"What the hell?"

"Don't, okay? He was right," Jeff said. "How do you know? We've been together for almost ten years. How do you know you're not just bored? How are you sure about this chick?"

"Oksana?"

"Yeah. You told me you wanted to be with other women, but I kinda thought you were joking or just being cute."

Annie shoved aside the snide remark that immediately popped into her head and answered him honestly.

"I was, in a way. The sex was a fantasy, and I think if it had been someone else, we would have just fucked and then I would have waited for you to come home. But she's different."

"I see that."

"It's not the tattoos or the hair."

"Or that she's black?"

"What?" Annie flinched in shock.

"She's black."

"She's mixed, and what does that have to do with anything?"

"What the fuck. Look at her and then look at yourself and your friends. Look at your fucking mom. Yeah, she'd fit right in. Megan the Ice Queen would call the cops on her before she was even able to introduce herself."

"Actually, she and Megan get along just fine."

"So Megan knew about this? That's fucking great."

Annie glanced at Jeff's discarded phone, thinking of exactly what he saw in that picture of Oksana and exactly what he didn't.

"You don't...you don't know her. She's an amazing person. Sweeter than me and all of my white friends combined."

"I didn't mean it like that," Jeff said. "I meant she's probably normal. She's probably not some elitist psycho like your mom or some hypocritical snob like Megan or Feather. She probably won't go for the bullshit your family and your friends would put her through."

"So what does that say about you? Are you like that and you've just been hiding it from me?"

"No, it means I don't give a shit about your mom and your friends. I loved you and I didn't let how much they fucking suck come between us. But, hey, let's hope your trainer feels the same way. Let's hope she wants to put up with Taum's shit just to see you happy."

"She will. She already has."

Jeff laughed.

"What? What's so funny?"

"I'm just thinking about Taum. She's going to flip the fuck out; you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do, but I can handle it."

"Can you?"

"What...what do we do?"

"We don't do anything. I'm going to call my parents and my friends and let them know the wedding is off. You can tell your parents. I'm not sticking around for that conversation."

"Okay. And what about your apartment? You haven't lined up a sublease, have you?"

"No." Jeff suddenly looked guilty. "I never planned to. I need my studio. Married or not, I need my space."

Annie stared at him in disbelief. "Is that what you mean by love? Needing your space?" Had Jeff always been this cold? Was Megan right the whole time? Was Jeff really a distant asshole? Annie thought he was dry and pensive, but now she was starting to see it was something else entirely.

"Whatever. Use that if you want to blame me. I guess I'll be going. Can I have my ring back?"

Annie pulled the ring box out of her pocket and placed it in Jeff's hand. He grabbed for his phone and headed for the door.

"Jeff, wait."

"For what? What do you want from me?"

"Where are you going to go?"

"Do you really care?"

"Yes. I do. I still care about you." Annie wanted to punch herself for saying something so trite, but it was the truth. She didn't hate Jeff and she hoped he wouldn't leave this angry.

"Good luck, Annie. Really. And if you care about this chick at all, maybe you should fuck everything you see before she gets serious about you. Make sure you get all that shit out of your system before she falls in love with you."

Finally, the tears hit Annie's eyes. How had she messed this up so bad? "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Thanks. So we're done now?"

Annie nodded.

"I wish you the best, Annie. Really. I hope she ends up being exactly what you wanted. If you even know what that is."

Jeff let himself out and Annie went straight to her bedroom. She texted Oksana before she flopped onto her covers.

He's gone was all she wrote.

The tears that ran down the sides of her face made no sense. She got exactly what she wanted. She and Jeff were through. She hated herself for doing it, but as she lay on her bed, all the good times in their relationship popped into her mind. She revisited all the moments Jeff had made her smile, how happy she had been just months before. The thought of what would have really happened if Oksana hadn't come into her life made her whole body want to clench in pain. She'd been tearing herself up over the idea of being dishonest with him, but now that she was free of Jeff, she found herself wanting to make things right between them. As if she could.

Still she wondered why it had been so easy for her to leave him. There was a distinct possibility that the Jeff Annie had spent the last seven years with was a Jeff she'd created in her head. She was happy with her job, she was happy with her friends, and Jeff never gave her any problems. Maybe the lack of fights was something Annie confused with chemistry. He was right, well, Bran was. She wasn't in love with him. She was comfortable and she was lazy and Jeff was agreeable.

She sighed heavily and sniffled as the sound of Billy Squier's "The Stroke" killed the silence of her room. She didn't have to check who it was.

"Hey." Annie couldn't have sounded more devastated.

"Do you want me to come over?" Oksana asked urgently. A bad idea. Annie didn't want Oksana to see her crying. She would think the tears were for all the wrong reasons, and some of the right reasons still might upset her.

"I need some time alone," Annie said.

"Did he do something to upset you?"

"Yes and no. I'm just drained. Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

The line was silent for a few seconds too long. When she replied, Oksana's voice was quiet. "Okay."

Great.

"Babe? I'm not shutting you out, I swear," Annie said. She meant it, but now wasn't a good time for them to be together. "Sana?"

"I'm here. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Oksana hung up before Annie could say good-bye.

Chapter Fourteen.

The Element of Surprise "That's great, Willow. Just one more and you're done." Oksana counted out the last fifteen reps of her weight set, wishing she could drag out the session. She wasn't in a hurry to see Annie.

Jeff was back, and from what she understood, Annie's relationship with him was officially over, but Oksana felt uneasy. They'd barely spent a day apart in the past few weeks and not seeing Annie, right after Annie saw her fiance made Oksana feel slightly neurotic. Annie had called her that morning to ask Oksana to lunch, right after her session with Willow. She'd apologized over the phone as well. Oksana didn't entirely buy it.

She wanted to say no to the lunch invitation, give Annie a taste of her own at arm's length medicine. Acting like an adult, though, and not avoiding your significant other was the healthier alternative. Annie most likely wanted to pretend her quick apology was enough. That's what scared Oksana, that Annie hadn't recognized her hurt, that she had been so lost in her own struggles with her ex-fiance that she hadn't considered that being in each other's arms was exactly what they needed.

Oksana wanted to be there when Jeff left. She wanted to be the last person Annie saw before she fell asleep. She wanted to do all she could to erase Jeff from Annie's mind. It was selfish, petty want, but Oksana had become attached to Annie and she was terrified that at some point during her conversation with Jeff, Annie was starting to reconsider her future with Oksana.

Be honest; you think Annie is coming over here to break up with you in person. That's exactly what you're worried about. But you're just being paranoid. She loves you and you need to accept that.

That was the truth. Annie needed some time to process her breakup with Jeff. Oksana thought about that concept. Her girlfriend needed time to get over her fiance. It had been backward from the beginning. There were moments when Oksana wished she hadn't caved that day in the park. She should have made Annie wait, and later, when things had been handled in a proper order, Oksana would have agreed to go out on a date with her. Jeff would be an afterthought, not a hurdle. She'd given in and now she was falling in love with someone who was probably debating her own mistakes at this very moment.

Oksana felt the foolish need to dwell on all the ifs and whats until she came face-to-face with one Annie Collins. Willow's need for guidance brought her back down to Earth.

"Should I stretch?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry." Oksana smiled at her own stupidity. She helped Willow rack her weights and guided her over to the mats to stretch. They sat facing each other, fingers gripped together as Willow did her best to press her head to her kneecap. Oksana absently admired her flexibility.

"Good thing we're finished. I'm not sure I could have kept your attention for another hour," Willow said.

"Ignore me. You're a pro at this stuff and you're right on track."

Willow had thirty pounds to shed and she was already halfway there. Much to the studio's and Oksana's delight, they might reach her goal ahead of the schedule.

"You have something on your mind?" Willow asked. Oksana tried to ignore the lustful concern in her eyes.

No direct sexual proposition had come from Willow yet. She kept a respectful physical distance, and though they never discussed it between them, Paulo admitted that Willow had asked about Oksana's relationship status. The ass told her Oksana was sort of seeing someone. "Sort of" didn't stop Willow from flirting, constantly commenting on Oksana's smile or her eyes. A lot of clients flirted, but Oksana could tell Willow would go in for the full-on kill if she returned her affections even the slightest bit.

Things weren't perfect at the moment, but Annie was definitely on Oksana's mind and the sole occupant of her heart. Oksana had the feeling Willow wasn't going to give up until their last session. Willow was sexy and smart. She seemed genuine and reasonably grounded for a movie star. On another planet Oksana might give her a chance, but in the here and now, she was not interested.

"You could say that. Same time next week?" Oksana held out her hand to pull Willow off the mats.

"You want to talk about it? I'm an excellent listener and you see these shoulders? Great for crying on."

"I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer."

"Well, can I interest you in some lunch? A low-calorie lunch of course." Willow must have felt the countdown on the professional relationship ticking somehow faster. She'd never been this aggressive.

Oksana forced a smile and casually straightened her shoulders. "I actually have lunch plans, but make sure you drink plenty of water."

Willow laughed and shook her head dismissively.

"There is nothing funny about hydration."

"You're just so professional."

"It's my job." Oksana smiled back. She waited for Willow to grab her bag, then led her toward the front of the gym. Paulo's client kept up his leg presses as he stared Willow down from across the room.

"How serious is it?" she asked.

"How serious is what?"

"This relationship you're in."

Oksana hesitated to answer because there was Annie, standing outside Paulo's office. A bright smile lit up her face the second she saw Oksana coming in her direction. Oksana wanted to be crabby about the night before, give Annie at least five minutes of the cold shoulder, but Annie looked so adorable and so happy to see her and at the same time so exhausted, Oksana couldn't bring any sort of grudge to the surface.

"It's pretty serious," Oksana said.

Annie ignored Willow. "Hi. Paulo said it was cool if I waited here."

"It is. Willow, this is my girlfriend, Annie."

"Nice to meet you," Willow said. Oksana would have believed her sincerity if she wasn't sizing Annie up as if there were some sort of competition.

Willow turned to Oksana, the expression on her face business-like and friendly. Oksana returned the look with a professionally firm handshake. "I'll see you tomorrow and I'll remember, plenty of water."

When she was gone, Annie slipped her hand into Oksana's palm. Oksana had the sudden urge to cry, but Annie's smile kept that urge at bay.

"God, she's gorgeous," Annie said. "Is she still trying to get with you?"

"No, I think she's just blurring the line of friendly. Where are we going?"

"Car picnic?" Annie shrugged expectantly.

"Okay..."