A Second Chance (37 page)

‘Here we are
.
’
H
is
voice woke her from her thoughts, the silence inside the car making her realize she
hadn’t
even notice
d
the
ir
arriv
al
at Laura’s place.

She scrambled to her feet, embarrassed
by
her absentmindedness and hoping that being a mind
-
reader wasn’t one of his many talents. She was in luck, judging by the hesitant way he followed her to the door.

‘
Hey
, I’d better let you go upstairs alone,’ he said. ‘I have to run to the office
,
and if I stop by, Laura will be mad at me
if I
run off right away.
I
… I
’
ll pick you up tomorrow
,
then? And after we
’
re done with this madness of the gala, we have to talk
.
I
s that
OK
?’
H
e
sounded almost
nervous;
she wondered if he was afraid of her answer. Which was ridiculous, given the fact she was the one who worried about being
dis
covered
and
who had to live with the thought that it was her practically throwing herself at him
,
after all. If she
hadn’t dragged
him to his home and made him all mushy, he would
have driven
her home and nothing would
have happened
. She had taken advantage of his vulnerability, as he was shaken from the cemetery
;
his response to her
was
probably a natural reflex
, a
self-preservation
instinct to protect
himself
against sadness.

‘
O
K
, sure
.
’
S
he
smiled with effort, taking a hasty step to the door and fishing for the key she had
in her pocket. ‘
Just
remember to bring some cue cards
with you so
I
can
study on the way there. I
’
m very good at last moment
memoriz
ation
—
ask my university
counselor
.’

He laughed
lightly
, the warm sound making her miss him already, even before he
could drive away
. He
lean
ed
to her and lifted her chin with his long fingers, his eyes getting more serious.

‘I
’
ll be here at six. And I think that
,
for once
,
it
’
s me
who has
to get ready with some prepared speech for a change. There are plenty of things I need to talk to you about.’

He kissed her lightly, his mouth gentle and intimate on her lips. But it was short, over before she
even
had a chance to respond properly. Maybe that was the way he wanted it to play out
,
s
he
thought
as she slipped into the house
accompanied by
the sound of his car
driving
away.
She stood silent
ly
for a moment, her fingers going to her mouth, inspecting her lips almost wonderingly. Was
this
reality or
had she fallen
victim
to
extreme daydreaming, imagining the whole thing? But she knew she felt deliciously tired and
aching, her body still glowing from his lovemaking. And as she walked into the loft, ready to face Liam’s sister
,
she didn’t regret one second of it
.

S
he had worried
that she’d have
to lie to
Laura
and
was relieved to find that her friend was too preoccupied to notice
Jade’s
forced cheerfulness and hasty retreat into her bedroom
.
A long shower and a few moments alone in the sanctuary of the spacious tiled room
w
ere
enough to restore her equilibrium.
S
he emerged
with
her body wrapped in a comfy robe and hair covered with a towel turban to find Laura sitting on her bed, two steaming cups of tea on the dresser
beside her
. She had just a moment to think about excuses for whatever conclusions her friend must have drawn as
Jade
returned so hot and disarrayed just half an hour
before
.
But
Laura
hadn’t
notice
d
anything amiss, her own confession the only reason for this late
-
hour visit. Rocco finally
had
admitted how he felt about her, and she was torn between
her desire
to believe him and the horrible suspicion he was
only confessing
because she was sick. She worried that maybe it was just a part of his plan to make her feel better, his words of love nothing more
than
a spurring on to keep fighting. She even suspected that Liam
had
asked his friend for this favor
,
somehow having figured out how she felt about him.

C
onvinc
ing
Laura
that she was absolutely insane
took
Jade an hour
.
 
S
he remembered the way Rocco looked at her friend, especially when
Laura
wasn’t paying any attention. In the end she
was successful
, Laura’s brown eyes lighter with joy as she finally allowed herself to believe that it was
all
true
. Jade felt guilty listening to her opening her heart and admitting how much she really cared for the tall Australian.
Jade
knew s
he
should have shared her part of the story,
b
ut she couldn’t.
The strongest deterrent wasn’t
because
it was Liam, Laura’s
brother
.
She dreaded to see in Laura’s face the confirmation of her own fears
.
Laura
knew
how Liam
fe
lt
about love
,
as they were
close and honest with each
other.
A
s such, she
would
know very well that the affair with him was doomed to fail
ure
right from the start.
Jade
couldn’t stand the thought of seeing
Laura’s
pity, as she would surely attempt to make
Jade
feel better. After all wasn’t
that
what friends were for?
I
nstead of
so
much as hinting at the unexpected development in her own love life
,
Jade
listened patiently, laughing at all the right places and breathing a sigh of relief when Laura
finally
seemed to have overcome her worries
. Laura
kissed her good night
with a
dreamy expression that was a testament to Rocco’s
influence.

Sleep eluded
Jade
for the longest time, her body still humming with energy, the memories of the incident in Liam’s home assaulting her the moment she closed her eyes.
She could see Liam bending over her with
th
e
tender expression that stopped her heart as his warmth wrap
ped
around her in a protective cocoon. She had never felt safer than in his arms, she thought
with a smile
as she
drifted off to sleep
.

She wasn’t smiling a few hours later. It was enough that she had to endure a visit to the hairdresser, her usually simple hairdo
turning
sophisticated with the clever layering of her
thick,
glossy tresses. The hairdresser convinced her to try something
different
, promising to be careful with the scissors as she set to work. Jade stared at herself in the large mirror of the salon, her new
ly
acquired bangs changing
the symmetry of
her face
.
It was true: t
hey brought
out the beauty of her high cheekbones
,
and her generous mouth seemed somehow fuller and more seductive.

Her hair
went very well with the modern dress she had decided to wear for the gala,
a
simple black sleeveless number
that accented
the golden tan of her legs and arms.
She felt
slightly more fashionable, the brave cut of the tight bodice and the
curve
-
hugging shape not something she would
have been
inclined to buy before. But this was California, she
reasoned,
as she looked at herself in the boutique
’s mirror
, terrified with the amount of skin the dress showed.
Californians
were definitely more daring and progressive than anywhere else.
The
gala
was
for
advertis
ing
and art projects,
and from Laura’s humorous descriptions, she
could only imagine the outfits others would be sporting
.
Laura
had allowed Liam to drag her to one of those occasions, she said with a smile, adding sweetly that she might have enjoyed it more if Liam
hadn’t been
so
busy keeping his distance from many
of the
women there.

‘Somehow they see something in him that I
just
can’t put my finger on, Jade
.
’
S
he
grinned
as she
watch
ed
Jade
fastening her silver
and
amethyst
earrings. ‘I guess,
since
he
’
s my brother and all,
I’m
blind to his obvious charm, but you should see it
. They’re
like sharks feeding
.
’
S
he
laughed at some memory, unaware of Jade’s discomfort.
‘
Well
, I guess you will tonight
,
’ she added cheerfully, nodding appreciatively as she eyed
J
ade’s
makeup. ‘
It
is
so
nice of you to help him out like
th
is.
I can only imagine the fit
Mel
will throw when she sees you. You look amazing.’

She needed to hear
that
, Jade thought with a bitter smile, her
self
-
esteem dangerously low
. Wasn’t
her look
too simple for a grand evening like
th
is
? True, her dress fit like a glove, and her silver necklace and matching earrings
add
ed
a subtle sparkle that brought out the
delicate
beauty of her skin.
But h
er
simple black high heels were the pair she had brought with her, as she
had
rejected investing in yet another pair of useless accessories
she would have no opportunity to show off
after
tomorrow
.
Her
new blue sandals
were bad enough.

Liam was early, arriving a few minutes before the agreed time. She could only stare at him, never having
had
the opportunity to see him dressed so formal
ly
before. He wasn’t conventional
,
and she
hadn’t
expect
ed
him to
present that way
either. His black dinner jacket and pants were yet another statement to his originality, the mandarin collar of the jacket and the cut of the trousers making her think of
the O
rient
—
mysterious, beautiful
,
and elusive.