Now, as he lay staring toward the shadowed fireplace in the darkened room, he realized all her plans had blown up in her face. He wondered what she would’ve thought if he told her that first day that she’d marry him three years later. She probably would’ve laughed in his face.

And yet here they were, on their honeymoon.

Yeah, I’m on the couch. She made it real clear she wants nothing to do with me.

And he’d made it just as clear he wasn’t interested. Too clear, maybe. He hadn’t exactly been the picture of loving-kindness.

He heard a sound coming from the general direction of the bed and lifted his head. A sniff, muffled by a pillow or the bedspread. A quiet hiccup, then another sniffle.

With a sigh, he lay his head back down and closed his eyes. He was a dog. Why had he snapped at her like that? She was grieving. She hadn’t had time to recover from the shock of being dumped before she’d found herself married to another man for the next twelve months.

His hands fisted, clenching the pillow until his fingers ached. He wished he could put his arms around her and tell her it was going to be okay.

He wished it was him she loved so much.

Kate felt another sob rising and muffled it with the pillow. Two years with Bryan. Two years spent getting to know him, investing in the relationship, coming to love him. How could he leave her so suddenly, so cruelly? The betrayal was almost too much to bear.

Had his lack of commitment been present all along? Is that why he’d never come to the island, except once, early on in their relationship? She’d made the trip to Boston out of respect for his job. Her hours were more flexible than his, and they were able to spend more time together when she traveled to see him. If it had been up to him, maybe he wouldn’t have made the long trips.

Their weekends together had been special to her. They holed themselves up in his apartment, talking and just being together. Bryan turned down invitations to events and get-togethers so they could have time to reconnect. He’d seemed committed.

She was so confused. Why is this happening, God ? Kate reached out into the vacant space of the bed where Bryan was supposed to be, her fingers sliding across the cool, empty sheets. Her heart felt as empty.

She pulled the other pillow into her stomach and remembered all the grieving women she’d counseled. Women who’d poured their life into a relationship only to have it jerked from under them at a moment’s notice. She hadn’t known it felt like this. Seeing others endure it and suffering through it yourself were two different things.