Coming Back To You (15 page)

“I thought you’d be happier to see me than
this.” He pushed away from the table and sat forward in his chair.
“Well, hoped. I’d
hoped
you would be happier to see me.” He
stood and walked to the window, where he sat on the ledge. “I guess
I was wrong.”

She shrugged and forced herself to keep a
stoic face. “Well…I suppose it’s a good opportunity for you. Don’s
job, I mean.”

“It is.” He crossed his arms. “But I didn’t
intend to upset you when I took it. I was hoping—”

“What? You were hoping we could go back to
the way things were? That I’d fall to my knees and thank my lucky
stars that you were back?”

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of
his nose. “No. I didn’t expect that.” He straightened and squared
his shoulders. “But I didn’t expect such animosity, either. I was
hoping you and I could work together more peacefully than
this.”

She looked away, suddenly feeling ashamed of
her behavior. Maybe she had misread his intentions and he hadn’t
come back for her, after all. The hot air fizzled out of her. “I’m
sorry. I’m just—”

He held up one hand. “No. I understand. I
deserve everything you want to throw at me.”

“I was just shocked is all. I wasn’t
expecting…” She waved her hand toward him. “This. You. Here.”

“I know.”

“You could have at least warned me.”

“You’re right. I should have. I’m sorry. I
misjudged the situation and handled things poorly.”

Mark was nothing if not a gracious
apologizer.

“So, are we going to be able to work
together?” he said.

Wow. That was a quick about-face. One that
shot a dose of reality into Karma’s blood. She didn’t want to lose
her job simply because she held a grudge against Mark for doing
exactly what he’d said he was going to do last year. Besides, she
was in a better place now, right? She had Brad.

Lisa’s words from lunch came back to haunt
her.
If you were really over him, you’d be happy to see
him.

She was over him, and she would prove it.

“I can work with you,” she said, “but I want
to make very clear that it’s just work. I’m with someone else now.
I need to make sure you understand that. And even if I weren’t, I
wouldn’t feel right getting involved with my boss, especially given
our past.” In particular, his unwillingness to let go of
his
past to embrace a future with her.

“I understand. I wasn’t expecting anything
like that from you, anyway.” But his words didn’t match the
expression of wistful yearning on his face. “My reasons for
returning are strictly professional.”

Why didn’t she believe him? “I’m glad to hear
it.”

He slowly approached the table and sat back down. “I
promise to do what I can to make the transition easy for you.”

“Same here.”

“Great.”

“Good.”

“I’m glad we got that out of the way then.”
He set his palms on the table.

“Me, too.” She stood, ready to get out of
there before she did something she would regret, like rush into his
arms and suck off his face.

“I’ll need your help quite a bit in the
coming weeks,” he said, standing and joining her as she walked
toward the door.

He smelled good. Spicy and manly. Just the
way she remembered. “Sure. What can I do?” Controlling the way her
heart beat harder from just standing so close to him would be a
good start.

His smile damn near did her in. “I’m house
hunting and was hoping you could lend a hand by finding properties
for me to look at.”

“Sure, absolutely.”

“I’ll e-mail you the specifics and my agent’s
contact information.” He lifted his arm, and for a moment, she
thought he was going to wrap it around the small of her back the
way he used to. Then he seemed to think better of it and dropped
his hand back to his side as he opened the door.

“It’s good to see you again, Karma. I’m
looking forward to working with you.”

“Same here.” She hurried away to her desk.
When she turned back around, he had already closed the door. She
hadn’t even heard the latch click. He had shut the door as silently
as a thief slipping away in the night.

She sat in her chair and stared at the door.
He’d said all the right words, but his actions wove a different
tale.

Coming back to Solar was as hard for him as
it was for her.

So then, why had he done it?

Chapter 18

Why was God making such a mockery of Mark’s life?
Once again, his plans for the future were thwarted, the same way
they had been with Carol. He’d come all this way. He’d endured
months of hell then ridden what he’d thought was a sign that Karma
was coming back to him, only to find that she belonged to another.
But he couldn’t jump off the ride now. He’d already bought the
one-way ticket.

He picked up his phone and dialed Rob.

“Hey, buddy,” Rob said upon answering. “How’s
your first day? You engaged, yet?”

“No, but she is.”

Silence answered for a split second, then,
“Wait…what?”

“You heard me.” Mark combed his fingers
through his hair and paced toward the window. “She’s engaged.”

Rob groaned. “I told you that you should have
called her.”

“Not now, Rob.” Mark planted his hand on his
hip. “I don’t need to hear ‘I told you so’ right now.”

“Gotcha. I’m sorry.” Rob hesitated. “Now
what? What are you gonna do?”

“Not much I can do. I’m here. I’ve taken the
job.”

“Hey, maybe this is just how it has to play
out. Did you consider that?”

Mark chuffed. “To hell with that. I asked for
a sign. I didn’t get it. I was so sure. I was ready to come here
and be with her again. Really
be
with her. I had it all
planned out.”

“Maybe that’s your problem. Stop planning
everything out. Didn’t you learn that lesson with Carol?”

He had planned his entire future with Carol before
she’d even said “I do,” only for her to leave him at the altar. The
resulting cataclysm of being shackled without a backup plan damn
near put him in an alcoholic grave. If not for Rob, he might not
have found his way back to the land of the socially functional.

And now he’d done the same thing with Karma.
Before he’d even talked to her, he’d planned their reunion all the
way to the point where they had kids.

“I don’t know any other way to be, Rob,” he
said honestly. “I can’t help myself.” Planning his life—and the
lives of those around him—to the minute detail was in his
hardwiring.

“
Try.”
Rob exhaled into the phone.
“Jesus, Mark, just relax. Stop living for years down the road. Try
living for the moment, for Christ’s sake. Stop trying to dictate
your future and everyone else’s. Just
be
.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve already found
your
future.” Rob and Holly’s wedding was the week of
Thanksgiving.

Mark thought it was an odd week to get
married, but Thanksgiving was Holly’s favorite holiday. She said
Thanksgiving was all about family, and what better way to
commemorate family than by starting her own the same week. Rob
liked that it would make remembering their anniversary simple.

“If you would stop being so OCD, you would,
too,” Rob said. “So, who is this guy she’s engaged to?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only seen the ring.” And
what a ring it was. Nice and big. Garish, if Mark was being honest.
Not Karma at all. She wasn’t the garish type. She was more the
brilliant diamond type. Simple, elegant, round. The princess cut
was too angular for her slender fingers.

“Was she at least happy to see you?”

Mark rubbed his palm over his face. “That’s
the thing. She’s angry—I mean, really angry—that I’m back.”

“How so?”

“Just really pissed off. I swear, Rob, if I’d
known she’d react this way, I’m not sure I would have accepted the
job.”

“It’s a good job, Mark. It’s a step up for
you. Even if you and Karma don’t hook up, that job is a move in the
right direction. You were made for that job, and it’s one step
closer to you running your own company. That’s why you took it.
That whole ‘it’s a sign’ thing with Karma was just a sideshow to
the main event.”

“Yeah, yeah. Believe me, if I’d thought this
wasn’t a good position, I wouldn’t have taken it. But, Jesus, I
hope she and I will be able to work through what’s got her so mad
at me.”

“Think about it, Mark. You broke her
heart.”

Mark closed his eyes. He hated thinking about
that. It hurt to remember their last night together, how she’d
cried, how she’d clung to him. He’d felt it, too. He’d been just as
heartbroken at leaving her behind as she had been to be left
there.

“But, hey,” Rob added, “if she’s really that
angry, that’s a good sign.”

“How do you figure?”

“Anger is a sign of strong feelings, buddy.
If she’s angry at you, she probably still has feelings for you. If
she’s
really
angry, then those feelings are probably
really
strong. Exploit that.”

“She’s. Engaged.”

“So?”

“Carol was engaged to me. Would you have said
the same thing to Antonio?”

“You didn’t belong with Carol.”

“And that makes it okay?”

“Mark, do you want this woman or not?”

Yes. He wanted her. Despite his words to the
contrary, she was the real reason he’d taken the job at Solar. The
director of operations position just happened to be the perfect
professional fit. He’d thought it was a win-win, but now, he wasn’t
sure.

“It doesn’t matter if I want her. She’s
taken.”

“Yeah, by the
wrong
guy. Now, do you
want her or not?”

“Yes, I want her. I wouldn’t be here if I
didn’t. But I won’t steal another man’s fiancée.” He wouldn’t do to
Karma’s fiancé what had been done to him. That would make him a
hypocrite. Besides, he knew how bad that shit hurt.

“Why not? He stole yours.”

“I didn’t put a ring on Karma’s finger.”

“You should have.” Rob sighed. “Mark, she
belongs with you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve never seen you like this about
a woman. Not even Carol.” Rob gave him a second to let that sink
in. “Karma’s
it
for you. She may be engaged to some other
guy right now, but people break off engagements all the time. Women
get involved with men who aren’t right for them every day. He’s a
rebound that got out of hand. That’s all. She
should
be
wearing your ring. You
should
have staked your claim when
you had the chance. But you were too caught up in hell to see the
forest for the trees. So, really, this guy is engaged to
your
fiancée right now. Are you going to let that shit
happen? Are you going to let him take your happiness the way you
let Antonio take Carol? Sure, Carol wasn’t right for you, but you
changed. You became a better person because of that nightmare. A
person who deserves to finally be happy and get what he wants,
goddammit.”

Damn Rob. The guy was one hell of a rah-rah
artist. Still, going after a woman who belonged to another man
wasn’t his style. Shit, why did this have to be so hard? A sign
wasn’t supposed to be this much work. Or at least it shouldn’t be.
Then again, he wasn’t fluent in signs. Maybe this was simply part
of the program.

“I don’t know, Rob. I’ll see how it goes. I
just…shit…I just thought I’d come back here and we’d be together.
Now I just don’t know.”

“Well, I’m here for you. You know that. I’d
like nothing more than to see you show up at the wedding in
November with her on your arm, but the ball’s in your court. You’ve
got to make it happen.”

“Yeah, yeah. Look, I’ve gotta get off here.
I’m viewing a house tonight and need to meet the agent in thirty
minutes.” He didn’t think any of the houses he’d received info on
would be right, and right now he had lost the ideal frame of mind
to house hunt, but he had to start somewhere. Hopefully, with
Karma’s help, he could find the perfect home. Preferably one she’d
want to share with him someday.

“Good luck. Talk to you later.”

Mark hung up and looked out the window. Funny
the twists and turns life throws at a person. Another man had
stolen his fiancée from him seven years ago. Now he was considering
doing the same thing to someone else.

Chapter 19

One Week Later

Jan sat across from Karma, head at an angle, eyes
attentive, chin resting on her index finger. Karma had spent the
last forty-five minutes spilling her anger over Mark’s abrupt
reappearance.

“This was last Tuesday?” Jan said.

“Yes.”

“And how have things been since?”

Mark had returned to Chicago last Tuesday
night to give notice to his employer and pack up his apartment.
“He’s traveling with Don this week, so it’s not bad. But he calls
me and asks me for things. I’m helping him locate homes to view.
And I’m doing his footwork in the office, coordinating with other
departments to get him added to meetings, e-mail groups, stuff like
that. It’s a lot of administration at this point.” She made a fist.
“But I’m just so damn mad. I don’t get it. Why am I angry about
this?”

After her discussion with Mark last week,
she’d briefly felt better. Then she began obsessing over his return
and got angry again. Her life had finally reached a level of
contentment, and then here came Mark to throw a wrench into what
had become a well-oiled machine.

“Remember before how we talked about the five
stages of loss?” Jan asked.

Karma nodded her head a little more
aggressively than normal. Then again, she was still reeling. “Yes.”
A sudden realization struck her. “Do you think this is my anger
phase? That seeing him again has finally made me experience
anger?”

Jan shrugged while making a note on her
tablet. “I don’t know. Do you think it is?”