They caught up with him as he got into his car.īecause Elizabeth had tried to talk to him-and he’d ignored her. He couldn’t leave his thoughts behind so easily. Brushing dust off the seat of his pants, he strode for the front door. We were supposed to be equals, after all.

She’d hidden it from him, toed the line, agreed to everything, and yet inside she had been suffocating. He’d made her unhappy, and he hadn’t seen it. More important to him was the fact that Elizabeth had been frustrated and stifled by him and the life they’d planned together. A man who couldn’t hold onto his woman.Įven as humiliation rose afresh within him, he knew that the blow he’d taken to his pride was the least of his problems. People would talk and snicker behind their hands. If-when-they called the wedding off, the fact that Elizabeth had jilted him would be common knowledge. All their friends were invited to the wedding, along with the most important of his work colleagues. They were supposed to walk down the aisle barely six weeks from today. He’d been driven by fear and pride, determined to bring her home with him. Hadn’t wanted to hear what she’d been saying. I would make a terrible, terrible wife for you.Įlizabeth’s words from three days ago echoed in his mind. She’s a construct, cobbled together by my over-developed sense of duty and your desire to be connected to a man who in many respects has filled the role of father in your life. The woman you think you want to marry doesn’t exist. He lowered his head and massaged the small muscle between his eyebrows. Just as he’d never thought to ask her if she would like to live in this house, with these paint colors. Funny, but he’d never thought to even ask her. Elizabeth had been an integral part of that, the woman he’d imagined at his side as he took the steps required to get him to where he wanted to be.Īs it turned out, where he’d wanted to be was not where she’d wanted to be.

He’d known exactly what he needed to do-build his reputation at Whittaker, Malcolm and Venables, make partner, solidify his position in the world. For so long his future had stretched in front of him like this hallway-straight and clean and utterly known.

He didn’t know how to feel, what to do with himself.

Anything for You by Sarah Mayberry