Chapter 21

Serena clenched her cup of tea while she sat on the davenport in the formal living room. Jake looked at her intently. She would have to spit it out sometime, but the words just wouldn't come. One cannot start a sentence by saying, Hey, it's good to see you after so long. By the way, I'm dying.

Damn those gorgeous green eyes of his.

"You used to be courageous. What happened? California make you soft?"

"I'm sorry, Jake."

The heartbreak in her tone shut him up. He reclined in the spot across from her, draping his arm over the back of the sofa, and lifted his brows.

She stared into her cup and sighed. "I'm sorry I left the way I did. And that we haven't talked since." She swallowed with difficulty. This was harder than she thought. She was living on borrowed time, and if she was going to spill all, she may as well start with the part where she'd stomped on his heart, and any plans he'd made for them.