Through The Grapevine: A BWWM Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

heart began to thud hard against her chest and her breath became short as panic started to turn circles in her belly. She watched him talk without expression on her face.
     
    "Winston said that she isn't on a business trip. He said she was probably out on an excursion with her girlfriends to ease the tension and stress before the wedding. So, I called you and you answered and said you weren't with her, which means she isn't out on a trip with her girlfriends because you're her best friend and she wouldn't go on a trip like that without you."  He took a deep breath and paused, looking earnestly at Shannon who somehow managed to remain stoic as she listened to all that he said.
     
    "Where is she, Shannon? I have a feeling that you're the only one who really knows what's going on. Who else would she trust with her location but you?" He looked forlorn and hurt, and Shannon's heart was crushed at the sight of him.
     
    She shook her head, not wanting to tell him what she knew because she didn't want him to be hurt, and she knew that he would be. Another part of her did want to tell him because of the injustice of the whole situation in regards to him, and a smaller part of her wanted to remain loyal to her friend, Tiffany, not because she deserved it, but because Shannon was a loyal friend.
     
    Colby watched her shake her head and the desperation in him to know the truth began to grip him. He reached out and took her hands in his, and a small gasp escaped her as he cupped his hands around hers.
         "Please! Shannon, I need to know! Please tell me!" he begged in a soft whisper, imploring her with his sky blue eyes.
     
    She looked down; her mind was in turmoil, wrestling over the factors. "Colby, I can't tell you. I mean... I could, but, I'm going to say this; the truth would hurt you and I just can't bear to do that to you. I mean... you should know... but, I don't want you to hurt like I know you will."
     
    He lowered his brows at her. "You have to tell me now."
     
    Shannon leaned back in her seat and looked around the buzzing coffee shop, at all the people talking and laughing and working on their laptops. She knew this was no place to talk with him about it.
     
    The battle of morality in her came to a head as she looked at him, watching her with painful hope, and she shook her head. "Alright. Let's go outside, this isn't a conversation for a coffee shop."
     
    They walked out of the door and down the street to a little park. She sat on one of the park benches beneath a tree, and he sat beside her, watching her intently, not wanting to miss anything.
     
    Shannon rubbed her forehead with her hand and then looked down at her lap for a moment before biting her lip and finally meeting his steady gaze with her eyes. "She is out of town with a guy she's been seeing."
     
    He stared at her, as still as a statue, trying to comprehend the words that had touched his ears, and touched his heart, but had somehow managed to miss his brain. "What?" he whispered quietly as he looked at her in confusion.
     
    Shannon hated saying the words to him to begin with, but repeating them was worse. She knew he was in shock, and that his shock would be followed by denial.
     
    "I said she's out of town with a guy she's been seeing." Shannon repeated, feeling awful as she spoke the words aloud.
     
    He shook his head slowly. "What do you mean? What guy? She's my... she's... we're getting married! How..."
     
    Shannon watched him, lost and confused, and it was more than she could take. She reached over and wrapped her arms around him and he laid his head on her shoulder.
     
    "I don't understand," he said softly. "She loves me. She wants to spend the rest of her life with me... how... how could this be true?"
     
    She hugged him tightly and he was still for a moment as he processed the information, but then he pulled away from her and stood up. Determination colored his face and shone brightly in his blue eyes.
     
    "I've got to get her back.