New Beginnings by Cheryl Douglas Page B

be.
    I’m so much less than you deserve.
    But if you still believe in us, baby, please tell me.
     
    She got up abruptly, crossing the room to stare out the window.
    He watched her, her head bowed, shoulders trembling. She was crying. He cursed himself for being so insensitive, so cruel. He had no right to dredge this up again, no right to ask for her forgiveness. Hell, he had no right to interfere in her life at all.
    He got up and walked toward her slowly, giving her time to warn him off, but she said nothing, just continued to cry quietly, almost soundlessly.
    He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have asked you to do this.”
    She buried her face in his shirt, her tears dampening the fabric. “It’s not your fault, Trey. I thought I was ready.” She sobbed through the words. “Now, I don’t think I am. I’m sorry.”
    His heart raced, keeping time with his mind. If she walked out the door now, she would never come back. Any chance he might have had to get her back, to get his life back, would be gone for good. “Listen. Let’s start with something light, something fun. How ‘bout that?”
    She shook her head, fisting his shirt in her hands. “You don’t understand. I made a commitment to another man, yet...” Her voice trailed off.
    Just when he thought hope was lost, it resurfaced. “What is it, sweetheart?”
    “I’m not over you,” she whispered. “I thought I was. I pretended I was, but I’m not.”
    He wanted to pump his fist in the air and bellow a victory cry, but he had to remain calm or risk scaring her away. “That’s exactly why you need to stay, baby. We need to sort this out. If you walk away now, you’ll always wonder what might have been.”
    She looked up at him. Tears were streaking her face and smearing her make-up, but she had never looked more beautiful to him. “I don’t know if I could ever trust you again, Trey. We can’t build a relationship if we don’t trust each other.”
    He held her hands between his. “Let me earn your trust. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just give me a chance.”
    “How can I do that? I’m marrying another man, remember?”
    He ground his teeth in frustration. He wanted to tell her to forget about him, to focus on them, but he couldn’t risk alienating her. “Sierra, don’t you want to have a family?”
    She looked out the window at the thoroughbred horses she used to love riding. “I haven’t thought about that in a long time.”
    “You wanted to be a mother more than anything.” He tipped her chin, forcing her to look at him.
    “I can’t believe you just gave up on that dream.”
    Her eyes hardened. “I had to give up on a lot of dreams when we divorced. I have new dreams now.”
    “But you still want to be a mama. That will never change. Hell, you talked about having a baby on our first date.” He laughed at the memory. “You scared the hell out of me.”
    “You may think you know me.” She stepped out of his arms. “But I’m not the same stupid, naïve girl you divorced five years ago.”
    He frowned, confused by her sudden hostility. “I never thought you were stupid or naïve, Sierra.”
    She sneered. “Your divorce lawyers certainly thought so.”
    He shook his head to clear it. He felt like he had just stepped off a runaway train. “My divorce lawyers? Okay, what are you talkin’ about?”
    She stalked away from him, snatching her songbook from the piano. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what they put me through.”
    “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, sweetheart.”
    She turned around and glared at him. “They made sure I walked away with nothing. Are you telling me they weren’t acting on your orders?”
    “What? No! Are you kidding me?” His mind was spinning. He was trying to recall meetings with his divorce lawyers, but he was panic-stricken when he was sober and hostile when he was drunk, so he told his lawyers to deal with it. He told