Impossible To Resist (BWWM Romance Book 1)(98)

“Good morning, Miss Hargrove,” she said politely.

Deborah Hargrove looked her over slowly and then stood up, towering in her high heels. “What can I help you with?” she asked coolly.

Catalina felt ill at ease in her presence and stopped where she was, just inside the doorway. She looked around the room and then back at Deborah. “I was hoping to see Connor… I mean Professor James,” she said in a level voice, though she felt nervous inside.

Deborah narrowed her eyes at Catalina. “I just bet you were,” she almost hissed. Then she smiled and took a few steps toward Catalina. “Who are you?” she asked showing herself as polite once more.

“Um, I’m Catalina Marshall,” she answered, and as soon as she spoke her name, she saw the expression on Deborah Hargrove’s face change instantly. It was a strange combination of rage and jealousy and bitterness.

“Oh…. So you’re the little slut that almost cost my husband his job,” she spat out at Catalina.

Catalina froze where she stood. She couldn’t have heard Deborah correctly. “I’m… I’m sorry, what did you say?” she asked, astounded.

Deborah walked a little closer to her, her piercing eyes boring into Catalina’s.

“Which part?” she asked coldly. “The part where I realized that you are the little slut that my husband was screwing, or the part where you almost cost my husband his job?” she repeated.

Catalina stared at her. “What do you mean, your husband?” she asked in utter confusion. “Connor’s not married.”

Deborah looked up and laughed coldly. “Oh… yes, I guess you’re right. We’re still just engaged. He asked me to marry him, and he gave me this stunning ring,” she held her left hand up and showed off a massive diamond rock on it, “and we’ve been as hot for each other as newlyweds, but we haven’t walked down the aisle together, yet.

“That is still two weeks away. I apologize for the confusion; we are already calling each other husband and wife. I guess we’re both just so excited about it that we can’t wait for the official day. Oh well. Hot lovers, I guess, passionate about each other and the prospect of spending our lives together, but what can I say.”

Catalina’s heart shattered where she stood. Connor was getting married. He was marrying the cold hateful woman standing in front of her. Her mind was a blur of questions and confusion as she shook her head and stared at Deborah.

“That… that can’t be…” she said quietly.

Deborah laughed at her. “Oh, honey, I promise you that it most certainly… is.”

The older woman walked right up to her and blocked her off from the rest of the room. “Now, I realize that he had a little fun screwing you, but you were just a little toy for him to amuse himself for a little while. He’s done with you. You can go now, and don’t ever come back. He doesn’t want to see you ever again.

“He told me how miserable he was after he screwed you the first time and you just kept coming back after him, trying to get him to be with you, and my poor lover couldn’t get rid of you, like a bad penny…” her eyes moved up and down Catalina’s body and she shook her head, “and by the looks of it, worth about as much as a bad penny, too.”

Catalina couldn’t breathe and for a moment she was sure that she couldn’t move either, until Deborah took another step toward her and she suddenly had the energy to turn on the spot and bolt from Connor’s office, racing as fast and as far as she could with no destination in mind at all.

She was blinded by the tears that poured from her eyes, and she finally fell to her knees in the yellow winter grass, just beneath a huge old oak tree. She buried her face in her hands, sobbing into them as her whole body shook.

Catalina had never known that she could hurt as much as she was hurting just then, and it was all that she could do to just try and breathe in between the sobs. It felt like everything in her had been destroyed beyond a point of salvation, as if the entire universe had somehow ended and there was nothing that she could do about it.

Connor was getting married. He was not going to care about a baby, he was not going to care about her, and he was not going to ever see her again. He was going to spend the rest of his life with the cold evil woman who was sitting on the sofa in his office.

The sofa where she had made love with him a few times, and where each time she had felt like she was the only woman for him. The sofa where he had probably had sex with the cold evil bitch that had kicked her out of Connor’s life and out of Connor’s heart.

Catalina felt like she was going to throw up, she was crying so hard. Out of nowhere, she felt a large hand on her back and she sucked in her breath and looked up to see Reggie kneeling down beside her.

She closed her eyes and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest and hugging her tightly as she cried herself out and finally the tears and sobs subsided. She took a few deep breaths and then looked up at him and he loosened his arms from around her, letting her go.

“What-What are you doing here?” she tried to say as calmly as she could.

He tilted his head and smiled kindly at her. “Well, this is our spot,” he told her and she looked around and discovered that she was on the grass beneath their big old oak tree, and their bench was just a few feet behind her.