She shook her head. “I was planning to stay with Rafael.” She broke off as tears brimmed in her eyes.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll take you to my place. It’s not far. I have a spare bedroom.”

“I want to go back to the airport,” she said. “There’s no point in staying here.”

He hesitated and then cupped her elbow to lead her out of the building. “All right. I’ll take you back to the airport. But I’m not leaving you until you get on a plane. You probably haven’t even eaten anything, have you?”

She looked at him, utterly confused by how nice he was being to her.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

He stared at her for a long moment, brief pain flickering in his own eyes. “Because I know what it’s like to have the rug completely pulled out from under you. I know what it’s like to find out something about someone you cared about. I know what it’s like to be lied to.”

Her shoulders sagged and she wiped a shaking hand through her hair. “I’m just going to cry all over you.”

His smile was brief but he turned her and motioned to a distant car. “You can cry all you want to. From what I heard, you’re entitled.”

* * *

“You can go now,” Bryony said in a low voice, as Ryan hoisted her only bag onto the scale at the airline check-in desk.

“You’ve got a little time. Let’s go get something to eat. You’re pale and you’re shaking still.”

“I don’t think I can.” She placed her hand on her stomach and tried to will the queasiness away.

“Then a drink. Some juice. I’ll make sure you get back to security in enough time to catch your flight.”

She sighed her acceptance. It was much easier to just cede to Ryan’s determination, though for the life of her she couldn’t figure it out. In a few moments he had her seated at a little round table outside a tiny bistro, a tall glass of orange juice in front of her.

Her eyes watered as she stared sightlessly at it. Her fingers trembled as she touched the cool surface.

“Ah, hell, you aren’t going to cry again, are you?”

She sucked in steadying breaths. “I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind. You don’t deserve to have me fall apart all over you.”

“It’s okay. I understand how you feel.”

“Oh?” she asked in a shaky voice. “You said you knew what it felt like. Who screwed you over?”

“The woman I was supposed to marry.”

She winced. “Ouch. Yeah, it sucks, doesn’t it? At least Rafael never promised to marry me. He certainly hinted about it but he never went that far in his deception. So what happened?”