Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth (web ebook reader .TXT) 📕

he could never forgive me and I wouldn’t ask him to. I told him he could have the house and everything in it, that none of it mattered to me, and I walked out the door and moved into the Beverly Wilshire.”

Riley sat beside her. “What did he do?”

“He begged me to come home.” Laine’s voice couldn’t hide its emotion anymore, nor her tears. They began to fall freely, landing on her trousers. “Told me he could forgive me if I knew this would never happen again. Assured me he loved me and didn’t know how this had happened. But that we could get counseling and work through everything and that he’d go with me anywhere to get whatever help I needed.”

“And you said . . . ?”

“I told him not to call me anymore.”

Riley stood back up. “You told him what?”

“I told him that he could never really love me again. Never really trust me again.”

“You told him what?”

“Excuse me. I think you just asked me that.”

“Laine Fulton, this has nothing to do with Mitchell. What you mean is you can’t love you again. And you can’t trust you again. That’s what you’re really saying.”

Laine stood quickly and swiped at her tears. “No, that’s not what I’m really saying.”

Riley stood there unmoving.

Laine broke. “That’s exactly what I’m really saying.” The tears flowed again. “I told him when I got here never to call me again, that it was over. I’m such an idiot. I love him with all my heart. And I realized today that I hadn’t forgiven myself. I hadn’t let go of blaming myself and hating myself for what I did. He forgave me a long time ago. But today, with what you said to me, Riley—it just struck me in my deep place, and something Mitchell said to me a long time ago came back to me, and today, finally, I was able to let go of my own shame.”

Riley walked over and put an arm around Laine. Laine let her head drop onto Riley’s shoulder. “I don’t have a lot of friends, Riley.”

“I’m not surprised.”

Laine laughed softly. “I only needed Mitchell. He was my world; that’s why the affair was so devastating to me. I didn’t know how I could let that happen. But today I realized it. I was so broken inside, Riley. So self-sufficient, so self-absorbed. And when you live your life that way, you open yourself up to anything. And I did. It was my own selfishness that led me into an affair. It was my own distorted sense of importance that allowed my heart to believe the lie that for one brief moment the only person in the world that mattered was me. I broke the heart of the man I love because I believed life was about me.”

“You’ve got to call him, Laine. If you love him, you’ve got to call him.”

“I know. I know, really. And I’m going to. I settled that in my heart this morning. I mean, something happened this morning that I don’t even know what to do with. It was beautiful and powerful and different from anything that has ever happened to me. And . . .” She pulled away from Riley and looked her in the face. “I’m really sorry if I hurt you. I was mean and ugly and all those things. And I’m really sorry.” She was all but blubbering again.

“I’m not really sure what to do with you in this state. You’re not a pretty crier.”

Laine lightly punched her and laughed through her tears. “You need to listen to me. I’m telling you, seriously, you need to watch this Mia girl. It’s just something I feel in my toes. And you need to go out with this Christian guy. I mean it. Go have breakfast with him. I don’t need you.”

“Excuse me.”

“Well, I mean, I don’t like to eat alone, but I’ve got Winnie and Tamyra. Until I can hopefully get Mitchell here,” she said with a smile.

“I’ll think about it. But you don’t worry about Christian or Mia. Mia has been an angel for me this week. Since you have monopolized all my time, I wouldn’t have even gotten through this week without her. And I can go out with Christian anytime. Because, after all, I do work for you for this week, remember.”

“Well, I’m telling you to have breakfast with him.”

“And I’m telling you, you don’t get to boss me around anymore.”

They both stood there and stared at each other. Then the laughter broke free through the heaviness of the moment. “Thank you, Riley. I haven’t told anyone that story.”

“Thank you for trusting me with it. I promise it won’t go anywhere.”

“I know that. I do.”

“I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

“Okay. See you in the morning.”

Riley listened as the sound of Laine’s heels faded on the stone and wood floor. She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. It was nine thirty. She dialed her girl.

Jeremy answered.

“Hey, is Gabby asleep yet?”

“No, your mother took her out this evening and just dropped her off. I think Gabby OD’d on sweet tea.”

“She knows I don’t let her have sugar this late.”

“Hey, Mom!” Gabby’s voice was vibrant and high-strung.

Riley sat down on the teak bench. “How is my angel girl?”

“I’m great, Mom! Me and Amanda went and had shrimp and grits at Poogan’s Porch, and then Mimi picked me up and we went over to see Granddaddy at the men’s club, where they were smoking cigars and all those things old men like Granddaddy do, and then Mimi brought me back here to Daddy.”

“You had a lot of sweet tea, huh?”

“Mimi said it was the Southern lady’s drink. And you know I want to be a Southern lady, Mommy.”

Riley laughed. “Yes, I’m sure you do.”

“She said she was going to send me to finishing school, but I told her I didn’t need finishing. That you said I was fine just the way I was.”

Riley chuckled again. “And what did she say to that?”

“She said, every Southern girl has