Chapter 2

Jonah's POV

"I thought you were still upset and wouldn't show up. Don't blame my family. They were just looking out for me and things got blown out of proportion.

"But hey, this works out perfectly. Let me introduce you to everyone, and once it's all out in the open, there won't be any more misunderstandings."

Luke threw an arm around my shoulders like it was the most natural thing in the world and walked me over to the group with a grin.

"Everyone, look who's here!"

Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto me at once. The smiles on Lydia, Bryce, and Leah's faces froze the second they saw me.

"This is my buddy, Bryce Hollander. He works in the cardiology department at your hospital. You two must've crossed paths, right?"

Bryce's eyes darted around before he managed a stiff reply. "Dr. Stratton, nice to meet you."

His tone was polite and distant, as though we were meeting for the very first time. Luke didn't notice anything off and pulled me over to Leah next.

"And this is my college best friend, Leah Stratton. She's the idiot lawyer who filed that complaint against you, but don't worry, I already chewed her out. Please don't hold it against her."

Leah looked torn, her gaze drifting away. "Jonah…"

Her voice was too quiet, swallowed by the noise around us, and Luke didn't catch it. He brought me to Lydia last, slipping an arm around her waist.

"And this is my wife—"

I smiled and cut him off. "Lydia Winslow. She owns this restaurant."

Luke blinked, looking between Lydia and me. "How do you know that? Have you two already met?"

I let out a short laugh and held Lydia's gaze, ignoring the warning that flashed through her eyes.

"Because she's my fiancee. We've been together for seven years, and we were just planning our wedding. She even bought me this restaurant. Did she never mention any of that to you?"

Years ago, I'd made an offhand comment about how nice it would be to sit and watch the ocean every day. The next day, I got this place as my 26th birthday present.

It wasn't until six months ago, when Lydia told me her company was strapped for cash, that I agreed to sell it to help her out. Now it was obvious that was just another lie.

"Dr. Stratton, what are you talking about?" Luke's eyes turned red. "We got our marriage license a year ago. How can she possibly be your fiancee? What the hell is going on?"

Lydia panicked instantly. "Luke, let me explain."

Everything inside me went still. I was the one who'd been betrayed and lied to, and yet she was only scrambling to explain herself to him.

I laughed, harsh and reckless, and started laying everything bare.

"She has a surgical scar on her lower back from four years ago, when she threw herself in front of me during an incident at the hospital. And that pendant she's wearing? I had it blessed for her at a chapel up in the mountains. So, yeah, you're the other man, the one she's been keeping on the side behind my back."

"Jonah Stratton, that's enough!"

All three of them shouted me down in unison while Luke's eyes burned red. Lydia's gaze went ice-cold, and both Bryce and Leah glared at me like I was the villain.

"Am I wrong, though? Lydia, Bryce, Leah, you did this, but none of you have the guts to own up to it?"

Lydia pulled the stunned Luke into her arms and spoke in a low, hard voice. "Jonah, Luke doesn't know anything about this. Whatever you want to say, say it to me. Don't take it out on him."

Bryce stepped forward, his tone cutting. "Jonah, Lydia stopped loving you a long time ago. What she and Luke have is the real thing."

Leah didn't hesitate either. "Jonah, now that you know, just let them be. Lydia risked her life to have Luke's baby. No matter what kind of scene you make today, you're not going to tear their family apart."

The words kept coming, one after another, until my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"So that gives you all the right to team up and destroy my career? To have someone break my hand?"

I stared Luke down, then looked at each of them in turn.

"He's the one she's been cheating with, and you've all been covering for her. Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong."

Before I even finished, a glass of ice water came crashing down over my head. It soaked through my hair and chilled me straight to the bone.

"Get a grip, Jonah! The one who got left behind here is you, not Luke!"