Going to the Chapel Read Free

instead, you surprised me.”
Caroline washed down the lump of emotion that crowded into her
throat with a hefty swallow of the warm champagne.
    “ Oh, my God.”
    Caroline rolled her eyes.
“Sorry, Tristan, but He can’t help you with this one. We’re
finished. I’ll be in Memphis with Dianne until I make up my mind
about the future.”
    “ But...but...but,
Caroline—”
    “ No buts, Tristan. It’s
over. I’m just glad I found out the truth before I made the mistake
of my life.” Caroline drained the rest of the liquid courage in her
glass.
    “ But, what about my
car?”
    Caroline smiled. The
bastard. The bottom line was his damned car. “Don’t worry, Tristan,
I’ll take good care of it until I get it back to you. Meanwhile you
can use the Buick.” Caroline flipped the phone closed and stared at
the small black communicator. She shook her head slowly as she
considered that with an instrument not much larger than the palm of
her hand she had just undone eighteen months of hard work at a
committed relationship.
    As if on cue, the phone
chirped and vibrated insistently. Knowing who it would be, she drew
back her right arm and threw the damned plastic link to the recent
past as far as she could down the grassy hillside.
    Satisfied that she had done
the right thing, she refilled her glass and relaxed fully into the
soft leather upholstery. A moment’s regret washed over her. Though
she hadn’t actually loved Tristan as she’d somehow felt she should,
Caroline had convinced herself that she would be happy with him.
But how could he have loved her and done what she had caught him
doing? She shuddered at the thought.
    No amount of analyzing
would give her the answer she wanted. Tristan obviously hadn’t
loved her at all. And if he would do this before they were married,
what would he have done afterwards? Whenever the urge struck him?
Another quake shook her. She sighed again. Well, at least, she
still had her career.
    Somewhere between St. Louis
and the Tennessee state line, she had called Dianne. Memphis
General always needed ER doctors with her qualifications and
experience. And Dianne insisted that she would love a roommate. But
Caroline simply wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Dianne would be
leaving this morning for a medical conference in Nashville. She had
told Caroline where to find her key. Had even offered to cancel her
plans and wait for her. But Caroline needed some time alone. Time
to think.
    After that, she had called
the chief of Mercy’s ER back in St. Louis, gotten him out of bed
and explained that she was taking her long overdue vacation
effective immediately. He hadn’t been happy, but he had understood.
Three weeks should be sufficient time for her to make a proper
decision at this unexpected fork in her life’s road.
    Thank God for her savings.
Unlike Tristan, she was a bit more frugal in her spending—case in
point, the old Buick she drove. If she decided not to go back to
St. Louis, that savings would keep her afloat for the next few
months.
    Determined to put the past
behind her and start fresh, Caroline raised her glass and toasted
an entirely different new beginning, then she took a long sip of
champagne and closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply of the sweet
country air and contemplated the future. Dianne was thrilled at her
decision to visit. Her friend had never liked Tristan anyway. If
only Caroline had been as insightful.
    Still angry with herself
for not seeing through his charm and good looks and after further
consideration, she made a solemn promise to herself: No more
handsome men. Why bother with good looking men? Men like that would
only break her heart. Maybe she would just swear off men
altogether. She had her career. What did she need with a man? Well,
she amended, men could be useful at times. One man in particular
leaped onto the screen in the private theater of her
mind.
    Refusing to replay that old
memory, Caroline turned her attention to the glorious show