Luke POVRunning out on my own wedding had been the best decision I'd ever made. Almost two years later, I still didn't regret that decision. "Up, up," a soft voice cooed to me. I pulled my eyes from the gorgeous Caribbean sky and bent down, scooping my beautiful daughter into my arms. Arianne had been a surprise, but a very welcome surprise. Cat had always been the embodiment of home and family for me. When she told me she was pregnant, that feeling had finally become completely real. We were going to be a real family, and now, we were. I balanced Arianne on my hip and blew a raspberry on her cheek. She giggled and squirmed in my arms. "No. No." she laughed, pushing at me. "Let's get home. I'm sure your mom is waiting for us," I said. I walked along the rocky embankment we'd been playing on and headed back home. Since the Caribbean project had taken up so much of our time, Cat and I decided to move down here. It allowed us to be closer to the project an
Cat POV"I've got to go," I cried, rushing to the hotel room door. "The ceremony is in the penthouse," Alistair called after me. "Top floor!""Thank you!" I shouted back, not stopping to look back or wave at him. There was a moment when I wondered if his slow movements earlier had been to wait until this moment when the ceremony was starting. It made for a more dramatic entrance. I didn't have time to think of it beyond that, though. At the elevator, I hammered the "up button" over and over again. "Come on, come on you stupid piece of sh*t," I groaned. The elevator never came. Groaning, I ran to the stairs. I had to run up almost ten flights, but I was determined to stop Luke from making the biggest mistake of his life. He couldn't marry Victoria until he knew the truth. Even if we didn't get back together…My pulse pounded in my head, and my calves ached as I ran up flight after flight of stairs. By the time I made it to the penthouse, my legs felt like j
Cat POV"Do you really think that I am the right person for Luke?" I asked slowly. "Why would you think you aren't?" Alistair countered. "I come from a different world. My family, my history, it is all different from his. We don't… mesh," I argued. Alistair snorted and shook his head. "There is no doubt in my mind, Catherine, that you are the one for Luke.""You can call me Cat," I muttered, looking down again. I thought about everything Alistair had said, how Luke had reacted when Victoria had tried to turn him against me, and how he'd taken off without telling his family. Devastated, I grabbed my chest and groaned, leaning forward against the table. Everything Alistair said made me realize I'd walked out on Luke when he needed me. I'd abandoned him after all he'd done for me. If he went ahead and married Victoria, it would be no more than I deserved after what I'd done. I knew there was a chance he would end up hating me. That was a price I'd been willing to
Cat POV"I… that… does it matter?" I asked, unable to say anything else. What did it matter how I felt, now?"When Luke and I spoke in France, he talked about you more than anything else," Alistair explained. "We had some good times together, but it wasn't meant to last," I said, shaking my head. "And why do you think that?" he asked back. "Luke and I are the closest members of the family. He tells me everything, and I know him very well.""He told me the two of you were very close as well," I agreed with a nod. Alistair sighed and sat at the head of the table like he was a CEO about to lead a very important conference. He lay his palms flat on the table. "Then believe me when I tell you that he was happier talking about you than anything else. Happier than I'd ever seen him," Alistair said, fixing me with a challenging look. It was like he was daring me to argue with him. "It doesn't matter, we aren't meant to be together," I said, shaking my head. "If that wer
Cat POVMy heart felt like it was cracking open, a fragile egg being smashed to pieces. I glanced at the article my coworker had shown me again, my chest aching and my stomach trembling. Victoria was right all along. As soon as I was out of the picture, he ran right back to her, and now they were getting married. It seemed like Luke had never loved me at all. Sighing, I folded the pages over so I didn't have to look at the article anymore. With one final heave, I got up and went back to the sink. Quickly, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I touched up my makeup again and double-checked my clothes. As much as I wanted, I couldn't hide in the bathroom all day. My coworkers didn't know anything about my past, and I didn't want to have them ask me all kinds of questions. Not to mention, I had to make a good impression on them if I was going to be working there long-term as I wanted. With one final look in the mirror, I nodded to myself. If I could just make it thro
Cat POVBefore Luke returned, I went to his place and cleaned out my things. Then I went home to live with my mom. It didn't take me long to get a job at a small, local firm. They designed office spaces. It wasn't the most interesting job, and I certainly wasn't flying all over the world for it, but it paid me enough to take care of things around my mom's house and lessen the financial burden on her. It had been almost a month and a half since I'd been home. She was mostly happy to have me there, but she did like to hit me with condescending remarks now and then. It was tense most of the time. At least the dude she was seeing seemed to have backed off for good ever since I returned. "Honey, you look pale," my mom said when I came down for breakfast. "I'm fine. Just a little tired," I said. I waved her off and went to the coffeepot. My mom only kept decaf in the house. It was horrible, but at least it made me feel like I was getting a morning jolt of coffee. "Are