Page 82 of Love on the Line

Chapter 29

Paul straightened his tie,smoothed back what was left of his hair, and adjusted his glasses. Small spasms squeezed his stomach as he stood in the foyer of the Hilton. Lynn might be at the reunion. The only reason he’d come. No idea what he’d say to her, but maybe he’d find out why she’d disappeared before graduation.

He walked down the carpeted hall and past the bathrooms with glittering, gold-plated door handles. Following the signs for the reunion, he stopped in front of a banquet room and pulled out a handkerchief to dab the sweat from his forehead.

He scanned the place, searching for Lynn. People milled around buffet tables loaded with appetizers, and a band played soft music in the background. No sign of her. His shoulders fell. He ordered a drink and sipped it next to the bar. Just like in college, no one bothered to talk to him. He might as well be invisible.

His pulse jumped when he spotted Becky, Lynn’s old roommate and best friend. Becky swayed and waved her hands, engaged in a vivid conversation with a man he didn’t recognize. The guy took a step back and glanced around like he was looking for an excuse to get away. Sure enough, as soon as Becky turned her back to him and picked up her drink, the man bolted.

Paul approached her. “Becky?”

Her eyes widened, and her mouth twisted in disgust. “You?” She poked a finger into his chest and wobbled. “You have the nerve to show up here after what you did?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lynn would still be alive today if it weren’t for you.” Becky’s red-rimmed eyes glared at him.

“What do you mean?” His mouth went dry. “She’s not—”

“You don’t know? She died years ago, and it’s your fault, you bastard.”

All the blood drained from his head, numbing his brain. This couldn’t be true. “She d-died? How? When?”

Becky waved her drink in the air. “Right after graduation. In a fire at her apartment complex in Virginia. She took the first job she could find to get away after you broke her heart.”

Paul blinked several times, his head spinning. He broke her heart? She was the one who’d deserted him. “What do you mean? She left without a word. I never understood why.”

“She found out about your little bet”—Becky’s eyes narrowed to slits—"and realized that all she meant to you was winning some stupid wager.”

Paul flinched as if struck. He swallowed around the baseball-sized lump in his throat. Only he and Devon knew about their bets. If Lynn found out, Devon had to have told her.

Becky poked a finger into his chest again. “She wouldn’t have been there if not for you. It’s your fault. Now get out of my face.” She shoved him and stormed off toward the bar.

All the air left his lungs. He set his drink down and grabbed the back of a chair for support. Lynn hadn’t left him because she didn’t love him. What they’d had was real. And now she was dead, and he could never tell her the truth.

The scent of fried food turned his stomach. Loud, drunken laughter hurt his ears, and he fumbled his way out to the parking lot. He got in the car, took off his glasses, and lowered his head in his hands. Sobs wracked his body. Lynn died believing he didn’t love her.

Pain carved a hole in his heart as he pictured her beautiful, sweet face. Why? Why had Devon done that? Paul took a shaky breath and slid his glasses back on. He straightened his spine and pursed his lips.

Devon had mentioned he’d be working late at the shop. Paul checked the time. Not even seven yet, he should be able to catch Devon there. And he’d better have some answers.

* * *

Paul entered the antique store, letting the door swing shut on its own, his heart beating a staccato.

Devon glanced up from his seat at the desk. “I wasn’t expecting you tonight, but since you’re here, I have the tax files ready.” He tapped a stack of papers. “Do your magic and make my hospital donations offset my ‘other income’ so it passes Uncle Sam’s scrutiny.”

Not giving a shit about business at the moment, Paul stalked across the room. “I just came from the reunion.”

Devon snorted. “Don’t know why you bothered to go. Bunch of losers. Everyone fat and ugly?”

Paul’s body stiffened at the disdainful question. He’d been bullied his whole life, which is why he’d latched onto the friendship with Devon in college. By association, people had at last included Paul, and he’d been freed of the nerdy geek stigma. But at what cost? He had to know. “I ran into Becky. Do you remember her?”

“Can’t say I do.” Devon shrugged.

“She told me something about Lynn. You remember her?”

Devon’s eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared. “Ah yes. The one bet I lost.” He spun his chair around to the file cabinet behind him and yanked the drawer open, his back stiff.

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