“Victor said he only wants what’s best for me and I don’t always know what that is. When I got angry, we argued and he promised to be more open to my needs, but my parents said he will never let me have my own thoughts.” Elissa pressed her hands against her flat belly. “We were supposed to get married next year. What’s more perfect than a spring wedding with the boy you’ve loved since you were fifteen? I’d picked out the gown and had my bridesmaids all lined up.” She sniffed. “Six of them. Victor didn’t like one of the women I chose, insisted I find another. How do you do that when the girl has been your friend since grade school?”

“This Victor sounds like a real piece of work.” Nate sighed, shifted from one foot to the other, a sign Christine recognized as ready to end the conversation. “So, did you dump the guy?”

She nodded, eyes shimmering with tears. “I did.”

Nate nodded. “Good move.”

Elissa shook her head. “No, it’s not. Victor wouldn’t take back the ring and refused to listen when I told him we were done. He started following me everywhere I went: to work, church, the grocery store, the movies.”

“That’s called stalking,” Nate said.

“Then the flowers and the gifts started—perfume, chocolate, jewelry. I told him to leave me alone but he said we’d been together so long, if I left him it would be like tearing out a piece of his heart.” She swiped at her cheeks. “I can’t marry a person just so he isn’t unhappy, can I?”

“Of course not,” Christine said. “That would be a big mistake, one you’d regret for the rest of your life.” She glanced at her husband, thought of how she’d almost married a man she didn’t love.

“I knew I had to leave when I came home from work one night and found Victor in my living room with two dozen roses and brochures for honeymoon getaways. He refused to leave until I put my engagement ring on. Victor said every couple has bumps along the way and we were made to be together.”

“So, what did you do?” Connor Pendleton had been unaware of the issues in their relationship, too. He’d seen what he wanted to, deleting the less attractive aspects that hinted at incompatibility.

“The second he left, I knew I had to escape. It was the only way to be free of him. That’s when I made a list of places I could go and it wasn’t until early that morning that I remembered Mrs. Blacksworth telling me about the cabin in the Catskills.” Pink spread from her neck to her face. “I’m sorry I trespassed on your property. I know it’s wrong, but I was desperate.”

“You’ve got bigger problems than a trespassing violation,” Nate said, his voice stern, his expression serious. “Guys who won’t take no for an answer are a real threat. You don’t know what they’ll do.”