“You know I’ve got a girl to see,” I said. “I’ve waited seventeen years. I can’t waste another minute.”
On the ride home, I felt more alive than I had in a long time. The pain in my shoulder burned at first but as I got used to it, it grew easier to bear. I thought about Rob, and what I’d learned from him. I hadn’t been kidding. He really did show me what a fool I’d been, refusing to step up and tell Lacey I wanted her to be my woman. There wasn’t a man alive who could love her the way I did. I knew it in my bones. It just wasn’t possible. If every woman is given one man by God to be their soulmate, then I was Lacey’s. Waiting another second to tell her that would be a crime.
I pulled into a gas station off the highway and used the payphone.
“Is this Lombardi?” I asked, when it answered.
“Yes. Who the fuck is this?”
“This is the guy who just robbed your San Francisco branch.”
Lombardi started laughing, a hoarse, throaty laugh. “You dumb fuck. I’m going to kill you for this.”
“Hold your horses,” I said. “I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”
“What the fuck?”
“Listen carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. The bad news is that I’m going to rip off every single one of your other branches, all across the country, when you least expect it.”
“Fuck you.”
“The good news is that you can stop me.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “How?” he said at last.
“You can forgive the debt of Rob Crawford. I owe the guy. If you forgive his debt, I’ll turn my attentions elsewhere.”
I hung up the phone. I didn’t know if the guy was going to accept the offer or not. To be honest, I didn’t really care. I’d done my part. I’d gained something from Rob Crawford. He was a douche, but he taught me a lesson I needed to learn. If the loan sharks wanted to cut him some slack because of it, so be it.
I rode on, toward Lacey.
Chapter 37
Lacey
CALL ME AN IDIOT, but I was all over the Internet looking at baby things. I know, I had a lot more important things to be doing than picking out a crib, but I couldn’t help myself. If you’ve ever been pregnant, you’ll understand. The baby was all I could think about. I should have been figuring out a way to break the news to Rob, or even to Grant who was the actual father, but instead, I was looking at picture after picture of every product you could possibly buy for a new baby. They also had maternity wear, vitamins and supplements to help the baby grow, even music you could play to your belly so that the baby was born with a head full of Mozart and Beethoven.
I was about to place an order for a couple of books for expectant mothers when my cell phone rang.
“This is Lacey,” I said, for some reason hoping it was Grant calling.
It wasn’t. It was Rob.
“Oh,” I said, “hi, honey. Did the jewelry store call you about the engagement ring yet?”
I’d been nervous ever since choosing it. I’d been in a funny mood at the time, and now I had no idea how he’d react when he got the news that I’d selected such an expensive diamond.
“That’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about, Lacey.”
“Is it the price? I can choose something cheaper. That was a pretty extravagant ring.”
“It’s not the price. It’s something else.”
“Well, what is it, Rob?” I said, starting to worry. “Has something happened?”
“No, nothing’s happened, it’s just … .”
“Just what?”
There was a long pause. “It’s just, I have to call off the wedding, Lacey.”
“What?” I said, as if he’d just slapped me in the face.
“I’m afraid so.”
“You’re afraid so? You only just asked me to marry you. I’ve told all my friends.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Why are you doing this?”
There was another pause, as if he was thinking of what to say. All the worst possible thoughts flashed through my mind. I’d been rejected before by men, but I would never get used to it. It hurt more than anything else. I knew what was coming next. He was going to say it was because I wasn’t beautiful enough. I didn’t measure up to the women at his work, like Cassie. I could picture her, her perfect body, her perfect breasts, her perfect face. That’s what he wanted. He was going to tell me he was already cheating on me with her, or someone just like her. He was going to break my heart, and then stamp all over the pieces, leaving them in tattered ruins so that I’d never be able to open my heart to another man again.
“It’s just too sudden,” he said.
“Too sudden?”
“I asked you to marry me so quickly, without thinking, because I was so attracted to you, Lacey.”
“I never even felt like you were that attracted to me. You’ve hardly touched me. We haven’t even, you know, had sex.”
“That’s because I was too intimidated by you.”
“Intimidated?”
“Yes, you’re the most beautiful girl I ever went out with. That’s why I proposed.”