Page 17 (1/2)

Chapter One

He’s breaking our engagement in a seafood restaurant

Clinking ice cubes, silverware scraping against china, and soft laughter all faded into a tornado of sound, nus She suspected Fisher brought her here specifically, one of San Diego’s finest seafood restaurants, to dump her in style, because he suspected she wouldn’ta scene

A steakhouse would have been so much more appropriate More sharp metal objects hich to stab me in the heart

For once, Story welcoue It served to block out Fisher’s decidedly unwelcome words as he spoke to her froestures to , but she’d prettyoff the wedding

Searching for so to focus on, her eyes dropped to his eed to keep his appetite while cutting her loose In addition to hating scenes, Fisher adored lobster, probably another reason for the elegant venue

He’s killing two birds with one stone And you almost married this asshole

At that point in Story’s reverie, everything in her present snapped back into sharp focus Fiancé breaking engageht

“I didn’t ether and things just kind of…progressed”

“Hold up What?”

Visibly flustered, Fisher took a sip of water “This isn’t easy for me, you know Can you please try and tune in?” He slu to you that Diana and I didn’t seek out a relationship with each other, it si more over time”

Whoops Looks like she’dher little trip to outer headspace So he’d istered the information calmly, as if he’d told her they were out ofwith the effects of three glasses of wine and no food in her stoain?”

He released a long-suffering sigh “The oncologist” She showed no reaction “From Boston…?”

Story tilted her head “The one with the bob haircut?”

“Yes”

“Huh”

Story recalledher apparent replacement, Diana, at a dinner party aeach other? Did she even want to know? Their destination wedding in Maui wouldn’t be taking place either way

The white noise of the dining room combined with the over-the-top nautical decor transported Story to the ocean and the ti water, she recalled the day with perfect clarity

Ignoring her erous undertoelve-year-old Story swam out much too far, only to be pulled under by a s pinwheeled in every direction, breath whooshing fro the thought, maybe it’s better to just die now than have to deal with“I told you so” But soed tosaltwater from her eyes

Then she’d grabbed her board and paddled out ever farther

What happened to that girl? The brave girl who refused to sit still for lectures Or let people force her into eating seafood She used to be fearless With regularity, her grade school teachers used to throw up their hands in resignation, , “She has a mind of her own”

At soe three years earlier and now, she’d lost her pluck Her htly older, arad and could admit now that she’d been more than a little dazzled by the attention he paid her—especially after being surrounded for four years by inexperienced college boys

While trying to fit into his world of sophisticated dinner parties and foreign films, had she let little parts of herself chip away in the process? Obviously The old Story, the one who’d regarded her near-drowning as an adventure, would not approve of the girl who listened politely while someone made her feel two inches tall

That Story would kick ass and take names

The waitress approached then, drawing her attention “Are you still working on your halibut, miss?”

Looking down at the untouched piece of fish—Fisher knew she didn’t like seafood, the bastard—Story shook her head “No, I’m finished, thank you”

She cleared the plate with efficiency “Would you like to see our dessert menu?”

“No, thank you,” Fisher replied, already reaching for his wallet

And honestly, denying her a look at the dessert menu was the straw that finally broke the chocoholic’s back Perhaps it ured her wasted er take place had at least earned her so, but leave me my desserts

“Actually,” St

ory interceded with a bright smile, “I’d like a slice of chocolate cake and a bottle of your o”

Fisher’s valuable surgeon’s hand froze in the act of re his credit card “Very funny”

She merely raised an eyebrow at the waitress, who shifted rather uncomfortably “Ma’aainst the law”

“Really?” She jerked a thuht to break off our engage”

She nodded pri wide at Fisher “I’ll see what I can do”

Story clapped her hands once “Excellent”

As the waitress scurried off toward the kitchen, Fisher turned to her “You’rethis harder than it needs to be I didn’t want it to be like this”

With a calm she didn’t feel, Story pushed back her chair and stood “I think I’ e…?”

“I’h he wanted to saysilent

Deciding then and there that Fisher wasn’t worth another nored him Between his distant attitude the last few h of feeling undeserving Never again She spotted the waitress exiting the kitchen holding a bottle of chanant she felt on Story’s behalf and itA fact that definitely needed further investigation, since she hadn’t yet shed a single tear over her broken engagement