Heroes Never Die by Lois Sanders Read Free Book Online Page A

answer.  He lifted her drink from her right hand and set it down on the mantel without ever taking his eyes off of her.  Then he took her abruptly by the hand and led her to the terrace where he embraced her in his arms.  “I love you, Stephanie,” he whispered.  “And I still want to marry you.”
    His tender caress could have easily aroused her senses, but the image of watching him make love to another woman was impossible to forget.  He was such a good liar.  She pulled away from his embrace.  “I don’t want to marry you anymore.  It’s over between us.”
    “Does the man you’re with tonight have anything to do with this?  Who is he anyway?” he demanded.
    Stephanie didn’t answer.  She remembered what Kyle had done to Duke when he stepped out of line and all of his other handiwork when other men had made passes at her, and she didn’t want to get Brian involved.  Besides, unlike the other men who wouldn’t take no for an answer, she had encouraged Brian.
    Kyle answered his own question.  “Brian Fairchild, right?”
    Her brow lifted with surprise.  “I see you’ve been doing your homework.”
    “Where you’re concerned, I always keep my ear to the ground.  But I didn’t come here to talk about good ole Brian.  I came here to talk about us.  I want some answers, Stephanie.  I want to know why you broke our engagement.”
    The people on the dance floor were beginning to stare, and Stephanie could sense their uneasiness.  “We need to have this conversation, Kyle, but this isn’t the time or the place.  Please,” she begged, not wanting to break down.  “I want you to leave.”
    “Not this time, ladylove.”  He pulled her back into his arms.  “I want an explanation.”
    She couldn’t hold back her pain any longer.  “Oh, Kyle,” she wept.  “How could you betray me?”
    “What are you talking about?  You’re the one who sent the Dear John letter.”
    “I never wanted to send that letter.  I even tried to tell you that in person, and I flew home so I could tell you.  But you weren’t answering your phone, so I went to your condo and let myself in.  You were in your bedroom making love to another woman.”  She watched his face fill with confusion.  “I loved you, Kyle.  But standing there watching you...”
    “Stephanie,” he argued.  “I had just received a letter telling me that you never wanted to see me again.  What was I supposed to do?”
    Waves of ripping pain stabbed her insides.  How can he justify betraying me?  “I just told you I saw you with another woman and you don’t even have the decency to apologize?  Do you understand how much you hurt me?
    “Spend the night with me, Stephanie.  We’ll talk this over.  We’ll work it out.”
    Stephanie didn’t want to share the bed he had shared with another woman.  “It’s over, Kyle.  Something in me died that night.  I’m moving on with my life.”
    “You are my life, Stephanie,” he said as he tightened his grip around her arm.  “And I don’t plan on living it without you.”
    “Let go of me!”  She jerked her arm loose.  Then she heard the music stop.  The silence blared in her ears.
    “You know, Stephanie, you are really incredible.  I’ve waited over four years to marry you, and now you’re telling me it’s over between us and you won’t even try to give us another chance?  Just what do you expect me to do, walk away as if I never knew you?”
    “Yes,” she said as she tossed back her head.  “And I can show you just how easy it is.”  She spun around and walked away.
    Kyle grabbed her arm and snapped her back.  “Don’t you ever walk away from me again!”
    His eyes were as wild as the night he hit Duke and Stephanie was frightened.  “Let go of me,” she cried as she struggled to pry loose from his grip.  “Kyle, please, you’re hurting me.”
    “No, Stephanie,” he said as he jerked her close to his face.  “You’re hurting me.  And I’m