When a Champion Wants You (18 page)

“
You really believe she
doesn’t love you?”

“
I don’t want to believe
it, but…I think she’s still in love with her ex.”

“
Why do you think
that?”

Dimitrius rubbed his chin.
“The same day she ended things with me, her ex came by our table to
speak to her.”

“
Your table? So all this
happened in a restaurant?”

“
Yes. Connelley’s of all
places.”

“
Dang...”

“
We were supposed to have
dinner, talk about our future and discuss why she had yet to move
in with me, but she showed up nearly an hour late and then her ex
shows up with his wife and child. You should’ve seen the look on
Melanie’s face when she saw him. She looked like she wanted to
cry…like she was broken.”

Dante shook his head.
“Something’s not adding up, though, Dimitrius. I was at the
wedding. I saw how she looked into your eyes.”

“
Yeah, but you didn’t see
how she looked at Scott.”

“
But there has to be an
explanation.”

“
Dante, don’t worry about
it, man.”

“
I am worried. You haven’t
been yourself, well, let me start over…you haven’t been the man you
became when you and Melanie began dating.”

“
Meaning?”

“
You were grouchy and moody
before you started dating Melanie.”

“
Okay, now you’re
exaggerating.”

“
Need I remind you about
the interview?”

Dimitrius
sighed.

“
Come by the house for
dinner tonight. Melanie will be there and that’ll give you an
opportunity to talk to her, or at the very least, see
her.”

Dimitrius shook his head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“
Well, I do.”

“
Why’s that,
Dante?”

“
Do you remember when
things weren’t working out between me and Emily?”

Dimitrius
nodded.

“
You pushed me to make it
work, and now, I’m pushing you. Come by the house tonight. Talk to
her. Claim her. Don’t let her walk out of your life if she’s the
one you want.”

Dimitrius nodded. “I’ll
come by if I feel up to it.”

“
Alright,” Dante said
standing. “I’m off to a meeting. Hope to see you tonight,
bro.”

Chapter 26

Dimitrius had been
apprehensive about going to Dante’s place for
dinner. He hadn’t seen Melanie in two weeks and he wasn’t sure of
what to say to her when he did finally see her face to face. That’s
if he would say anything at all…

Sitting at the dinner
table, now, he realized that this was the precise moment he wished
he would’ve stayed home. Seemed everyone was in a good mood except
for him. Dante was busy chatting it up with Desmond about his
upcoming trip to Charlotte in a few days. Emily had been talking to
Sherita, laughing and carrying on. Dimitrius was out of place,
staring across the table at the empty chair where Melanie was
supposed to be sitting.

“
Hey, I thought Melanie was
joining us,” Sherita said.

Seemed everyone got quiet
at her statement.

Emily grimaced a little,
glanced at Dimitrius then back at Sherita.

When Sherita realized the
room had gotten awkwardly quiet, she asked, “What? Did I say
something wrong?”

“
No,” Emily responded,
smiling to keep things light. “Melanie will be here shortly. She
sent me a text twenty minutes ago to say that she was on the
way.”

“
Twenty minutes ago? She
should’ve been here by now, then,” Desmond said. “Dimitrius, why
didn’t y’all just ride together?”

Dimitrius pulled in a
frustrated breath and said, “Maybe we would have if we were still a
couple.”

“
What?” Desmond
asked.

Emily frowned. Sherita
looked as confused as Desmond looked, and Dante wished he could
quiet his younger brother somehow before he said something else
destructive.

“
The marriage is over
already?” Desmond asked, sounding insensitive. He wasn’t an
advocate of marriage and he had tried to warn his brother against
the institution. But Dimitrius had been insistent that Melanie was
the one. Three weeks later, things had apparently fallen
apart.

“
I guess it is, but only
because
she
wanted
it to be,” Dimitrius responded.

Emily frowned, trying with
everything inside of her to keep her mouth closed. She knew why
Melanie had ended the relationship, but she didn’t want to break
her friend’s trust by telling Dimitrius herself. But then again,
she had told Melanie to tell Dimitrius countless times, practically
begging her to tell him. Melanie just wasn’t up to doing it. And
who was better at keeping secrets than Melanie? After all, she had
kept a two-year-old secret about how Scott had broken up with
her.

“
That’s so sad,” Sherita
said, recalling the wedding photos she had taken of Dimitrius and
Melanie. “I thought you guys were so perfect together.”

“
Yeah, well you can’t make
someone love you, especially when they’re in love with someone
else,” Dimitrius said.

“
In love with someone
else?” Emily repeated, not able to bite her tongue any
longer.

“
That’s what I said.
Yes.”

“
Melanie’s not in love with
anyone else.”

“
I beg to
differ.”

“
Well, you’re wrong,
Dimitrius,” Emily advised him.

“
I love it how you can
pretend that you don’t know, Emily,” Dimitrius said, taking another
sip of wine.

“
Melanie’s not in love with
anyone but you.”

Dimitrius chuckled
uncomfortably. “I wish that was the case. I really do.”

“
It
is
the case,” Emily
scowled.

“
Then why did she look me
in my eyes and tell me she didn’t love me?”

Emily glanced up at Dante
before closing her eyes briefly. It was on the tip of her tongue to
tell him Melanie’s truth, but a commotion at the door had stopped
her. Melanie was here. Maybe she would tell him tonight.
Finally.

Melanie stepped into the
quiet room, already feeling thick tension in the air. She had a bag
in her hand – a cake that she’d picked up for dessert.

“
Hey, everybody,” she said,
forcing herself to sound chipper when she’d been a teary mess since
breaking up with Dimitrius. “I’m not going to stay. Just bringing
dessert for you guys.” She continued on to the kitchen, set the bag
on the countertop and began her walk back to the door when Emily
said, “Come on, Melanie. Stay for a little while.”

“
I can’t,” she said,
holding her friend’s gaze. “See you guys later,” she said, heading
for the door.

The frown in Dimitrius’
forehead kept on growing deeper and deeper. Now, she was going to
ignore him? Pretend he wasn’t sitting there? He felt something
inside of him break and he knew what that something was. He’d had
it with women who supposedly loved him and ended up doing him wrong
in the end. So before she could leave, he yelled, “If you so happen
to be pregnant, don’t go to an abortion clinic. I want the baby,
even if you don’t!”

Emily’s mouth fell
open.

Desmond, completely
befuddled, looked at Dante and mouthed, “Is Melanie
pregnant?”

Sherita looked like she was
in the middle of the twilight zone and was waiting for the perfect
opportunity to escape.

Dante rubbed his hands
across his head, not wanting to interfere into his brother’s
affairs. Not this time.

Melanie had frozen in her
tracks, wanted to turn around, face him and tell him that she would
never do such a thing, but what was the point of it all. Besides,
she hadn’t wanted everyone to see the tears falling from her eyes.
So instead of saying anything, she simply walked away.

Emily frowned, shook her
head and dropped a fork in her plate. “You know, you can be such an
insensitive jerk!” she said, looking at Dimitrius.

“
Sweetie, calm down,” Dante
told Emily.

“
I’m
a jerk?” Dimitrius asked angrily. “Your friend married me
while knowing all along she was still in love with Scott? But I’m
the insensitive jerk?”

Emily shook her head.
Melanie was dodging Dimitrius yet again, and she knew she had to do
something about it. Melanie might hate her for a while, but she
would just have to get over it. So pulling in a deep breath, Emily
said, “Melanie
does
love you. She doesn’t love Scott. Listen, Dimitrius, I really
shouldn’t say anything because she begged me not to say a word
about this, but I can’t hold it in any longer. Melanie told me she
saw Scott and his family in the restaurant and she
was
upset, not because
she wanted Scott. She was upset because Scott and his wife had a
baby.”

“
Why would that upset her,
and what does that have to do with me?”

“
Let me speak with you
outside for a moment, Dimitrius,” Emily said, not wanting to air
Melanie’s business at the dinner table.

“
Nah. I’m good,” he said
standing. “I’ve had enough of my time wasted.”

Before he could walk away,
Emily blurted out, “She can’t have children.”

Dimitrius swung his neck
back around quickly, looking at her. “What’d you say?”

“
I said…she can’t have
children. That’s why it bothered her to see Scott’s wife holding a
baby. It wasn’t because she wanted Scott back. It was a reminder of
what she could never give you…a child. She said she was going to
tell you that at the restaurant, but I guess when she saw Scott and
his family, it threw a wrench in her plans. She’d been on the fence
about telling you because, after all, that is why Scott broke up
with her.”

Dimitrius’ frown deepened
as hurt replaced the rage that had consumed him. “Scott broke up
with her because she couldn’t have children?”

Emily nodded. “Yes. She
feared you would do the same once you found out.”

Now he understood why she
looked so sad in the restaurant once Scott and his family had
stopped by their table. Scott left her because she couldn’t have
children, and then he had the audacity to introduce her to his wife
who was holding his baby. It must’ve really hurt her to see that,
and to know she couldn’t give him a child. And he also realized why
Emily called him an insensitive jerk. Out of anger, he’d yelled to
Melanie not to have an abortion if she was pregnant, but she
couldn’t get pregnant. And if she could, he knew that she’d never
do something like that to him.

Dimitrius sighed and shook
his head. He had a lot of clean-up to do if he intended on working
things out with Melanie. But what if the damage he’d already done
couldn’t be undone?

“
I have to go,” Dimitrius
said to everyone, then quickly darted out the door.

Chapter 27

Melanie wasn’t ready
to face Dimitrius and she didn’t know if she ever
would be, especially after what he’d said to her tonight. If he
meant for his words to cut deep into her heart, then he had
certainly succeeded at that. Even still, she couldn’t get thoughts
of him out of her mind, the good times. Their wedding. Their
honeymoon. Their hiking adventures. Star-gazing. Dinners. Holding
hands. Seemed every second, she thought of him, but she was sure
Dimitrius hadn’t been thinking about her. It was evident by the
wrath that protruded forth from his mouth just an hour
ago.

Too add fuel to the fire,
right after she broke up with Dimitrius, Desmond had notified her
that they decided to go with another candidate for the marketing
manager position at The Champion Corporation. Dimitrius must’ve
been so angry at her, he had his brother call to fire her before
she could start working at her new position. So not only was she
without the man she loved, she was also without a job.

She’d been thinking about
moving to Charlotte because she couldn’t imagine living in
Asheville and running into Dimitrius with a new woman and a baby,
same as she had with Scott. It would be too much for her to bear.
Moving to Charlotte would give her a clean slate, a fresh start.
Some place where she could live the rest of her days single – the
way she had intended on doing it before, until Dimitrius came
along.

She sighed. She couldn’t
deny that she missed Dimitrius. She missed his sexy smile and the
look in his eyes when he told her that he loved her. She missed his
smell, missed wrapping her arms around his torso, closing her eyes
and taking in the very essence of him. She longed for him, but knew
how unhealthy it was to desire something you couldn’t have. Who
knew that better than she did?

After a quick shower, she
towel-dried her thick, luscious curls and tied a robe on her body.
Then she walked to the kitchen where she made a cup of hot cocoa,
hoping the warm liquid would help to settle her mind. After taking
a few sips, she set the cup on the coffee table. The drink did
nothing to ease the loneliness that crept into her heart. She
longed to feel Dimitrius’ arms around her, to feel his hands
against her face, his lips against her lips. Wishful thinking, she
said to herself.