“That’s when I realized how dangerous it is for a couple to marry if they aren’t equally committed and deeply in love. I loved Travis with all my heart, but he didn’t love me in the same way so our relationship couldn’t survive.”
“My relationship with Meg is nothing like that,” he snapped. “We’re talking apples and oranges here.”
“Oh, but it is, Martin. In both situations, one person’s commitment is far greater than the other’s. I hate to say this because I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have. But the truth is, Meg doesn’t love you enough to marry you.”
That startling comment hung between them like thick fog on a meadow. Shock rippled through his body as he considered what Liza had just said. And in some insane way, it made sense. Was this crazy, interfering woman making him crazy, too?
He stared at her coldly. “Until I talk with Meg, I won’t know if what you’re saying is true or not. But I do know this: I’ve heard enough -- more than enough. So if you’re ready to go, I’ll drive you back to your cottage. To Meg’s cottage,” he amended.
Tears sprang into her eyes again, and she nodded. Did she feel genuine remorse or was this more drama? The woman was a pro at pretending. And she’d played him for the biggest sucker in town.
The waitress approached their table. “Are you folks ready to order? Our special today is....”
Martin held up his hand. “Just bring a check for the coffee, please. We aren’t staying for breakfast.”
CHAPTER 11
Martin felt like sticking Meg’s twin sister in a taxi and sending her on her way. While a few more minutes with the woman wouldn’t kill him, he couldn’t get her out of his life fast enough.
They didn’t say a word during the solemn drive to the cottage. It felt like they were the lead car in a funeral procession. Liza cried quietly, catching her tears with a tissue. And to Martin’s surprise, she seemed genuinely sorry.
Well, sorry doesn’t cut it, he thought angrily.
As some of his fury cooled just slightly, one of Liza’s comments came to mind. She’d said, no man and woman should marry unless they are deeply in love with each other. Ironically, it was the same conclusion he’d come to last night. He’d decided then that if Meg didn’t love him enough, their relationship couldn’t survive.
And now another thought nagged at him. While he cared a great deal for Meg, did he love her deeply?
He’d never felt real passion in their relationship. And Meg never looked at him with adoration. He’d seen adoration in couples like Cliff and Lydia and recognized it. When he thought about it, Melissa hadn’t looked at him that way, either.
The only other woman who ever did was... Heaven forbid! That was what he’d seen in Liza’s expression since they’d been together: adoration and passion. And to his dismay, that was what he’d felt for her.
His brain swirled with confused thoughts as he pulled up in front of the cottage. Liza was still sniffling. If the woman was acting, she ought to win an Oscar.
“Here we are,” he said, not bothering to shut off the engine. As Liza picked up her purse, her gaze lifted to his. And when their eyes met, his pulse kicked into high gear.
Had he lost every ounce of good sense? And if not, how could he feel attracted to someone who’d just made a colossal fool of him?
“I’m sincerely sorry about everything, Martin,” she said, still fighting tears. “There’s no excuse for my behavior, and I know that.”
He didn’t reply since she was dead right. But since she was punishing herself pretty thoroughly, he didn’t launch another attack.
Liza pulled the diamond ring from her finger, stared at it a moment then handed it to him. “This doesn’t belong to me.”
The understatement of the century, Martin figured as he took it from her. The irony in all this was staggering: Ernie would be getting another engagement ring back.
“I hope you have a good life, Martin,” she said. “Some woman will be fortunate to call you her husband.”
He bit back another angry retort. That fortunate woman would have been Meg if Liza hadn’t intervened. “We have nothing more to say,” he snapped, knowing his voice sounded cold as ice.
A flash of pain lit her eyes. But still he made no effort to open her car door as he’d done many times before. And wild horses couldn’t make him walk this traitor to the door.
Liza climbed out of the car and stepped onto the sidewalk. But before she closed the car door, she caught his gaze again. Martin shivered. He’d never seen such agony on anyone’s face. Did she really regret what she’d done? Or was it more of the charade?
Part of him wanted to shut off the engine, escort Liza into the cottage, and try to sort out the mess she’d created. But what good would that do? You can’t organize chaos.
He nodded curtly. “Good-bye,” he said, wanting to put as much distance between them as quickly as possible.
“Good-bye, Martin,” she said softly.
She closed the door and walked to the cottage. As he watched her fumble in her purse for the key, her obsession with locking the door suddenly made sense. Liza lived in a big city where the crime rate was high. To her, locking doors was as normal as breathing.
As she entered the house, Lancelot yipped with excitement. Could the dog tell the difference between Meg and Liza he wondered? Probably not. The pup seemed to adore Liza as much as he did Meg.
He floored the accelerator and headed for his cabin. Never had his emotions felt so ragged and torn. Anger, disappointment, confusion, and loss battled for the top slot. And thanks to Liza’s shenanigans, he’d probably lost Meg to another man. In the short time she’d been in town, Liza O’Malley had completely destroyed his world.
As he parked the Cadillac in his driveway, his cell phone rang. He checked Caller ID to make sure it wasn’t Liza. But his heart caught in his throat when he saw Meg was calling. He clicked on the phone. “Hello, Meg?”
“Hi, Martin. I need to talk to you. It’s very important.”
Martin’s stomach clenched and he drew a deep breath. “Go ahead.”
“This is hard to put into words,” she said. “But I think we’ve been kidding ourselves. I have tremendous respect for you, Martin, and you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had.” She paused a moment, as if gathering her courage. “But I’m not really in love with you.”
While the impact of her words shook him, he wasn’t devastated. At least not yet.
“And I don’t think you’re really in love with me, either,” she added.
A surge of anger hit. “Are you saying we’ve been playing at romance? That it was all a big joke?”
“No, nothing like that. We’re both ready to move into a serious relationship. We want marriage, children, and a love that lasts forever. And for a while, we thought we’d found that in each other. But we were wrong.”
Ouch. The truth hurt.
“I loved a boy in high school, and since I’ve been in Kansas City, we’ve reconnected. Being with Zach again made me realize what I’d suspected for a while: that you and I don’t love each other in the way a husband and wife should.”
Martin nodded. He knew that now, but this probably wasn’t the time to tell Meg he’d fallen in love with her twin sister. He’d save that bit of news for their next conversation.
“We’d be making a huge mistake if we got married, I know that now. We’d be settling. And this isn’t just about me, Martin. I want you to have it all, as well. You deserve a wife who adores you, and can’t wait to see you when you get home from work. A wife who lights up every time you walk into a room.” She waited a moment then asked, “Does any of this make even an ounce of sense?”
“Surprisingly, it does. But I’ll need some time to let everything sink in, and to redirect my thinking.”
“I know. I’ve been struggling with that, too.”
“Maybe we’ve said enough for now. Let’s talk again in a few days, okay?”
Meg sniffled and he knew she
was crying. “That’s fine. And Martin, please don’t hate me.”
“I could never hate you, Meg. And I’m glad you called.”
After they hung up, Martin leaned back against the seat and stared out the window. How could a few days change everything? And completely alter the future he’d been planning for himself? At this moment, Martin didn’t know what he wanted. But staying single for the rest of his life sounded more and more tempting!
If he hadn’t believed Liza’s tale, Meg just confirmed everything Liza had told him: that she didn’t love him enough to marry him; and that she was in love with a guy named Zach Addison. If anyone had told him earlier today that he’d get slammed by both the O’Malley sisters, he’d have said they were crazy -- totally bonkers.
He climbed out of his SUV and walked toward the cabin, but couldn’t make himself go inside. If he didn’t talk to someone about the disintegration of his life he’d go bonkers himself.
Talk to Rachel. That thought flashed from out of the blue. Rachel knew Meg better than anyone in the world, except for Meg’s evil twin. Maybe talking to Rachel would help him get a grip.
He hopped back in his SUV and headed for Dance Unlimited. If Rachel was teaching classes, he’d hang around until she finished. Maybe putting this craziness into words would help him make sense of it. And figure out a way to jumpstart his life for the second time.
When he entered the studio, Rachel waved at him and smiled. And for once, there wasn’t a single ballet student in sight.
“If you’re looking for Meg, she isn’t here,” Rachel told him.
“I realize that. Meg is in Kansas City.”
Her eyes widened to twice their normal size. “So you know. Come and sit down a minute.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather stand. Or better yet, pace.”
When he turned and started walking the length of the room, Rachel fell in step beside him. He raked a hand through his hair. “How is any of this even possible? How could I spend all this time with Liza and honestly believe she was Meg? Am I totally stupid, or what?”
“Liza and Meg are identical. I couldn’t tell the difference, either. And Meg’s always told me all their relatives don’t know one twin from the other.”
“But shouldn’t I have been able to tell? I’m in love with Meg! Or I thought I was. Now I’m not sure if I’m in love with Meg, or Liza, or some crazy mixture of the two.”
“There are things about both of the twins you admire -- now that you know them both.”
Martin stopped to face Rachel. “Speaking of knowing, when did you find out that Liza was pretending to be Meg?”
Rachel cleared her throat, and her cheeks flushed a bright pink. “Liza told me the day of the county fair. She confessed while you waited in the food line.”
“You’ve know about the switch all this time?”
“Martin, Liza was already racked with guilt. That’s why she told me. She had to tell someone, and she chose me.”
Martin shook his head. “Couldn’t she have told me?”
“No way. It was too soon. And besides, she was falling in love with you.”
“I’ve never understood women. I thought I loved Melissa until she left town rather than marry me. And I thought I loved Meg who, it turns out, didn’t love me, at all. Oh, Meg just called, by the way. That’s why I came to talk to you.”
“Oh, Martin, I’m glad you did. Can we please sit down now? My feet hurt from teaching all Meg’s classes this past week.”
A grin tugged at his mouth. “Okay, sure.”
He followed her to a couch on the far wall near the windows. As they sat down, he buried his face in his hands. “Do you know of any local monasteries? And if they’re taking applicants? Because I’ll join right now, without so much as a backward glance.”
Rachel giggled and took his hand. Her touch brought comfort and support. Unlike Liza O’Malley’s touch...
“Martin, didn’t you ever wonder if marrying Meg was the best decision for you?”
He met her gaze. “I’m not sure I ever really wondered.”
“But you did put off proposing.”
He nodded. “I did. And I’ve had the engagement ring on layaway for months now.”
Rachel’s expressive eyes lit with interest. “See? If you were so sure about Meg, why didn’t you propose long before now?”
“Meg has found someone else,” he said side-stepping the question.
“I know.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “You know that, too?”
She nodded. “Look, all of this comes as a complete shock to you, but not to me. I’ve watched you and Meg as you’ve dated.” She cleared her throat. “Let’s just say I didn’t think you two were passionately in love.”
“Maybe not. But after Melissa, I wasn’t sure I wanted passion.”
“Of course, you did. You just didn’t want Melissa. But you didn’t know that at the time.”
Rachel pulled her hand away. “As I’ve watched you with Liza, I’ve seen the sparks fly between you. People say love at first sight is a myth, but it isn’t. You and Liza are a textbook illustration.”
He turned and caught Rachel’s gaze. “You are telling me the truth, right? You’d be the first woman who’s done that in a very long time.”
Rachel smiled. “There are reasons for that. Melissa was an idiot, Meg wasn’t sure how she felt until this past week, and Liza? Well, Liza loved you from day one, but she couldn’t admit that. It would have spoiled everything for everyone.”
He shook his head. “As crazy as all that sounds, it might all be true.” He stood and Rachel did, too. “Look, Rachel, I owe you big time. If you ever hit a crisis, you can call me, day or night. That’s a promise.”
Rachel reached up and gave him a quick squeeze. “I may take you up on your offer. Now promise me one thing?”
“What is it?”
“That you’ll forgive Liza? And give her a chance?”
“Hmm. I’ll give your suggestion serious consideration.”
* * *
Liza flopped onto Meg’s bed and moaned. “What have I done?” she cried. She’d known that telling Martin the truth would hurt, but she hadn’t dreamed how much.
Lancelot, who’d been napping by the back door, sprang onto the bed and licked her cheek. “Stay as far away from me as possible,” she cautioned. “I’m a horrible person.”
The pup cocked his head and studied her. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Meg will be home soon. You won’t have to put up with me much longer.”
Then she moaned again. She didn’t remember moaning before. But if she didn’t release some of the ache inside her, she would explode. She stared at the ceiling pondering the incredible mess she’d made and its far-reaching consequences.
Several minutes later, the phone rang. It was Meg. Liza felt so brain dead she just listened to her sister talk and hardly said a word. She did learn that her plan to reconnect Meg with Zach had worked gangbusters. And that Meg had called Martin to end their relationship.
Poor, darling Martin. If she hadn’t completely broken his heart, Meg had finished the job.
After they hung up, Liza cried a while longer, and when no tears were left, she lay on Meg’s bed, staring into space. The fantasy world she’d created had exploded, and she’d plummeted to rock bottom.
Lancelot inched closer, as if sensing her pain. She had never hurt like this—not even when Travis betrayed her. And she’d never hated herself so thoroughly.
Hours later, her eyelids grew heavy. As she was drifting into a troubled slumber, she heard a knock at the door. Lancelot sprang from the bed and barked, but Liza decided to ignore the caller. She didn’t want to talk to anyone.
The knocking continued, along with Lancelot’s barking. Whoever was out there wasn’t going away. Had Mrs. Vogel brought more high-calorie banana bread? Or had Rachel dropped by for a chat? She rolled over and folded the pillow around her ears. “Go away,” she murmured into the mattress.
S
till, the knocking continued. Finally, she sat up, finger-combed her hair and headed for the front door where Lancelot, self-appointed watch puppy, continued barking. “If it’s a salesman, I’ll strangle him,” Liza muttered.
She flung open the door, and her eyes widened. Martin! Her hand flew to her mouth, and she hoped he didn’t carry a gun. If he did, her life would be over.
* * *
Now that Martin was face to face with Liza O’Malley he just stared at the woman. Her auburn hair was tousled, her mascara horribly smeared, and her eyes swollen and red. So why did he feel a surge of pleasure just looking at her?
She pushed the door open an inch or so, but didn’t speak.
“May I come in?” he asked when his voice finally came back.
She nodded. The cottage was quiet as a tomb as he followed her into the living room. They sat down across from each other and when Lancelot sprang into his lap, Martin stroked the pup’s head.
“I need some explanations,” he said curtly.
“All right.” She pulled a tissue from the pocket of her slacks and managed to wipe away most of the mascara.
Martin sucked in a breath, trying to calm his nerves. “After I dropped you at the cottage, Meg called me.”
“Oh, dear.” Pain flashed in Liza’s eyes, and she took a steadying breath. “We don’t have to discuss this if you’d rather not.”
“I need to tie up the loose ends before I can move on with my life.”
She bit her lip and nodded. She fumbled with the tissue and waited for him to continue.
Martin swallowed hard as he confronted the reality of his dilemma. “Meg pretty much echoed everything you said. She told me you’d reconnected her with her high school sweetheart and that she’d fallen in love with him.” He heard the anger in his tone but couldn’t keep it out.
“Martin, I...”
“Let me finish.”
Her shoulders slumped, and she fell silent.
“After Meg called, I had to talk to someone. So I drove to the dance studio and caught up with Rachel between classes. We talked a while, and Rachel agrees with you.” He shook his head. “It’s like some kind of crazy conspiracy.”
Bride by Chance Page 16
