Page 6 of Save the Dance

“At all?” He had to have misunderstood. She wouldn’t, couldn’t, cancel completely. Not on the eve of the most important event to occur since he’d inherited the Captain’s Cottage. She knew how important Regina’s visit was.

“I know it’s disappointing, but honestly, darling, it’s better this way. I have so much work to do to get ready for this presentation that I won’t be able to focus on anything else. Plus, I have to be near Rick—he needs to approve every decision. So, you see why I can’t go out of town.” Blue eyes flashed as Clarissa smiled brightly. “Why don’t you come here instead?”

“You’re cancelling out a promise you made weeks ago, but you expect me to walk away from my obligations to visit you in Boston?” The suggestion was beyond ludicrous.

“You won’t come to see me?” Annoyance tightened Clarissa’s lips.

Jason shoved down an angry retort and took a breath. If he had any hope of salvaging the situation, he’d have to appeal to her sense of fair play. “This was your idea, Clarissa. You insisted on coming now so you could meet Regina Charm. You’re leaving me high and dry here.”

“Oh, please.” She rolled her baby blues. “You make it sound like the world is coming to an end. Evelyn can take my place.”

His cousin would usually be glad to step into the role. But with the review looming, her responsibilities as the Cottage’s bookkeeper and supply manager had doubled. “She’s already pitching in wherever she’s needed. I can’t ask her to do any more.”

Any hope that Clarissa would reconsider died when her blue eyes hardened. “It sounds like you’re forcing me to make a choice I didn’t want to make.”

He gave her one last chance. “I’m just asking you to keep your promise. All the arrangements have been made. People are—I’m—counting on you.”

Apparently, she didn’t care. His heart sank. He ran one finger along the edge of the desk. If things had gone well during Clarissa’s visit, he’d hoped to pop the question and slip a ring on her finger. That wouldn’t happen now. A woman who couldn’t commit to ten days certainly couldn’t commit to a lifetime.

“Look.” Clarissa glanced over her shoulder at the closed door behind her. Seemingly satisfied that they wouldn’t be overheard, she sighed. “We haven’t been on the same page in this relationship for a while. All those broken dates? Those cancelled trips? You have to admit, we’ve drifted apart.”

He bit his tongue. As much as he wanted to deny it, he’d known that things had become strained between them. But he wouldn’t point out that she was the one who’d broken date after date and cancelled one trip to Heart’s Landing after another. Swapping recriminations and accusations wouldn’t help them salvage what was left of their relationship. “That’s one of the reasons I was looking forward to this visit. I hoped we’d reconnect, rediscover what we’d lost.”

“What’s the point when we’re headed in opposite directions?” She leaned forward. “My career is taking off. Yours, though …” She shook her head. “How you could walk away from the life we had in Boston? I never understood that.”

She’d known from the very beginning that he’d inherit the Captain’s Cottage one day, though neither of them counted on it happening so soon. But if she wanted to believe that he was at fault, he’d take the hit. He came from strong, seafaring stock. His shoulders were broad enough to carry the load.

“It’s over between us?” he asked, just to be clear.

“I always thought you’d get tired of living there and come back, you know. But that hasn’t happened.”

No, and it wouldn’t. He’d found his sense of purpose in Heart’s Landing. Studying the past had always been important to him, and now he actually had the chance to play a small part in history by giving brides their perfect day. He’d developed the kind of friendships here that he’d never had in the big city, where people spent so much time rushing from one thing to the next that they rarely slowed down long enough to talk, really talk. He loved the slower pace, the quiet streets, the fog that carried the tang of the ocean. He wouldn’t trade what he had here for a thousand years anywhere else.

“I guess this is goodbye, then.” There was no use in drawing things out. Clarissa had made her decision, and it wasn’t him.

“I guess it is. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around.” Staring into the phone, she brushed her fingertips beneath dry eyes.

“Yeah. See you around,” he agreed, though he wouldn’t hold his breath. He shook his head when the screen went black and automatically shoved a hank of hair off his forehead. So this was how it felt to break up with the person you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, waiting for the heartbreak to wash over him. When the stabbing pain didn’t come, he sighed. He supposed he and Clarissa had really been saying goodbye to each other ever since he left Boston. Six months ago, when she’d cancelled her first trip to Heart’s Landing, he’d known on one level that things were never going to work out between them. Somehow, his heart had gotten the message long before his head—and, yeah, his pride—had understood it. That had to be the reason why the breakup didn’t hurt as much as he’d expected. Not that it mattered. He didn’t have time for heartache.

In less than forty-eight hours, the Executive Editor for the nation’s most popular bridal magazine was going to arrive on his doorstep. From the moment she passed the Heart’s Landing town limits sign until her departure, every single detail of her trip had to be absolutely perfect. A goal that was going to be nearly impossible to achieve, considering the huge monkey wrench Clarissa had thrown into the town’s well-laid plans. He’d need help if he had any hope of getting things back on track.

In the hallway outside his door, heels tapped on the ancient hardwood floors. Jason shook his head. He should have known. Just when he thought he’d have to track her down, the very person he needed to talk to was on her way to his office. How did Evelyn do that? Ever since he was a kid, he could count on his cousin to show up at the slightest hint of trouble.

Seconds later, an impish face peered around his door jamb. “Hey, there. I thought I’d pop in to say hello to Clarissa. Looks like I’m too late, though. You two lovebirds have already wrapped things up?”

Jason inhaled slowly. “Turns out, breaking up doesn’t take very long at all.”

“No.” Evelyn let out a low whistle. “You called it quits? I didn’t see that coming.”

“Neither did I.” His neck suddenly felt tight. He worked the knot in his tie loose and gave it a yank. Colorful silk in a pattern he’d never have chosen puddled onto his desk. Huh. He should’ve suspected things weren’t going to work out for them when he’d opened the gift Clarissa had sent for his birthday last October. Holding the gaudy cloth over his trash can, he let it drop.

“Are you okay?” Evelyn peered at him. Concern filled her green eyes.

“Other than the fact that she bailed at the worst possible time, I think so. I thought it’d hurt more, but frankly, I’m more irritated about her leaving me in the lurch than anything else.”

“Well, I never liked her. Not even a little bit.” Evelyn’s hand sliced through the air. “As for the review, you know you can count on me.”

“Can you handle the extra load? You’re already doing so much.” He searched his cousin’s face, relieved at the serious look that darkened her eyes. He ran a hand through his hair. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

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