Jay rubbed the back of his neck. “Listen, I know I shouldn’t say this, but under the circumstances . . . if you’re not getting married, what are you guys gonna do about the baby?”

Daniel’s head whipped back up. “What baby?”

Jay pulled back. “Oops.”

“Jay, out with it!”

“Well, I promised I wasn’t gonna tell you, but . . . ” He sighed. “Maybe I’m wrong and the test was negative. But I saw her at the OBGYN’s office with her friend Holly, and once a woman goes to see an OBGYN, chances are she wants to confirm a pregnancy, because her home pregnancy test was positive.”

Sabrina could be pregnant? Was it possible?

Daniel jumped up from the table. He had to stop Sabrina from doing anything foolish.

23

When the taxi dropped him off in front of his parents’ home, Daniel knew immediately that Sabrina wasn’t here: his car wasn’t parked in the driveway. Had she gone for a drive somewhere to cool off? Or worse, had she already been here, packed her things and left?

He tossed the taxi driver way too much money and jumped out of the cab, then ran to the entrance door, jammed his key in the lock and unlocked it.

Inside the foyer, he called, “Sabrina!” But in his gut, he knew she was gone. She’d taken off. He charged upstairs, but found the bedroom they’d shared empty. However, Sabrina’s things were still strewn about.

He pulled out his cell and dialed her number, pacing in the room while it rang. After the fourth ring it went to her voicemail. He’d expected that she wouldn’t pick up.

“Please, Sabrina, come back. We need to talk,” he said, before disconnecting the call.

Daniel made his way downstairs again, this time heading for the kitchen, from where he heard voices. When he entered, he was relieved to see that only Holly and his mother were in the room. He wouldn’t have been able to face Sabrina’s mother right now.

“Have you seen Sabrina?” he asked without a greeting.

His mother turned halfway while she continued to mix dough in a large bowl. “I thought you took her out for brunch.”

He raked a shaky hand through his hair. “I did. But she left.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be back soon then,” his mother said lightly and walked to the larder to pull out a bag of flour. “I think I got my measurements all mixed up today,” she added with a sideways glance to Holly.

“That’s just it: I don’t think she’ll come back.”

Holly turned to him first, her eyes widening. Then his mother turned too and gave him her full attention.

“What do you mean, she’s not coming back?” Holly asked, drawing out the words.

Daniel closed his eyes for a moment. “She gave me back her engagement ring.” He drew in a ragged breath. “She called off the wedding.”

The moment he said it, he knew it was true. Sabrina wasn’t a woman to make empty threats in order to get attention.

Both Holly and his mother gasped.

“Oh my god! No!” His mother shook her head as if she could make the news go away like that. “That can’t be. What happened? What did you do?”

“But she loves you,” Holly professed.

“That’s just it. She left me because she loves me. She doesn’t want to ruin my life because of this scandal.”

“Is this because of her father running out like that?” His mother motioned to the breakfast table as if he were still sitting there.

“Partially. I think it’s everything: the way people in the village have been treating her, her father calling her terrible things, and then when we were at the country club . . . ” He hesitated.

“What happened?” Holly pressed.

“One of my business associates stopped by to tell me that he’s pulling out of a business deal because of what the New York Times printed. I think it was the last straw for her.”

“You can’t let her just leave!” his mother said, wiping her hands on her apron. “You have to get her back. Didn’t you tell her that none of this matters? You can’t possibly put your business before her.”

“Of course not!” he ground out, for the first time glaring at his mother. “I told her I don’t care about the business deal. But she wouldn’t listen. She’s convinced that she’ll ruin my life if she marries me.”

“Then you have to convince her otherwise!” his mother demanded.

He nodded grimly. Then he looked at Holly. “There’s one thing I have to know. And you’re the only one who can tell me, Holly.”