A Second Chance (29 page)

Her face was hurting from all
th
e
smiling when they finally found themselves in the elevator. The warmth of Liam’s fingers around her hand was hard to ignore, but she did her best, her face calm and composed as she asked
,
‘
H
ow
do you think I did? Was it
OK
?’

S
he
was rewarded with a wide grin as he nodded, his fingers tightening just a
bit
around her wrist
.
‘
Y
ou
did fantastic, Jade
.
’

T
he
elevator stopped
,
and they walked out, their steps in
perfect
unison
as he effortlessly
adjust
ed
his long, purposeful stride to her shorter
one
as
if he had been doing it all his life. ‘
Everyone
in
there loved you, I could tell
.
Maybe
there won’t be any
more
talk of
hooking
me up with someone.’ He must have noticed her surprise, because he laughed aloud
as he guided
her to the main exit
.
‘
Yeah
,
they
wonder
why I
’
m alone most of the time
.
Sandra is very worried about me
;
she said so herself
.
She
even tried to play matchmaker and set me up with her friend, but it didn’t work.’

‘I
’
m sorry to hear it
.
’
W
as
that
the
right response to a comment like that? She sure hoped so, the warmth of the air outside of the
air-conditioned
building hitting her like a wave straight from the oven.

‘
Don’t
be
.
I
’
m not at all
.
’
H
e
was in high spirits, his handsome face relaxed as he shrugged his shoulders
.
‘
I hope you
’
re hungry
.
I
’
m starving, to be honest
;
we
’
ve been working since six this morning
.
N
ot
all of us can sneak out the way Sandra
does
.’

‘
Me
,
too
.
’
T
o
her surprise
, it was true. She had
eaten
barely any breakfast, the thought of having to go through this charade successfully
suppressing
any appetite she had. But it was over now, thankfully
.

‘Melissa didn’t show up?’
S
he
risked the question once they were safely established at a tiny table at the sushi bar just steps away from his office. The food presented to them on small white china dishes was almost too beautiful to be eaten.
She said so to the waiter, who
rewarded her with a happy smile and reappeared
shortly after
with a little
lacquered
box containing
loose-leaf
green tea.

‘
On
the house
.
’
H
e
smiled again, gesturing to the chef, bustling behind the bar where he created his art pieces. He waved to them cheerfully, yelling something in Japanese, his black hair held back with a white and red headband glistening in the light of the lamps.

‘
He
says, he is happy you like it
,
’ the waiter added and disappeared, leaving them alone.

‘No, not yet.’ Liam was watching her eat, something in his eyes telling her he wasn’t thinking about Mel right now.
‘Do you remember our meals in
Chinatown?
’ he asked suddenly, his own deft handling of the chopsticks making a short game of the pieces on his tray.

‘
Do
I ever
.
’
S
he
grinned, enjoying the meal and his company. ‘
Every
time I eat with chopsticks I have to think of you, Liam. You managed to teach me how to hold them properly much faster than any other source I tried
.
’

‘You were a good student
,
’ he
said
, finishing of his cup of tea and sitting back. He fitted in here, she had to think, the understated décor and peaceful atmosphere that made this place very
Zen
-
like reflected in the serenity of his face and blackness of his hair. Like the mystery of the Shinto shrines and gardens created from nothing more than sand and rocks, Liam was enigmatic and distant, his dark eyes reminding her of the statues that graced the windows of the restaurant. Wide open
and
yet closed, reflective and hiding the thoughts inside his head
.
S
he wondered if it
would ever be
possible to figure him out
,
and suddenly the tea tasted bitter, the tartness of the liquid harsh against her constricted throat.

‘I really appreciate your help
.
’
H
e
was watching her now, his eyes focused on her once more
.
‘
N
ow
we
’
re the talk of the office
.
I can almost hear them
chatter
as they wonder how on earth I manage
d
to get someone as great as you
.
’

‘
Stop
it, will you.’ She blushed, angry with herself for the irate heartbeat his
compl
i
ment
caused. ‘
If
anything
,
they
’
ll be wondering how
I ended up with
someone like you
.
L
et’s
be honest, you
’
re much more interesting than I will ever be.’

Leaning forward he smiled at her, his teeth flashing over the whiteness of the tablecloth. ‘
You
are beautiful, warm, funny
,
and smart, Jade. Most of all, you are optimistic, which makes a big difference. I watch you and see the way you embrace life and all it has to offer. You never give up or stop
.
In
th
at
way, you remind me of my mum a lot
.’
He
shook his head and added, a smile around his mouth
,
‘
Okay
, that did
n’
t sound so great, I know. I have heard that no girl wants to be compared to her man’s mother, a competition thing or something like that
.
’

But their relationship was fake, she wanted to say, and he wasn’t her man at all. Having said that
,
being compared to his mother wasn’t the greatest
compl
i
ment
she could think of. As much as she admired and loved his mother for who she was, she certainly didn’t want to be like her.

‘
Tell me about this gala, Liam
,
’ she
said
, searching for some safe topic that would distract him from this
conversation that
was getting increasingly personal. ‘
What
are we going to do there?’

‘
Show
ourselves mostly
.
I
’
m there representing the agency and the latest project we
’
ve been working on. I might have to answer some questions and shake a few hands, nothing more.’

‘
Do I have to mingle a lot?’
S
he
dreaded
th
e
idea of having to talk to complete strangers.
T
hey would see through her pretenses if she were to immerse herself in a deeper conversation.

‘
No
, you stay with me
.
’
H
e
smiled reassuringly, his elegant hand coming over the table to cover her palm for a second. ‘
We
are in love, remember? I won’t be able to keep my hands off you, unless it is absolutely necessary.’

She swallowed convulsively, the words about love resonating in her whole being as she thought about it all. Was she a good enough
actress
to pull it off? Or rather
,
was she able to do all that and walk away afterwards?
T
o pretend to be in love with Liam
would be no hardship
.
T
he fact that it would be so easy to jump into this role scared
her
most. Acting for him would be the greatest challenge. Because she couldn’t risk him finding out that he still had the power to stop her heart just by looking her way across a room full of people.

The sound of his phone going off saved her from having
to
answer at all. He apologized shortly before putting it to his ear and listening, his expression darkening slightly as he
nodded and promised to return
promptly
to the office.

‘It was Sandra
,
’ he told her, his voice neutral and calm. But he couldn’t fool her
,
of course. Something was bothering him more than he was willing to admit
,
and she decided to take the easiest road and ask him.

‘
What’s
wrong? I
can
see you
’
re upset, so you
might
as well tell me
.
’

‘Well, Mel arrived bare
ly
minutes after we left
,
’
h
e
said reluctantly, his eyes guarded
.
‘
W
e
must have literally passed her in the foyer or right outside. Anyway, of course the first thing she got to hear was the freshest gossip about my girlfriend coming over and snatching me away for lunch. Supposedly she didn’t take it too well, making a show of herself
before she
storm
ed
out to find us.
’

‘
Well
, better here than at the gala, don’t you think?’
S
he
was trying to sound practical, not letting him see that the idea of angry Mel confronting them in the middle of the street didn’t hold too much appeal
for her
either. ‘
She
might get it out of her system and be tamer then. You wouldn’t want her to make a spectacle at the gala
.
’

‘I don’t want her to make a spectacle anywhere
.
’
H
e
was angry with Mel, she could tell. His lips pressed together
as
he reached for
his
wallet and left money on the bill that was brought to them by the ever
-
smiling waiter. ‘
Most
of all
,
I don’t want her to pull you into
th
e
hysteria she is probably planning to use to intimidate you. I can deal with her
;
you shouldn’t have to.’

‘Liam
.
’
S
he
smiled, surprised how happy it made her feel that he cared so much for her
well-being
. ‘I have dealt with lots of hysterical clients over the years,
some of them really difficult. There were scenes with yelling, tears, throwing things, you name it
.
D
on’t
think that some furious woman mad at me for stealing you from her
will
scare me that much. Bring it on
.
’