in the pit of her stomach.
    They walked into
the garage and she retrieved the neatly boxed carton of home movies, letters,
and pictures. As always, the heavy feel of the box tightened her chest, the
dusty surface bringing tears to prick at her eyelids.
    "I’ve got
it." Alec reached for the box.
    In the quiet dark
of