The group smiled and nodded, then took a booth near the large window that overlooked the street. A lone customer also entered behind them, keeping his head tucked down as he proceeded to the far corner of the dining room. Even without getting a clear view of his face, Harmony knew exactly who’d just arrived at O’Brien’s—and that he wasn’t here for breakfast.

This ends now, she told herself, striding forward with far more confidence than she felt. Hopefully no one else would be able to see the way her breaths came out as short, desperate puffs or that her chest had tightened so severely it felt as if her heart would burst.

“I heard you were looking for me,” she told Alan with a biting stare as she slapped down a menu in front of him. “What do you want?”

He kept his eyes glued to the table and muttered, “The same thing I’ve always wanted—us.”

This man right here was the one she’d once loved, although that now felt like a lifetime ago. How could she have been so blind? Was she really so desperate for someone to belong to that she was willing to settle for someone who had never been right for her—and who clearly also wasn’t quite right in the head, either?

“You and I? We’re no longer an us,” she told him in a low growl, feeling the fear ebb out of her the longer and more insistently she confronted him. Emboldened enough to go forward, she preferred not to draw the attention of the other diners or to worry Jolene and Nolan if she could handle the situation herself.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said, finally looking up at her with the pleading blue eyes she had once found so alluring. Now they seemed icy and threatening rather than beautiful. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

She crossed her arms to form a shield over her heart and show him she wouldn’t be backing down. Not this time. “Yeah, well, it did happen, and it’s not just something I can forget about.”

“But you can forgive me. Please, it’s all I ever wanted—for us to be together.” Despite the emotion in his words, Alan didn’t cry, didn’t even frown. He merely voiced his thoughts plainly all while keeping a watch for her reaction. In a way, this version of Alan was even more intimidating than the loud, violent beast she knew he could become when pushed hard enough. But this wasn’t about what he claimed to want, it was about Harmony and what she needed—and that was to be free of him once and for all.

“No, Alan,” she said, casting a pity frown his way. “My life is here now.”

“This isn’t a life, Harmony,” he hissed as he spread his palms out flat on the table before him then took a deep, measured breath. “It’s just a vacation. Your real life is back with me in Mobile. We can still be happy. Give us another chance.”