Haven hesitated before plowing through with her thoughts. “I figured this conversation would come after dinner, but it seems like now is the perfect opportunity to ask. If you loved me so much, then why all the cheating? Why wasn’t I enough?” Her voice broke on the last word. If Haven was seriously going to consider letting Dylan back into her life, she needed answers.
Dylan’s smile faltered. “The last couple of years have just been hard. I had to deal with so much and honestly . . . I felt as if you weren’t there for me. It was like Ms. McKenna, school, and everything else came before me.”
Haven dropped her head slightly from the pain of a memory. She pressed her lips together. After a moment, she was able to speak. “I shared the same loss as you Dylan. I felt our child moving within me for seven months.” Haven’s eyes became glassy. “I was devastated when we lost her. I didn’t know how to get past my own grief, and I’m sorry if you think I wasn’t there for you. But I never thought about cheating.” Her voice a barely a whisper. “Meeting Ms. McKenna at that chapel may have saved my life.”
The waitress came back with their drinks. Haven and Dylan grew quiet, and both took long sips from their glasses as soon as she set them down.
The woman pulled out her pad. “Are you two ready?” Quickly, they gave their order, and she scurried off.
Dylan’s face tightened at the mention of Ms. McKenna’s name, but he tried to hide it. “Then, I suppose I should be grateful to her.”
“She’s like a mother to me.”
“You have a mother. I think her name is Katrina Shaw, not Bertha McKenna.”
“I know my mother’s name.” Haven snapped. “I love her, but you and I both know, she’s not the nurturing kind. She couldn’t even be bothered to leave her boyfriend of six months after I lost the baby to be with me.” Haven took another drink of her wine.
There was a lull in the conversation before she asked another question. “So, you’re saying you cheated on me because I didn’t give you enough attention? I can’t . . . I won’t take responsibility for your actions.”
“You don’t think making that McKenna woman a priority in your life was like cheating on me?”
Was he serious? The warm and fuzzy feelings she’d hoped would come were now a complete impossibility and was replaced with the anger and pain of his betrayal. “There is no comparison, Dylan!”
He realized their conversation was going left pretty quickly and switched gears. “No. There isn’t. Look, I’m sorry. My hope was not to make you angry. The bottom line is we should have worked through our problems together. Outside influences should never have come between us. If you give me another chance, I promise to hold up my end of the bargain.”
Fortunately, hot bread and salad were served, saving Haven from having to respond.
*****
Dylan and Haven spent the rest of dinner trying to keep their conversations light. An hour into it, she started to relax. No, there weren’t any fireworks, but she was having a good enough time. She could only assume it was because she hadn’t truly forgiven Dylan, but Haven planned to work on it.
“Excuse me.” They turned at the sound of a familiar voice. “I thought it was you.” If Haven thought Dylan was sexy as hell, then Ellis McKenna standing there in his all black, custom-tailored dinner attire completely took her breath away. She found the fireworks she’d been looking for the moment Haven laid eyes on Ellis. The blonde glamazon hanging off of his arm subtly cleared her throat. Haven tore her eyes away from Ellis and focused on the woman. She hated that he brought her here to their restaurant. Technically, it wasn’t their place, but still.
Haven plastered on a fake smile. “Ellis.”
Dylan knew Haven. He hadn’t missed her initial reaction to seeing Ellis with the busty blonde.
She turned to him. “Dylan, this is Ellis McKenna, my boss’s grandson. Ellis this is . . .” Haven stumbled on how to introduce him. “This is Dylan Cooper.” Haven didn’t know the woman’s name to offer an introduction but remembered she was the one in the guesthouse with Ellis when his grandmother had the coughing attack.
Ellis stuck out his hand, and Dylan was slow to shake it. Ever the gentleman Ellis turned to the blonde. “This is Layla Stevens.” Layla seemed equally as pleased as Dylan with the introduction. Ellis flashed a grin. “We were just leaving, and I thought I saw you. Figured we’d come over and say hello.”
“I’m glad you did.” Haven lied.
Ellis turned to Dylan. He wasn’t the least bit intimidated by him but still hated to see him with Haven. Ellis wasn’t going to examine it. He knew why. Even though he’d decided they were only going to be friends, Ellis couldn’t get her out of his mind, and that was the reason for his date with Layla.
Smoothly, as if nothing in the world bothered him, Ellis said his goodbyes. “I hope you two enjoy the rest of your evening, and Haven . . . I’ll see you on Monday.”
Haven kept Ellis in her line of sight until he and his date disappeared out of the restaurant.
Dylan was
