Chapter Twenty-Eight
“What?” Faith gasped. “Why didn’t you ever tell me before? I can’t believe he’s married. Where’s his wife?”
Immediately, Zane wondered if he should have told her.
Correction. He knew he shouldn’t have told her. He should have kept his mouth shut. He’d sworn to Matt that he wouldn’t say anything about his marriage.
Then again, Matt hadn’t exactly been model friend material lately, had he? The way he’d behaved with Faith: flirting with her, hitting on her, inviting her to the pictures – and, no doubt, also trying to get her into bed.
“Karolina is back in Austria,” he replied. “They got married two years ago. I was their best man.”
Faith shook her head, still looking astonished. Zane watched her as she tried to take it all in. Tried to make sense of what he’d just told her.
“I never told you before because I was sworn to secrecy,” he explained. “Matt didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Why not? Why is she still in Austria and he’s over here? If he’s married why is he dating Emily?”
“And why,” Zane added, “is he inviting you on a night out?”
Faith shot him a look. “I don’t understand.”
“They’re separated. When I first arrived in Carleton, I told you that Matt was still in Austria sorting a few things out. One of those things was his marriage. But when it came to signing the papers to start divorce proceedings, they decided not to go through with it. They’re having a trial separation, six months or so, then seeing how they feel about each other after that. Which is why he wanted to keep it a secret. Matt figured that if people knew he was still married, he’d never be able to live the single life, date, do what he wanted, and see how he really felt.”
“Does Emily know he’s married?”
Zane shrugged. “I don’t know for definite, but I doubt it.”
Faith eyed him suspiciously. “And yet you weren’t tempted to tell her?”
“No. It’s none of my business.” Zane shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “It’s up to Matt to tell her, if he wants her to know.”
“Yet you’re telling me, even though you were sworn to secrecy. Why?”
Zane sighed. “I don’t care what Emily gets up to. But I do care what you do.”
Faith pulled a stool out from under the worktop and sat down. “What happened for them to split up? Matt didn’t cheat on her, did he?”
Zane shook his head. “No. Karo cheated on him. She’s an even bigger flirt than he is. Miraculously, for the first time in all the years I’ve known him, Matt behaved himself. He was totally besotted with Karo. He stopped flirting, but unfortunately she didn’t. They argued about it all the time. Then he found out she was sleeping with the American chef at her family’s hotel in Austria.”
Faith lifted a hand to her mouth in shock. “Poor Matt.”
“Yeah, he was devastated. I’ve never seen him so messed up. He still loves her.”
“But if he still loves his wife, why is he sleeping with Emily?”
“It’s Matt’s way of dealing with it all.”
“I’m stunned.” Faith looked him in the eye. “I just can’t believe it.”
“I don’t want you dragged into all this mess that’s going on in his life right now,” Zane said. “The games he’s been playing, saying stuff, causing trouble. Asking you out. You deserve better than that.”
Faith frowned. “Saying what sort of stuff?”
“Nothing. You don’t need to know the details.”
Faith got off the stool and walked towards Zane. “Has he been saying stuff about me? Stuff about me and him?”
“Forget it. I can handle Matt. I know how he thinks. How he operates. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Zane swallowed and hoped she wouldn’t come any closer to him. If she did, all his resolve might go out the window. He’d come this far, managed to resist trying to get back with her. Taking her away from the clutches of the chef guy tonight and telling her about Matt, he’d only done those things to protect her, not because he wanted her back. He told himself that yet again, trying to make himself believe it.
She rested a hand on his arm.
A voice in his head said, who are you trying to kid? You do want her back. You want her right now.
“Zane…”
He looked at her and she smiled. It was a tentative smile. As though she was testing the ground between the two of them. It had been too long since he’d been on the receiving end of one of her smiles. He wanted to touch her. Kiss her. Put the bolt on the door to the café and remind her how good they were together, right here, amongst the pots and pans in the kitchen.
“Zane?”
He pushed the thoughts from his mind and tried to concentrate on what she was saying.
“All the staff at Carrdale will be at the big Christmas light switch-on, won’t they? You guys have contributed so much, financially and in terms of time, the Tourism Association insist you’re all there on the night.”
Her hand was still on his arm.
Right now, he would agree to anything to try to get her back. It looked as though he had the answer to his question. Yes, she was worth facing up to his fears for.
He nodded. “We’ll be there.”