existed for just the two of them.
Â
Just as fast as the passion burned, Karina was left standing frozen as Brian left.
Â
"Damn it. Quit doing that," she yelled at his retreating back.
Â
His laughing voice called back, "Quit doing what?"
Â
"Scrambling my brains, then leaving!"
Â
"Hold that thought until I get back." He glanced at her, the dark depths of his eyes piercing her heart, the hinted promise stealing her breath.
Â
That louse, he knew she wouldn't be able to think of anything else now. She tried to come up with the perfect response.
Â
Too late. He was gone. Again.
Â
***
Â
In the murky darkness of a deep Victoria night, anger and pain and hate filled Ian's mind.
Â
Life had gone from bad to worse. Not only had his wife decided that their separation was a good idea, but she'd gone one step further and had asked for a divorce.
Â
Ian was going to lose it all.
Â
He'd tried talking to her. He'd told her how much he needed her. Nothing had worked. Nothing had made a difference.
Â
Then he tried threatening her. She'd hung up on him. Breaking his heart. Him. After all this time. Now she'd disappeared again. And he had no idea where. And damn he'd tried. He'd checked out every spot he could think of. She'd disappeared. How she could afford time off work he didn't know. She didn't have any money of her own. He'd made sure of that.
Â
She'd never have done this before and she couldn't have done this on her own. Someone had to be helping her.
Â
She'd changed.
Â
And he knew who was to blame.
Â
In the dead stillness of the night, he started making concrete plans to head in the only direction left open to him. Thank God Karina had moved here. Just in time and just for him.
Â
He knew where she lived now. And he'd seen the rapport she had with the kids.
Â
Now he had multiple targets.
Â
And multiple ways to inflict maximum pain on the two people who'd fucked up his life.
Â
Chapter 8
Â
O pening day was chaos. Fun. Exciting.
Â
And absolutely nuts.
Â
Karina had never seen that many people in one place before. And never for something she'd worked so hard on. Paul had taken on the challenge of their advertising and made it shine. Balloons walked out with children attached. Mothers and fathers walked out carrying multiple bags, equally full of happiness as their giddy children.
Â
She and Susan answered endless questions and ran the till until they were both ready to collapse. Thank heavens both Paul and Mark showed up to help. Sandra had also flitted in and out throughout the day, lending a helping hand when she could.
Â
It was a smashing success.
Â
Closing time came and went, but the store was too full to notice. By the time the store had emptied and they'd finished cleaning up the dinner hour had come and gone. Mark and Susan looked the way Karina feltâexhausted beyond belief.
Â
"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but this is definitely a pizza day for me. How about you guys?"
Â
Too tired to do anything but nod, adults and children agreed.
Â
Susan turned to Mark. "Come and join us. You worked hard today. The kids are too tired to ruin the peace and quiet we all need."
Â
Mark was too weary to argue.
Â
Karina stayed behind to phone in the order. For all the bone-weary fatigue, she was smiling. They'd really done it! These last few weeks had given her many difficult moments, but those were over and gone. Even despite the ongoing nightmares, she was content with her move to a new life.
Â
The day's sales were a good start toward paying the bills. More than that, the incredible community response showed how happy everyone was to have a local toy store back.
Â
The only shadow marring the day was that Brian hadn't been able to come.
Â
The flashing light on the answering machine gave testament to phone calls they'd missed. She hit the play button, with pen and paper in
Â
Just as fast as the passion burned, Karina was left standing frozen as Brian left.
Â
"Damn it. Quit doing that," she yelled at his retreating back.
Â
His laughing voice called back, "Quit doing what?"
Â
"Scrambling my brains, then leaving!"
Â
"Hold that thought until I get back." He glanced at her, the dark depths of his eyes piercing her heart, the hinted promise stealing her breath.
Â
That louse, he knew she wouldn't be able to think of anything else now. She tried to come up with the perfect response.
Â
Too late. He was gone. Again.
Â
***
Â
In the murky darkness of a deep Victoria night, anger and pain and hate filled Ian's mind.
Â
Life had gone from bad to worse. Not only had his wife decided that their separation was a good idea, but she'd gone one step further and had asked for a divorce.
Â
Ian was going to lose it all.
Â
He'd tried talking to her. He'd told her how much he needed her. Nothing had worked. Nothing had made a difference.
Â
Then he tried threatening her. She'd hung up on him. Breaking his heart. Him. After all this time. Now she'd disappeared again. And he had no idea where. And damn he'd tried. He'd checked out every spot he could think of. She'd disappeared. How she could afford time off work he didn't know. She didn't have any money of her own. He'd made sure of that.
Â
She'd never have done this before and she couldn't have done this on her own. Someone had to be helping her.
Â
She'd changed.
Â
And he knew who was to blame.
Â
In the dead stillness of the night, he started making concrete plans to head in the only direction left open to him. Thank God Karina had moved here. Just in time and just for him.
Â
He knew where she lived now. And he'd seen the rapport she had with the kids.
Â
Now he had multiple targets.
Â
And multiple ways to inflict maximum pain on the two people who'd fucked up his life.
Â
Chapter 8
Â
O pening day was chaos. Fun. Exciting.
Â
And absolutely nuts.
Â
Karina had never seen that many people in one place before. And never for something she'd worked so hard on. Paul had taken on the challenge of their advertising and made it shine. Balloons walked out with children attached. Mothers and fathers walked out carrying multiple bags, equally full of happiness as their giddy children.
Â
She and Susan answered endless questions and ran the till until they were both ready to collapse. Thank heavens both Paul and Mark showed up to help. Sandra had also flitted in and out throughout the day, lending a helping hand when she could.
Â
It was a smashing success.
Â
Closing time came and went, but the store was too full to notice. By the time the store had emptied and they'd finished cleaning up the dinner hour had come and gone. Mark and Susan looked the way Karina feltâexhausted beyond belief.
Â
"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but this is definitely a pizza day for me. How about you guys?"
Â
Too tired to do anything but nod, adults and children agreed.
Â
Susan turned to Mark. "Come and join us. You worked hard today. The kids are too tired to ruin the peace and quiet we all need."
Â
Mark was too weary to argue.
Â
Karina stayed behind to phone in the order. For all the bone-weary fatigue, she was smiling. They'd really done it! These last few weeks had given her many difficult moments, but those were over and gone. Even despite the ongoing nightmares, she was content with her move to a new life.
Â
The day's sales were a good start toward paying the bills. More than that, the incredible community response showed how happy everyone was to have a local toy store back.
Â
The only shadow marring the day was that Brian hadn't been able to come.
Â
The flashing light on the answering machine gave testament to phone calls they'd missed. She hit the play button, with pen and paper in
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