“Worse. He stole from me.” At Jake’s questioning look, she continued. “We lived together and had a joint checking account. Because of my demanding work schedule I was more than happy to let him take over the personal affairs. That’s why it was a couple months before I knew what was happening, that he was regularly withdrawing money from my savings.”

“But you just said joint checking account.”

“I’d set this account up years before and when adding his name had never thought twice about the accounts being linked. It was a stupid and expensive oversight. But I was the only one who overlooked it. Kevin saw it, and took full advantage.”

Jake placed a hand on Dominique’s shoulder. “I’m sorry he did that to you.”

“Yes, well, so am I.” Dominique could have moaned aloud, so good was the light massage from these sure, strong fingers.

“Every man isn’t like that, Dominique.”

“I know, but that’s only part of it.”

“And Justin is the other part?”

“Yes.”

Their entrees arrived, and for awhile the two ate in silence. “What about you?” Dominique asked, after she’d enjoyed a forkful of fettucini. “Why aren’t you married or in a relationship?”

Jake finished his bite of grilled salmon and took a swig from his refreshed brew before answering. “I was married,” he said, sitting back and seeing his past instead of the dark maple walls surrounding them. “My wife died. Over four years ago.”

“I’m so sorry.” When Jake remained silent, Dominique probed. “Was it an accident? If you’d rather not talk about it...”

“The first year after she died, it was about all I talked about.” His voice was steeped in reflection. “She was only thirty-two years old. It seemed so unfair.”

“What happened?” Dominique’s voice was soft, nurturing, as she unconsciously placed a hand on his leg.

“Brain aneurysm from out of the blue. She woke up one morning complaining of a headache. At the time, I was head coach at a high school not far from our home near Oakland. I wanted to stay home with her, but she insisted that it was nothing, that she’d take a couple aspirin and call me as soon as she felt better. I never got the call.”

“That had to feel terrible.”

“It did. Of course, I blamed myself—”

“But surely you know that it wasn’t your fault.”

Jake shook his head. “That didn’t matter. I still felt that had I been there she may have had a chance. As it were, her best friend found her. They’d planned a lunch date and Robin didn’t show up. She called an ambulance right away and they worked on her forever but... it was too late.”