Free The Admirer's Secret by Pamela Crane Page A

person. And then he changed.
    As he stood inhaling the lakefront air, he forced himself to dredge back the ancient history. Even as young as he was he would have married her in a heartbeat had she stuck around. But the summer after their junior year of high school, Julie was shipped off to Florida to live with her father following her parents’ messy divorce. His strong emotions never left, even after she did. The day of her departure was what Marc considered the absolute worst day of his life. Allowing himself to venture further into that awful day—something he rarely permitted himself to do—he could still hear the loudspeaker announce her section to board the plane that would take her away. A four-hour flight away, or a thirty-plus-hour drive for a broke teenage boy.
    While Julie walked the ramp to ward another life, Marc remembered standing all alone with a dozen red roses that she couldn’t take with her since they didn’t fit in her purse or carryon. They kept in touch for several months by phone and letters, but when homecoming and prom came and went without Julie there to accompany him, Marc eventually felt it was best to move on.
    He assumed he moved on when he met his ex-fiancé, though he kept those dried red roses and his favorite picture of Julie in his dresser drawer for years.
    Marc wondered if he was truly in love with Julie or merely caught in teenage infatuation. True love wouldn’t fade, would it? But just like those paled, crisp roses, he decided to file her away in the back of his mind; he’d save those memories for a rainy day. Or a sunny day like this morning.
    Regret visited him this morning as he scraped the remaining oatmeal from around the edges and licked his spoon clean. He should have never let himself fall for another woman so quickly , on the rebound as he was. Julie was history—in his mind, though not his heart—a year after her move, and his interests transformed. And they did so before his heart was prepared. Much like he felt now. His heart hesitated to fall in love again, rejecting the vulnerability it would require. Hadn’t he learned anything from his past mistakes?
    Yes, his ex was one big ugly mistake.
    A disaster that still bared its teeth at him.
    It had been a crisp autumn afternoon, after the leaves had fallen to the ground, when a tall, sexy blonde approached him in Humanities 101 during his freshman year at college, and it was lust at first sight. Four years later, they were still an item, and the next step was expected: engagement. Together the inseparable duo planted roots in Buffalo, but Marc’s roots never quite took to the urban soil. Fast-paced life rushed him into a high-salaried position that sucked every free moment. His heart was set on spending time with his fiancé rather than wading knee deep in software development and traveling to meet potential clients. But his ex pushed him to advance, and so he did. Eventually meetings, deadlines, and projects became an obsession if he wanted to provide a decent life for his future family. Whatever “decent” meant. Until one day he woke up from his never-ending work nightmare. Thank God for that wake-up call.
    H omesickness beckoned him back to Westfield. Though he had adapted to his new on-the-run lifestyle, his heart wasn’t at peace. Something was missing. The big bucks couldn’t compare to the friendly faces, relaxed atmosphere, and simple pleasures of home. So he left the big city. And she stayed behind with Marc’s promise that he’d return for her soon. His plan was flawless. She’d continue working while he set up shop in Westfield and found a home for after their wedding. It never occurred to him that she was all too eager about his departure.
    With only six months to go before wedded bliss, he brought her out of her urban comfort zone into rural America to house shop. When she came up with excuse after excuse about what each house lacked, Marc read between the lines. Time apart confirmed his