“And I would say that all of us are better off the way things stand. I was angry initially when you insisted on divorce. Angry that it cost me the position I had earned at Templeton. But over the past few months I’ve come to see that it was inevitable. I enjoy the challenge of running my own hotel, and frankly, Candace is more the kind of woman who suits my needs and my nature.”

“Then I hope you’re happy. Really.” She shuddered out a breath. “Do you really want the girls at the wedding, Peter, or is it for form?”

“If they choose not to attend, it’s a simple matter to make the proper excuses.”

“All right. I’ll talk to them, leave it up to them.”

“I’ll expect to hear from you by the end of the week. If we’re done, I have an appointment shortly.” He glanced back across the street. With the air somewhat cleared between them, he chose to be magnanimous. “Your shop is very impressive, Laura. I hope it’s successful for you.”

“Thank you. Peter,” she said when he turned to leave her. People milled around them, but they didn’t matter. She remembered a magical night, with moonglow drifting through the gazebo and the scent of flowers and the promise of a dream. “Did you ever love me? I have to know. I also have my life to think about.”

He looked at her, standing with the sea at her back, the sun glinting off her hair, her skin pale and fragile. Until the words were out of his mouth he’d had no plans to tell her the truth.

“No. No, I didn’t love you. But I wanted you.”

A heart could break again, she realized as she nodded and turned back to the sea. It could break again, and again, and again.

The minute she walked back into the shop, Kate pounced. “Upstairs.”

“What?” Dizzy with fatigue and grief, Laura let herself be hauled up the winding steps.

“Upstairs and into bed.”

“But we’re open. The boudoir—”

“Is closed for the rest of the day.” In the boudoir, Kate pushed her onto the slippery satin quilt on the big bed and knelt to pry off her shoes. “You get in, turn it off. I don’t want you thinking about anything. Anything. Especially whatever that creep said to upset you.”

Odd, Laura mused, her vision was all gray at the edges, like a screen narrowing. “He never loved them, Kate. He told me. He never loved my babies. He never loved me.”

“Don’t think about it.” In sympathy, Kate’s eyes began to swim. “Don’t worry. Go to sleep.”

“I feel so sorry for him. So sorry for all of us. I’m so tired.”