chapter Nineteen
The woman’s lips curved. “That may have been a slight fib.” She sent an apologetic glance to a panicky Lily. “Sorry, sweetie.”
“She said you’d asked her to meet you here,” Lily said, the colour fading from her face. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Honey said, although it wasn’t. But she couldn’t blame Lily—the woman was clearly skilled at manipulating people to do what she wanted. “Do me a favour, Lily? Give Koru a ring, eh? Let him know I got home okay?” She caught Lily’s gaze. Her sister gave a slight nod and scurried from the room.
The woman ran her gaze down Honey thoughtfully. “So you’re the one Dex is marrying?”
“Yes,” Honey said, not missing the jealousy that lit the woman’s eyes at her answer. Her first thought, crazily, was that she hoped the other woman couldn’t tell she’d been crying. Crying was a sign of weakness, and after all the hassle in the courtroom, the last thing Honey felt in the mood to show at that moment was vulnerability.
Refusing to wipe under her eyes, she forced herself not to take an automatic step back and stood her ground. “I think you should leave,” she said.
Cathryn made no sign of getting up. “But I haven’t finished my tea,” she protested, sipping from the cup Lily must have made for her. “Please, come and sit down.”
Conscious that she could hardly grab the woman and haul her out, Honey remained where she was. Her heart pounded so hard she wouldn’t have been surprised if it had leapt out of her chest and boinged over to splat the woman in the face. She had to calm down or she’d end up passing out.
She walked over to the breakfast bar and placed her handbag there, then leaned against the bar, reminding herself how Dex had kissed her there and protested he loved her only the night before. “What do you want?”
Cathryn surveyed her, eerily calm. “I wanted to see what the competition was like.” Her gaze rested on Honey’s curves and she raised an eyebrow. “He certainly likes them plumper than he used to. Still, tastes change, I guess.”
Refusing to rise to the insult and fighting an urge to cover her stomach with her hands, Honey just raised an eyebrow. “Competition? That implies a contest, that there’s a rivalry between us. That we’re both competing for the affections of the same man. I hardly think that’s the case, do you? Didn’t he leave you at the altar? Or am I mistaken?”
Cathryn’s lips curved with a smug, triumphant smile. “Oh…he hasn’t told you.” Honey refused to ask the question, but Cathryn answered her as if she had spoken. “We went for coffee on Monday.”
Even though her heart seemed to stutter to a halt, Honey just waved a hand. “Goodness. Dex went out for coffee with someone. What a shock. Call the tabloids.”
“A coffee that he clearly didn’t want to tell you about.”
“I don’t expect him to account for every minute of his day.” But Honey’s throat tightened. He hadn’t told her he’d seen Cathryn. Why hadn’t he told her?
“Well, and also having coffee with your ex-girlfriend isn’t the best thing to tell your fiancée.” Cathryn’s eyes glinted. “Especially when it ended with a kiss.”
Honey held her breath.
It wasn’t true. The woman was a born liar and had tried to manipulate Dex into marrying her by saying she was pregnant. She could hardly be trusted. She was a scheming bitch who’d turned up to ruin Dex’s wedding because he’d hurt her and left her.
And yet…Monday. Honey’s brain worked furiously. It made sense.
That was why he’d been weird, and why he hadn’t reacted to her at first last night—why she’d been so certain he was going to call off the wedding. She’d been right. He had been having second thoughts.
So…why had he not finished it then? If it was true and he had—for whatever reason—kissed Cathryn, if he’d suddenly realised it was Cathryn he really loved and he’d decided he couldn’t get married, why had he not said so? She’d given him the opportunity, but in spite of his reticence, he hadn’t looked cold. Only sad. And scared.
He might have seen Cathryn, might even have kissed her, but he loved Honey. That had been obvious the night before. That hadn’t changed. He obviously hadn’t slept with the woman because she would definitely have thrown that in Honey’s face. It must have been a brief kiss, a fleeting weakness. Was she going to throw away her future because of a moment’s stupidity on his part?
Starting to grow dizzy and realising she was still holding her breath, she let it out slowly. For a moment she felt as if she were teetering on the edge of a precipice. One inch further and she would topple to her doom, one inch back and she would be safe. Which way would she fall?
Turning, taking her time, she walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Then she walked slowly back to lean against the bar. She sipped the water, keeping her gaze fixed on an interested Cathryn. Then she placed the glass on the counter.
“So?” she said.
Cathryn blinked and gave an incredulous laugh. “Jeez, you’re a cold one. You heard what I said, right? He kissed me. And I don’t just mean a peck on the cheek. He thrust his tongue so far in my mouth he could have tasted my tonsils.”
Trying extremely hard not to vomit at the thought of Dex’s mouth kissing those scarlet lips, Honey refused to react. “Yes, I heard you. And now you’ve announced your little revelation, I think you should go.”
Cathryn stood and placed the cup in its saucer with a rattle. “You’re f*cking crazy. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t get jealous at the thought of her fiancée kissing someone else?”
“That’s between me and Dex,” Honey said, wondering where Lily was. Had she been able to contact Koru? Where the hell was her brother when she needed him?
Cathryn walked around the sofa to stand a few feet in front of her. “I don’t get it. What the hell does he see in you? You’re cold as a fish. How does he cope with that? You really think you’re going to be able to keep him interested?” She looked genuinely puzzled.
“Oh don’t worry about us,” Honey said with more confidence than she felt. “We’ll be fine.”
“Perhaps you have an open relationship?” Cathryn looked intrigued. “Maybe you expect him to go off with other women? Would it really not bother you?”
The thought made her want to punch Cathryn’s teeth down her throat, but Honey clenched her fists and fought for control. “My life is of no concern to you.”
Cathryn moistened her red lips. “He told me you hadn’t slept together yet.”
For the first time, anger rather than panic and hurt rose to the fore at the thought that Dex had discussed their private life with his ex-girlfriend. “What of it?”
“You’re not…oh my God, you’re not a virgin, are you?” She looked highly amused.
At least Dex hadn’t told her about Ian and her past, thought Honey, but it was scant consolation. At that moment, she hated him for sharing something so personal, especially with the woman who’d once been a part of his life. How could he have done that? Obviously, he’d thought to keep it a secret from her. Maybe he just didn’t want to hurt her, but that didn’t make it better.
She didn’t know what it meant for their future. She would have to sit down and think about it all, and then she’d have to talk to him. But that was a problem for later. For now, she wanted this woman out of her house, and fast. “That’s absolutely none of your business. Please leave.”
Cathryn ignored her. “Holy heck, you have absolutely no idea what you’re letting yourself in for, do you?”
What the hell did that mean? “Please leave now, before I call the police.” She didn’t miss the irony that it might be Dex who received the call.
Cathryn grinned. “Perhaps I should give you a few ideas, you know, girl to girl?”
Honey started walking to the door, but Cathryn put her arm across to the wall, halting her exit.
“Would you like a list of everything we did in the bedroom?” she said huskily. “Every dirty little thing we got up to, so you know what to expect?”
Honey was shaking now. “Get out of my way.”
“I never knew before I met Dex just how many different positions a couple could have sex in, and how many times in one night a man could manage it!”
Galled at the thought of the two of them swinging from the chandeliers and screwing like bunnies, and incensed that a small part of her wanted to ask what Cathryn had meant by the comment You have absolutely no idea what you’re letting yourself in for, do you? Honey pushed the woman’s arm. “Get out!”
“I had no idea how many types of sex toys there were either. Or where he could put them. He’s very inventive.”
Honey finally shoved the woman’s arm aside and walked out to the front door. She wrenched it open and stood back. “Get out.”
Cathryn stopped before her. “He likes oral.” She licked her red lips. “Want me to tell you what he tastes like?”
“Get out!” Honey yelled.
“Got any lube?” Cathryn’s eyes looked feverish, taunting. “If not, you’d better get some because you’re going to need it. He likes to f*ck a girl hard every which way, including—”
Her words ended with a crack as Honey slapped her across the face. Cathryn stumbled, but before she could draw breath, Honey pushed her out and shut the door behind her.
Cathryn pounded on the door. “Open it, bitch!”
Honey backed away, shaking and breaking out in a cold sweat. Where the hell was Lily?
Cathryn stopped, obviously realising Honey wasn’t going to open the door. “He’s already left one woman at the altar,” she yelled, her voice muffled through the wood. “Aren’t you worried he’s going to do it again?”
The sound of smashing glass filled the air—her windscreen probably, Honey thought wildly. A car started and reversed up the drive. She could still hear the engine roaring as it sped off toward the state highway.
She ran to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet before she vomited. Again and again she retched, throwing up the contents of her stomach until only bile remained.
Finally, she sank onto the floor. Tears poured down her cheeks. Conscious of the fact that she was losing it—that she was dissolving like a painting caught in the rain—she sank her hands into her hair and said over and over again, “It’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of the world.”
But it felt like it. And she knew nothing would be the same again.