Melanie stood frozen, her gaze fixed on the darkening sky outside the window. The day had faded into night but she'd barely noticed. Her thoughts churned as she tried to make sense of what she had seen. She was hiding—hiding from the truth Spencer had brought back with him. The truth she wasn't ready to face. Her husband had brought back another woman with him. Someone whose hand he could not even bear to let go when he had been meeting the rest of his family. So engrossed was he in praising her, in introducing her to all the friends and family, that he had forgotten all about his wife.
Just then, she felt it—arms sliding around her waist from behind. She stiffened instantly, her body going rigid as her first instinct flared to life. Adam.
Her breath hitched as she realized who it was. Spencer.
"I thought the moment I returned, you'd come running into my arms. But instead, you chose to hide away, hmm?" He nuzzled her shoulder then, "Are you angry at me for ignoring you for so long? Is that it? But you know how busy I was and so were you. I missed you, Melanie. So much."
For a moment, her heart wavered, the familiar comfort of his presence making her feel soft. He thought she'd been hiding. She'd sat there right opposite him all through the meal, just looking at him and he thought she was hiding? No one might have noticed that Spencer had not even asked for his wife, let alone looked at her, other than that one person.
The image of those mocking eyes returned and she stiffened, " If you missed me so much, then why didn't you come ask for me? The day has turned to night and only now you have the time to think of your wife? All you had to do was look away from your friend and you would have seen me."
She felt him straighten then as he began, "Melanie..." but she didn't let him finish.
She turned her head just enough to glance at him, her eyes meeting his. The anger she had been holding back simmered to the surface then. Seeing him again had been overwhelming enough, but seeing him holding the hand of another woman had shaken her. And now, he had the gall to claim that she was the one who had been hiding?
She clenched her hands as she looked into his eyes. Why did it feel nothing had changed something had? "Three years," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I waited for you. I believed in you. And you came back..." Her voice broke slightly as she swallowed down the lump in her throat. "You came back holding someone else's hand. You cheated me."
Melanie's breath caught as Spencer closed the distance between them. His hands cradled her face, his lips pressing firmly against hers in a kiss that felt as sudden as it was strange. She let him kiss her for a moment, hoping that all the love she felt for him would come rushing back, but she felt frozen. She pushed him away.
"Listen to me, Melanie. I can't believe you would think I could cheat on you," he said, his voice tinged with hurt. "Mel, Mel..." The old nickname rolled off his tongue like a balm, but it only made her throat tighten. "That woman..." Spencer paused, taking a deep breath as if choosing his words carefully. "That woman is Hallie. She's nothing more than a friend. She's been going through a lot so I asked her to come here, and she was nervous about meeting my family. She held my hand because she needed support, not because there's anything between us. Alright? Don't be jealous and silly. That is just not like my Mel."
"If I'd known you were hiding here because of that," Spencer continued, as he caressed her face, "I would have come looking for you the moment I arrived. I would have explained everything, Melanie. You have to know that."
Melanie looked into his eyes then and suddenly felt at a loss. This was the same Spencer whom she'd dated and married. The one she'd trusted. Then why did he feel different? Here he was telling her that the other woman was only his friend but all she could do was be suspicious. Dam* it. She really wanted to believe that he was not cheating her.
Adam was the culprit behind everything. He'd been whispering all those sarcastic comments about Spencer to her over the last few weeks and she'd thought she'd ignored them. Maybe she was not as strong as she believed then. She sighed and walked into his arms, her hands going around him as she placed her head on his shoulder, "Spencer. I missed you. Thank you for coming back to me."
He hugged her back then and she smiled. Finally her husband was home and her wait was over. She'd been living like a widow for the last three years. She looked up at him then and leaned up to kiss him. But as their lips would have touched, Spencer turned his head away. "I am too tired, Mel Mel. Let's sleep for now. Come on!"