“A much better lawyer,” Angelina said with a small smile. “Their divorce was finalized last year, and she made out with a full half of his business.”
The women around the table chuckled. It seemed that Belle had bounced back rather well, and the women here enjoyed little details like that.
“And that brings us to you,” Angelina said. “Did you want to introduce yourself?”
“I’m Melanie,” she said. “I’m newly divorced, and I’m in town for a few weeks. Angelina asked me to come to dinner tonight, so... Hi, everyone.”
“Do you mind if I fill them in on a few details?” Angelina asked.
“Uh...sure.” She’d told Angelina the broad strokes when they chatted earlier. Though she hadn’t really wanted to blab to everyone at large, there was something about the energy around this table that made sharing seem natural.
“I know a little bit about her situation,” Angelina said. “Correct me if I get it wrong, Melanie. But she married her husband quite young—midtwenties?”
“I was twenty-four,” Melanie confirmed. “We were married for fifteen years.”
“He had children from his first marriage whom Melanie selflessly raised, until one day he traded her in for a younger model.”
That summed it up rather succinctly. Except, Melanie had been the one to ask for the divorce. There was no trusting him again after that—the betrayal was too deep.
“Is the divorce final?” Renata asked.
“Yes. As of two months ago,” Melanie confirmed.
“And did you...do all right?” Belle asked hesitantly.
“I got the lake house and some cash,” Melanie replied. “There will be spousal support for three years. I wanted to start an interior design company, but I’ll need to take a few classes online to get myself current again. So the money will help in the transition.”
“Good, good.” This from Gayle. “So, you don’t have to panic about making enough to pay your bills.”
“Not immediately,” Melanie said with a wan smile. That was something. Maybe she should be grateful that she hadn’t been left in a worse position.
“Property on Blue Lake is worth a small fortune. That was smart to ask for it,” Renata said.
“I didn’t ask,” Melanie said. “I haven’t decided how nice he was being to hand it over, actually. We bought it when the kids were school-aged. I told him about my hometown and how gorgeous our lake was, and he found it all very quaint and inspiring. So, he surprised me with the deed one summer, and he sent me and the kids off to the lake.”
“While he...worked?” Belle asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.
“Presumably,” Melanie replied with a faint shrug. “I found out later that he was cheating on me for much of our marriage. The irony is, his kids hated coming here. They didn’t want to be cooped up in some lake house or wandering around a little town where they didn’t know anyone. Besides, they didn’t like me. I wasn’t their mother. I was just some substitute their father foisted upon them.”
“So you don’t have fond memories there,” Angelina said softly.
“Not exactly.” Melanie shrugged. “It’s okay. It’s a beautiful property and I’ll make it my own. Or sell it. I haven’t decided which yet.”
“What happened to their mother?” Renata asked.
“She died rather tragically from cancer. When I married Adam, he had three grieving kids, the youngest of which was a toddler, and I decided to devote myself to them. They needed love, and I thought I could make a difference with them.”
“So you didn’t have any kids of your own?” Belle asked.
“No. Three were enough to keep me busy.” Melanie wasn’t sure if she regretted that now. A baby wouldn’t have saved their marriage, but it might have been nice to have one child who didn’t resent her for not being mom enough.
A waiter came by with a bottle of wine for the table. The other women seemed to know the menu by heart and gave their orders immediately. Melanie took a moment, then ordered the mountain trout with herbed potatoes. When the waiter left again, Melanie looked at the women around the table.
“What about you, Angelina?” Melanie asked. “What happened to your marriage? You never did tell me.”
The table fell silent, and Angelina’s expression saddened. “We met and married on a cruise. I had no idea who his family was, and I thought that the man he was on vacation was the same man he’d be in the rest of his life. I was wrong about that. His family was incredibly wealthy, and I wasn’t good enough for them, it turned out. They tore us apart. We only lasted a year.”
“And you got the resort in the divorce,” Melanie said.
“I did,” Angelina agreed. “I poured my heartbreak into fixing it up. I’ve done rather well for myself in the last ten years. He might have given me the resort, but I made it what it is today.”
“Was there another woman?” Melanie asked.
“No, he didn’t leave me for anyone else. I know you’ll think I’m crazy for saying this, but you’re actually lucky that there was another woman,” Angelina said. “Your husband might have preferred another woman to you, but mine just preferred being without me. Period.”
Melanie felt her eyes mist. “Oh, Ange...”
“It’s okay.” Angelina reached for the bottle of wine. “Life marches on. And when you have a circle of loyal girlfriends, it’s a whole lot easier.”
Angelina poured a glass, and as Melanie accepted the glass from her, a figure standing in the open doorway of the dining room caught her eye—and her heart hammered to a stop. Logan. She’d known she’d see him one of these days, but she hadn’t expected the last twenty-three years to just drop out beneath her like that. Logan stood there, and when their eyes met, his dark gaze blazed into hers, a breathless moment, and then he moved away from the door and disappeared out in the foyer.
“Logan McTavish,” Angelina said softly. “He’s a guest at the resort for a couple of weeks.
