Chapter 18

Daniel pulled into his apartment complex, then sat, staring out the windshield at the brick building in front of him. How could he have been so stupid to think that his past wouldn't matter to people? It didn't matter that he'd been doing everything in his power to make things right. It didn't matter that for the past two years, he had been working as a human resources employee in the mayor's office and volunteering at a nonprofit organization that helped the homeless during his free time. None of that mattered because someone had decided to search his name on the Internet, and for the rest of his life, only the mistakes he'd made would surface. Why even try?

His phone rang and he looked down. It was Melinda. Again. What could she possibly have to say to him? He’d seen her face when her grandmother offered to sell the diner in exchange for her dumping her future husband at the altar. It still sounded so weird to say that. Daniel Armstrong had almost been someone's husband. He’d almost had a wife. It was a good thing he hadn't called his parents for the first time in years to tell them the exciting news. He'd been tempted, but what would he have said?

Guess what, Mom and Dad! I know we haven't talked in forever, and you probably thought I was dead. Unless you took money out of the food budget to splurge on something like a newspaper, or heaven forbid, the Internet, and saw that I was responsible for the takedown of a dirty cop named Teddy. But that would require you to have a computer. Anyway, I'm back on the straight and narrow and getting married. Oh, wait, no, I'm not. Never mind. Talk to you later.

The look on Melinda's face had haunted him the entire drive back. She had been so adamant about how much she loved Daniel. She’d stood up for him in front of everybody. He had never had anyone believe in him like Melinda had. She had been amazing.

And then her grandmother had offered the thing she had wanted most. It had been the whole point of him going to the wedding, hadn’t it? Daniel should feel proud to have helped Melinda achieve her dreams. It hadn't come about quite in the way they had expected, but still. Mission accomplished.

But her face. Melinda hadn't continued professing her love. Instead, she’d hesitated. He had seen the desire in her eyes. Her dreams were right there, ready for her to reach out and snatch them up. Melinda would be able to go anywhere, do anything, and have the money to do it. It was in that moment that Daniel had known what Melinda's choice was. She had chosen freedom—the thing she longed for most.

And it wasn't fair for him to try to keep her from it. It would be selfish of him to beg her to stay at the diner. Daniel didn't want her to be unhappy, and she would be if she refused her grandmother's offer. It wasn't just Melinda's dreams that would have been shattered. Devon and Claire's would have been as well. No, leaving had been the only choice Daniel could have made.

A rap at his car window startled him out of his thoughts.

Bev stood at the door. After being homeless herself, and then proving her ability as a manager, she had been put in charge of running a nonprofit organization that helped the homeless population of Amor. Daniel volunteered there on the weekends but had taken this one off for the wedding.

He looked at his phone. It was later than she usually came home from the evening shift. Daniel rolled down his window. "Hi, Bev."

"You okay? You've been sitting there for a while now," Bev said. She nodded toward her window on the third floor, indicating that she’d been watching him from it.

Daniel didn't realize he'd been sitting there for so long, but apparently she had. "Yeah, just tired from the last few days." He stepped out of the car.

"Why are you in a tuxedo?" she asked, looking him up and down. "I thought only the important people wore those things. Not that I'm saying you're not important," she hurriedly added. "It's just, well, you know what I mean. The people in the actual wedding."

Daniel glanced down. The tuxedo was now wrinkly from the car ride. "You know those rich folk—they hand out these things like candy," he said with a forced laugh.

"Uh huh." Bev eyed him with suspicion. "And you didn't bother changing?"

"It’s more comfortable than it looks.”

Bev didn’t look like she believed him, but she let the subject drop. “Can I help carry something upstairs for you?"

Daniel realized that in his hurry to leave, he'd forgotten his things in his room at the resort. Maybe they could mail them to him. Unless they'd charge him for it. If that was the case, they could just keep his stuff. It wasn't worth that much. "I'll come back down for it later," he said.

Bev raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged. "All right."

Daniel opened the door into the apartment building and held it for Bev.

"How'd the wedding go with Miss Cranky Pants?" she asked with a grin. "I'm not sure why you offered to go with her. No one needs that kind of punishment."

"She's actually not bad once you get to know her," Daniel said, though he wasn't sure why he was defending Melinda. She'd been the one to bend to her grandmother's wishes. All she'd needed was the right carrot placed in front of her, and she was gone.

"Are you saying that something happened between you two?" Bev asked, her eyes laughing at him. She was teasing him, but if she only knew what had gone on over the last few days—she'd never believe him.

"I don't think that woman has ever cared for anyone but herself," Daniel said as they turned onto his and Bev's hallway.

Then the voice he’d never thought he'd hear again said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Daniel's gaze snapped up and found Melinda standing next to his door halfway down the hall. Except, at the same time, it wasn't her. She was still wearing her wedding dress, but it was covered in dirt, and was ripped right up to…well, it was high. Her makeup was smeared and her hair was disheveled. Melinda looked like she'd just tried out bull riding for the first time—and lost.

"I'm not sure you answered my question about what happened between you two…" Bev said slowly. "Wasn't it her sister who was getting married?"

"Uh huh." Daniel held Melinda's gaze as he walked toward her. "How did you know where I live?"

"I called Mayor Freedman and told him there was an emergency and I needed to find you," Melinda said, tucking a strand of frizzy hair behind one ear. "You haven't been answering your phone."

"That was on purpose," Daniel said, stopping where he was, still a couple doors down from Melinda.

"You left me at the altar."

He heard a gasp from behind him.

"You didn't," Bev exclaimed.

Daniel turned. "Could you give us some privacy, please?"

"And miss the show? No way," Bev said. "But I could use a chair and some popcorn. I'll be right back." She disappeared through the door to her apartment.

Daniel took a step toward Melinda. "You got what you wanted. Why are you here?"

"How would you know what I want? You didn't bother sticking around long enough to find out," Melinda said, folding her arms. Her eyes narrowed, accented by the mascara raccoon-eyes thing she had going on. It was adorable.

"Of course I know what you want. I saw the look on your face when your grandmother offered to sell the diner in exchange for our breakup. Besides, wasn't this the reason I pretended to be your fiancé in the first place—to convince your parents to let Devon and Claire take ownership? It's what you've always wanted."

"You were her fake fiancé? This is better than daytime television," Bev said.

Daniel turned and saw her sitting in a camping chair set up in front of her door with a bucket of licorice on her lap.

She shrugged, then pulled out a piece and held it out in his direction. "I'm out of popcorn. Want one?"

Daniel shook his head, then stalked forward to where Melinda stood. Her eyes widened as he reached around her to unlock his door. Even with the layer of dirt she was covered in, Daniel could still smell the faint scent of vanilla. It made him want to apologize and beg her to come back to him. But then he forced himself to remember the events of the day, and he was instantly cured of the urge. He stepped inside the apartment and motioned for Melinda to follow him.

He shut the door, and then turned to face her, but she was already wandering around the living room, taking in her surroundings. Daniel had always been comfortable in his apartment, but now found himself suddenly self-conscious. The couches seemed more worn than they had before, the TV smaller, and the walls barer.

"Are these your parents?" Melinda asked, pointing to a picture that sat on a bookshelf that doubled as his TV stand.

Daniel nodded. It was the only picture he had of them. It had been taken when he was nine years old. They had gone sledding, and he sat between them, his nose pink from the cold.

"They look nice," Melinda said.

"They are."

Melinda glanced over. "How did you lose contact?"

Daniel shrugged. "I became a criminal, in the words of your grandmother." He used air quotations when he said “criminal.” He hated that word. He had made some wrong decisions, but he’d never viewed himself as a bad person. Even when he’d stolen stuff that Teddy needed from the evidence room, he hadn’t viewed himself as a criminal.

When it came down to it, Daniel still saw himself as someone who was naive and had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. He regretted those decisions, and now he was trying to move on. But it was hard to do that when with every step he took forward, there was someone waiting to push him back.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Melinda said. "She shouldn't have said those things."

"No, she shouldn't have," Daniel agreed. He folded his arms across his chest and kept his gaze on the floor. Except…no. This was his apartment, and he wasn't going to let Melinda just come in and take over. His gaze snapped back up. "Why are you here?"

Melinda blinked, clearly surprised by the harshness of his tone. But he didn't care anymore. The longer she stayed, the more pain he would feel, and he didn't think he could take any more of that. "To apologize," she said, like that should have been obvious.

"Great, you did that. Consider your apology accepted." Daniel walked to the front door and opened it. When Melinda didn't leave, he gestured toward the empty doorframe. "That was your cue to leave."

"But—"

"Nope. We're done talking. I don't want to talk about my parents, or what led me to a life of crime, or how I was made a fool of in front of all of your family and friends." And there it was. His last statement stunned both of them into silence. It felt like an icy fist had hold of his heart and he suddenly found it hard to breathe.

It wasn't just that Melinda's family thought of him as a common criminal. It was that he had become akin to Quasimodo at the Festival of Fools. He had become the subject for their dinner conversations that evening. They would refer to him as “the man who almost wormed his way into the Garrett family by seducing their daughter.” He had heard conversations like that already beginning as he walked away from the women he loved. Loved was past tense, of course. Because when he looked at Melinda now…well, he wouldn't allow himself to look at her. It would be easier that way.