Her heart paused and then she was swept back in time: She was in a bridal veil with Swarovski crystals sewn by hand into swirling patterns. She was holding a bottle of champagne. She was sick and dizzy, and she couldn’t move one step toward or away from him. How had she thought she was now okay?

A hand grabbed her arm, pulling her backward. “Lena!” It was Shane.

An electric shock ran from her brother’s hand to her heart and jumped it back to life. She shook her shoulders to free herself from her brother and took long, purposeful steps toward Walter until she stood in front of him.

“Hello, Walter.” She would be the strong one. She would not show weakness. She would hold her head high. He would never, ever know how much he’d hurt her. And even more, he would regret his rejection of her.

“Hi, Lena. Lordy, you look exactly the same. You’re so beautiful.” He smiled, so charming.

“You’re despicable,” she said, low and quiet, her hands stiff at her sides.

For all the practiced speeches, for all the times she’d imagined this moment, for all the eloquent words she’d manufactured in her journal and in her mind, those were the two words that fell from her mouth.

Walter burst into laughter and spread his arms wide. “There’s my girl.”

“Your girl?” Colleen’s voice shook.

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t think I do.”

“I mean you haven’t changed. Full of fire and spit.” He reached forward for a hug.

Colleen, so stunned she couldn’t react, allowed him to put his arms around her. He squeezed tightly and she froze until he released her and stepped back. “I’m hoping we can all be a family now, Lena. I hate that it’s your dad’s illness that brought you back, but let’s all try.”

“Try to be a family?” She repeated his words as though he’d been speaking in another language, and she was translating.

“Well, we are, aren’t we?” He winked at her.

He winked!

Nausea rose so quickly that her body finally took action and she ran for the back room, through the swinging doors and out to the alleyway.

In the pub parking lot, taking gulps of fresh air, Colleen’s body-memory flew back in time. She sensed Walter’s mouth on her, his words and his promises as fresh as though he were saying them now. She bent over and placed her hands on her knees, drew in a deep breath.