After the wedding, she'd gone home and lay in bed staring up at the dark ceiling, feeling sorry for herself, thinking about all the good times she'd had with Reggie and feeling lonely. Twice she'd reached for the phone to call him at his mother's house. The second time she'd dialed every digit except the last before coming to her senses. She'd been lonely for a long time. Even when Reggie was around, she'd felt alone. In high school, they'd each had their own set of friends with whom they'd partied. There had been the occasional one on one date, but the norm was for them to go out with a group. When she'd gone to college, he'd been resentful about being left behind, but she'd assured him it would work out. Two years into college, he'd given her an ultimatum. It was him or school. It was too difficult on him being without her, he'd said. He'd confessed to sleeping with other women when he'd felt particularly neglected. Each time, he'd seemed as hurt and confused by his own behavior as she had been. And each time, she'd forgiven him. Against her mother's adamant protests, she had dropped out of college. The plan had been to go to night school or take online courses. Somehow, that had never come about.

She'd like to blame everything on Reggie. But she had been a blind fool. He'd treated her poorly, but she had let him. She was barely on speaking terms with her mother. Her mother had been at Kayla's wedding, but she had barely acknowledged her. That had hurt like hell. Her mother didn't know about the break up. Dawn had called her to tell her about the engagement, thinking her mother would finally be satisfied that Reggie was the right man for her. Bernice Smith wasn't. A terse congratulations was all she'd received before her mother said she was in the middle of baking one of her famous cheesecakes.

So she hadn't told any of her family about her break up. She didn't want to see the pitying glances. Nor did she care to receive the condescending pats on the back she'd gotten in the past during one of their mini separations. How annoying she must have been to everyone. Constantly seeking their comfort during one of their many arguments, only to return to Reggie again and again. Her previous mistakes were so clear to her now and she was embarrassed and ashamed.

She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when she had fallen out of love with Reggie. It was probably years ago. Many times, she'd forgiven his infidelity because of how good things used to be or because she didn't want to give up on her fantasy of a future as his wife. And there was all the time she'd put in and the sacrifices she'd made for their relationship. All of that would be wasted if she gave up and let him go.

A brisk wind swept by, chilling her ankles and bringing her focus back to the present. Dawn shivered. Should she ring the doorbell again? She tightened the belt on her ankle length wool trench coat. The deep plum color accentuated the creaminess of her butterscotch skin tone.

Maybe he wasn't home?

The door swung open. He was topless, wearing only midnight blue satin pajama bottoms that hung indecently low on his hips. The sight was enough to make her mouth water. The man was all solid muscle. His chest was covered with a fine layer of black hair that arrowed down to a trim waist. He crossed his arms over his chest when he saw her. His biceps bulged. "If you want an apology for the kiss in the hotel tonight, you're going to be disappointed. I'm not sorry."

She stepped inside. He backed up to allow her entrance. She leaned back against the door to close it and undid her coat. The edges fell apart to reveal a midnight blue lace bra and panty set she'd bought when she'd thought she was getting married. "We match," she said with a smile.

Evan sucked in a breath. "Oh, damn." His dark eyes turned molten with desire from one second to the next. His gaze covered every inch of her and came back for seconds.

"I decided to take you up on your offer."

"Okay." He reached for her.

She laughed and halted him with a hand to his chest. "Don't you want to know why?"

"Later."

He pushed her coat from her shoulders and tugged her into his arms. Skin to skin contact was a shock for her. His body was hot and hard all over. She ran her fingers over his shoulders and down his back. The obvious evidence of his strength made her feel ultra-feminine. She trembled.