A Second Chance (17 page)

They hugged
,
and
Jade felt her throat closing, stubborn tears stinging her eyes. She worried about Laura more than she was willing to admit, the brave façade she was putting on for all of
them not
fooling
Jade
for a moment. And as she saw Liam’s arms wrapped protectively around his sister, his knuckles white as he balled his
hand
s
into fists
,
she knew he felt the same way. She wanted to reach out and touch him,
to
reassur
e
him and
wip
e
away the sadness
o
n his face.
She
had already taken the first step on
a
path toward the unknown,
and it was
dangerous and perilous beyond her wildest expectations. Still she couldn’t turn back
,
the
fatalistic premonition that fate
had
led her here
,
to this man and this moment
,
making her shiver with fear about the future.

‘Laura, I still think you
and Liam
should go without me.’ It didn’t help to repeat her suggestion twice
;
her
friend’s
dark eyes
were
stubborn as she shook her
head
.

‘No way
.
W
hy would I go out with my brother on my own while you sit here
?
’
H
er
lips puckered,
Laura
applied some blush to her high cheekbones, her critical gaze going over Jade’s unhappy features.
‘I know you
weren’t
very happy to talk to Brian. If you ask me, you should just stay
here
for a while regardless
of
what he
said
. He lost any rights to complain the moment he broke off your engagement.’

If only
it w
ere
as simple as talking to her
ex
-
fiancé.
He
had been
less than happy at her decision to stay in San Francisco for a month, but there was nothing that he could do to stop her
,
and he realized it
,
e
specially
after his less than honorable breakup of their engagement. In the end they
had
reached an agreement
.
H
e
had
grudgingly agreed that her work for Liam Latimer was a positive change
and that it would help
to lift the reputation of their
company.
 

No, Brian was definitely not her biggest problem
.
She
watched herself
in the mirror
with wide open eyes, the truth in her eyes screaming back at her the true reason for her worries.
The girl looking back at her seemed alien, her hazel eyes huge and feverish. She had promised herself
she wouldn’t
dress up too much, a simple evening out with two old friends hardly justifying any attempts to get out of her comfort zone and try
to
look ravishing.
S
he wouldn’t succeed anyway, even if she tried
;
she
was
aware of her average looks. Granted, her hair was thick and glossy, falling down her back like a silk curtain
,
and her eyes looked luminous and alluring, but that was pretty much it. She was of average height and average build,
though her mother kept repeating she could do with a few extra pounds to be prettier.

Liam was taking them out to Laura’s favorite spot, her failed attempts to talk him out of including her in his evening plans leaving her with no other option but
to get
ready and
hop
e
for the best. On the way back from
h
er brother’s
new home, Laura finally decided to break her silence and talk about her disease and the meeting that was much more enlightening and
invigorating
than she ever expected. She explained to them all the necessary steps her doctors were taking, starting with surgery to remove the lump and following up with chemo and radiation. Luckily her cancer
had been
caught early
,
and the prognosis was excellent
;
her body language
gave
away the immense relief she felt.
She seemed eager to go out and celebrate her newfound confidence in beating the disease, greeting Liam’s idea to go to the Den, her favorite club downtown, with enthusiasm that Jade could hardly share. She had
the
strong feeling that Liam was also dead on his feet,
with
only his brotherly love forcing him to play along.

S
he was dressed in
the only
outfit she
had
brought for her visit
that was not extremely casual
,
a simple wine
-
red dress, sleeveless and plain. Matched with
her
high-heeled
sandals
,
it
allow
ed
her to go places other than the beach, grocery shopping
,
or running all kind
s
of errands.
Her hair tumbled in glossy waves down her back
,
and she used
a
minimal amount of makeup
,
just enough to
accent
her skin
and
darken the
long curly eyelashes
.

It would have to do, she decided rebelliously, dabbing just a drop of her favorite scent behind her ears and into the hollow at the base of her throat.
The fragrance
was light and reminded her of her favorite flowers, lilies of the valley.
She would go and have fun
and
ignore the fact that the
idea
of spending her evening in Liam’s presence sent her pulse skyrocketing.
A
long time
had passed
since she
had been
single and enjoyed
going out by herself. Both
she and
Brian were too busy building their careers to have time for going out,
with
most evening
s
spent poring over designs they wanted to implement in their renovations. They occasionally ate out, mostly sushi or
Thai
, in one of those express places that minimized the wait time and offered fair prices.

That
was light
year
s
away from
th
e
posh, exclusive club
at which
they had arrived
.
It was the first time Jade had seen a line
of people
waiting
to enter a club.
The
inconspicuous
,
grayish
entrance
was guarded by
forbidding men
,
l
ook
ing
as
though
it
w
ere
part of a movie.
A burly bouncer ushered them inside, patting
Liam’s back affectionately.

‘You know those guys?’ she whispered to Liam, unable to curb her curiosity.

The
mischievous
smile that answered her bewildered question only
add
ed
to his already lethal sex appeal. He had changed
clothes
since noon, his dark red t-shirt and black jeans bringing out the best of his dark looks and tanned skin.

‘I do, actually
,
’ he whispered back, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back as he guided her along.

Laura walked next to him, her lovely blue dress shimmering in the light of the neon lamps that were placed all over the foyer.
She overheard Liam and giggled, turning to Jade to explain
,
‘
Lia
m knows the owner of the club
. Actually it
’
s one of his best friends, and the guys at the door know
about the connection
.
Nicholas
would
have
a fit if he found out t
hey stopped us from getting in
right away
.’

It
felt unreal,
J
ade
thought as she walked into
a
room large enough to fit
a
hundred table
s
. It wasn’t anything like the dizzying clubs with flashing lights and wild music
that she remembered hearing about from her more
worldly
friends
.
M
usic was playing
,
of course, but it was a far cry from the
loud
,
obnoxious sound she had imagined. Nor were the people here acting out of
the
ordinary, most of them
s
itt
ing
at the little private tables or swaying on the
dance floor
to the music.

‘Liam, I don’t believe it!’
A
tall, thin man with longish hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen walked toward them, his
thin,
expressive face smiling widely. He had an Australian accent that went well with his deep tan and tall
,
lanky build. ‘I didn’t know you’re back in town, mate
.
’

‘I sure am, Rocco
.
’ Liam laughed as he eyed his friend,
obviously pleased to see him. ‘Just got back from Hong Kong.’

‘And here you are, with two beautiful girls, you lucky man.’ He g
rinned slyly and let his gaze wa
nder over Jade and Laura. Jade heard her friend giggle and saw her smiling
mischievously
at Rocco. She realized they must
know
each other
,
and she was the only person
who
didn’t belong to their familiar group. It wasn’t for long
, however.
Rocco’s blue eyes clung to her with
an
intensity that made her blush, his obvious male
appreciation
something
with which
she wasn’t used to deal
ing
.

‘Jade, this is Rocco.’ Liam must have noticed it
,
too, because he introduced
them with
the tiniest hint of annoyance coloring his voice
as
Rocco stepped
closer with suspicious eagerness. ‘We
’
ve worked on numerous projects together
,
and I can’t think of anyone
crazier and more
talented than
this Outback guy.’

He smiled and continued, nodding towards Rocco in turn
,
‘This is Jade
.
W
e
practically grew up together
,
and I think I can safely say it is the longest relationship I have ever had with a girl
who
isn’t family,
now that I
think about it.’

‘Well,
th
e
n
you must be blind not to
up
grade
the status.’ Rocco grinned impishly,
vigorously
pumping her
hand
.
‘I am truly pleased to meet you, my
hazel
-
eyed belle
.
’

‘Oh, I forgot to mention
that
Rocco is a big hit with the ladies
,
too
,
’ Liam added wryly, his eyes glittering in the
semi
-
dark of the club. ‘He takes it very seriously, so don’t be surprised if he tries to include you in his romancing, Jade.’