Home Run (8 page)

With that she walked to the door, opened it, and headed to the elevator.

Victoria sat in Christian’s car with her fingers tightly laced together. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to look at him, because she knew if she did either, she’d begin to cry like a blubbering idiot.

As soon as Christian turned onto her street she began to dig her keys out of her purse.

He pulled up in front of her house. “I’m glad you came to the wedding.”

“It was a very nice wedding.” She opened the door and he reached for her hand.

“I had a really nice time.” She didn’t respond. She didn’t know how. “How about dinner?”

“You said one night, Chris. One night.” There were the tears and she wasn’t going to hold them back. Not this time. “I gave you one night.” But really she knew he’d given her one.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I never know what you mean.” She sucked in a breath. “Listen, I have to get to Sonia’s. I have to get the kids. I have to call Scott.” She diverted her eyes when she said it because she didn’t really care at that moment about calling Scott. What would she even say?
Thanks for all the nice things you said to me and for going to the wedding, but I went to bed with my ex, but you’ll be fine with that right?

She shook off the thought and decided it wasn’t necessary to be nasty to Christian. After all, she did love him, even if she wouldn’t tell him that.

“I had a nice evening, Chris. Thank you for the ride.”

She climbed from the car, shut the door, and ran up the front steps of the house. From behind her, she could hear his car door open.

Quickly she put the keys into the door, pushed it open, and shut it just as quickly. He couldn’t come in. There was a great necessity in him driving away. Standing behind the door with her back pushed up against it, she waited. A few moments later she heard his car drive away.

The tears fell freely now. How could she have turned him away? For nearly a year she’d waited to have him back. There hadn’t been a day that she hadn’t.

Then, as if a bolt of clarity struck her, she moved away from the door. The kids. She needed to get the kids. There were responsibilities and she’d completely blown them off for a night with Christian—one more night.

Victoria raced up the stairs to her bathroom, where one look in the mirror clearly stated what she’d done all night. Her hair was a mess and her makeup smudged. And the dress Christian’s family had bought her still hung on her the second day.

She picked up her hairbrush and quickly ran it through her hair, pulling it back and capturing it into a band for a ponytail, high on her head. Scrubbing her face and brushing her teeth made her feel a little bit more human, but no less rushed. It wasn’t until she’d stripped off the dress and pulled on a pair of yoga pants and her old worn out university T-shirt that she realized the car seats were in Scott’s car.

She fell to her bed and sobbed before finding her cell phone and calling Sonia.

“Where are you? You’re scaring me,” Sonia answered the phone, her voice shaky.

“I got home and realized Scott has the kids’ car seats in his car.”

“And where is Scott? Didn’t he stay with you?”

Victoria swallowed hard. “No. He got called away on business. I don’t know where his car is.”

“Craig can take the kids. I’ll bring yours home and we are going to talk. Get a pot of coffee ready. I want to know what is going on with you.”

Victoria wanted to argue, but she knew better. She agreed, hung up the phone, and quickly got into the shower so Sonia had less ammunition to fire with when she saw her.

Forty-five minutes later Victoria poured Sonia a cup of coffee and set it on the table as the kids settled in front of the TV to watch Brave for the millionth time. She’d already zipped up Ali’s Merida dress, as that was the uniform for when the movie was on.

She sat down at the table and looked up at her best friend whose face already wore the look begging her to spill about her night.

Victoria took a sip of coffee and set the mug back on the table. “Scott had to fly out yesterday. One of his clients got into some trouble.”

“And you stayed at the wedding?”

She nodded. “Those people were supposed to be family to me. They invited me, bought my dress, and I wanted to be with them.”

“Them?”

“Yes, them.”

Sonia sat back in the high backed wooden chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Christian?”

She cleared her throat. “He was there.”

“And?”

Her mouth was growing dry. “And he asked me to dance after we had a few glasses of champagne.” She thought a moment. “Or ten.”

“So you got drunk at Ed’s wedding and danced with your ex?”

“Yep.”

“And common sense had you staying at the hotel?”

Or lack of,
she thought. “Mmm-hmmm.” She sipped her coffee again.

“You stayed the night with Christian at the hotel.” Sonia’s eyes had grown wider and so had her knowing smile.

“Don’t be like that. I was drunk.”

“And he took advantage of you?”

Victoria thought about the night and how she’d given into him so completely and how comfortable it had been.

“Not exactly.”

Sonia leaned in over the table. “Tori, you’re still in love with him. What were you doing?”

“Having one more moment,” she said softly.

“And Christian?”

One more night.

Victoria stood up and paced the floor. “I made a mistake. I just miss him so much.”

“And did you tell him that?”

“No. I know this is too much for him.”

“A year ago it was too much. Maybe now…”

“No.” She shook her head and sat back down as to not draw the kids’ attention. “Scott seems very interested in starting something serious. He’s good with the kids. He can provide for all of us. Nothing that has happened before this weekend bothers him. Christian is still too wounded—emotionally.”

“So are you.”

That was certainly the truth. Not a day went by that she didn’t think about the accident, the kids, the house, her sister, and of course Christian.

“I have too many people counting on me and I’m just going to forget about last night. Thank you for taking the kids and for bringing them back.”

Sonia nodded. “I left the seats on the porch. We have multiple sets. Use them until Scott gets back.” She stood and waited until Victoria did the same. Then she pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay to want him and to love him. Maybe he needs this.”

“I can’t feel that kind of pain again.”

Sonia kissed her on the cheek and said goodbye to the kids. As she let herself out, Victoria sat back down at the table and cried. She already missed him so much it hurt. She didn’t want that anymore.

Chapter Nine

Christian had returned home, showered, shaved, and dressed. His head was pounding, but he was on a mission. The evening with Tori hadn’t ended the way he’d wanted it to. Whatever he’d said a year ago was still keeping them apart. He needed to remedy that.

As he gathered his phone off the table and shoved his keys into his pocket there was a knock on the door. Wouldn’t that be wonderful if that was Tori?

But there was a grand disappointment when he opened the door and saw his sister and her husband standing on his porch.

“I want details,” Clara said, pushing past him and into the house.

Warner followed his wife into the house with a reluctant grin on his face.

Christian shook his head and shut the door. He’d love to tell his sister that he had plans, but he knew better. If she wanted something she was going to get it—even if he planned not to tell her. She had a gift. She’d read him.

She was already making coffee.

Christian walked into the kitchen. “Make yourself at home.”

“I am. Warner, do you want cream?” Clara asked as she pulled mugs from the cupboard.

“No. I’m fine.”

He’d exchanged a look with Christian letting him know that she’d dragged him along and he’d rather be anywhere else.

“So,” she started her interrogation. “Do I have my future sister-in-law back? You did keep her at the hotel.”

“How do you know that?”

She settled her eyes on him. “I’m not stupid.”

“Okay, we stayed at the hotel together. Neither of us was sober enough to drive home.”

She was tapping on the coffee maker as if it would brew the coffee faster. “Tell me you worked things out.”

“Clara, it’s been a year. You just don’t have one night and things are back together.” Though if his sister would leave his house he could head over to Tori’s house and work on getting her back. They’d had one hell of a night and he missed her more than he thought he had.

He understood that a relationship with Tori would never be easy. It had taken him a year to realize that it certainly wasn’t easy for her. But if he loved her as much as he thought he did, he could accept the fate she’d been given.

Clara poured each of them a cup of coffee and brought it to the table, where she sat down next to his brother-in-law. “So you
did
have a night.” The corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile.

“Are you just looking for gossip?”

“Not really. I’m looking for proof that you’re going to move beyond this funk you’ve been in all year.”

“Lovely, thanks.” His comment was as snarky as he felt. He sipped his coffee and then set the mug back on the table and looked at his sister. “Listen, I know I was an ass. It has been pointed out to me that I’m the one who ruined the relationship we had. After last night, I want to try and fix that.”

Clara’s grin was a full one now. “Really? You’re going after her?”

“If she’ll have me.” He pursed his lips. “Of course when I dropped her off this morning she jumped out of the car and ran into the house as fast as she could. It didn’t seem promising. Somewhere between all the…between falling asleep last night and her getting a call to pick up the kids this morning her attitude changed.”

“You broke a woman’s heart. It’ll take some work to fix it.”

“I know that.” He considered his sister for a moment. “I guess I do have one thing on my side.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m a Keller. Everything eventually works out for the Kellers.”

She shook her head. “C’mon, Warner. Our work here is done. He’s cocky again.”

Christian laughed realizing cocky was more his style.

Victoria spent the afternoon cleaning house. Things were better when she was cleaning—or at least her mind had something else to think about.

The kids had their lunch and settled down for a nap. Even with the dishwasher purring in the background and the washing machine spinning in the other room, the house was too quiet. She’d dusted every room, mopped the kitchen floor and was now scrubbing the toilet.

Her hair hung in her eyes and she blew it away just as the doorbell rang. Victoria stood up, her back aching and her head matching the pain from the night before. With a glance in the mirror she figured she couldn’t look much worse and whoever was on the other side of that door was going to get an eyeful. She could care less that her attire was an old pair of Chris’s sweats that she’d stolen years ago and her T-shirt had a huge hole near the hem.

With the toilet brush in her yellow gloved hand, she pulled open the door to find a casually dressed Christian standing at her door with a grocery store bouquet of flowers.

Her mouth fell open as she stared at this man in his jeans and well fitted T-shirt. He pushed his Ray-Ban sunglasses atop his head leaving a tunnel in his beautifully dark hair.

“Chris!” She blinked and then blew another hair from her eyes. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“Now?”

He smiled that smile that accentuated his dimpled cheeks and showcased his perfectly straight, white teeth. “What’s wrong with now?”

She looked down at herself and then back up at him, but he was still smiling. “I’m busy.”

“Any woman in the world would welcome a man at the door over scrubbing a toilet in stolen sweat pants.”

She set her jaw. “Really, Chris, I don’t think…”

“Don’t think.” He stepped inside the door forcing her to take a step back and let him in—uninvited. “It’s quiet. Are the kids gone?”

“Napping.”

“Good.” He’d moved in closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. Suddenly she was pressed up against him, her arms pushed out to the side to keep her gloved hands and the toilet brush at bay. “I missed you.”

“Chris, let me go.”

“I want to kiss you.”

She tried to steady her breath. She wanted to kiss him too, but under no circumstance was she going to. Finally, forgetting the gloves and any chemicals they might have on them—or anything else she might have touched—she pushed him back.

“Why are you here?” she demanded.

His face had lost that charming smile and now there was worry in his eyes. “I don’t want last night to be just one night. I didn’t mean that.”

“You said it.”

“I say a lot of things I don’t mean.”

That took the wind out of her sails, but started a fire in her belly.

Victoria turned and walked toward the kitchen. She tore off the gloves with a snap as he followed her. She dropped the gloves in the sink and the toilet brush in the trash can so that it wouldn’t touch anything. Opening the cabinet above the refrigerator, she pulled down a vase and filled it with water.

Turning around she set the vase on the table and tore the bouquet out of Chris’s hands. “Thanks for these,” she said as she shoved the bouquet, wrapper and all, into the vase.

She watched his jaw move and the scar above his eye deepened as if it were an angry dimple. “Let me show you how my mother taught me to do that.”

He stepped up to her and took the bouquet out of the water. He didn’t step away. Instead, he stood right next to her, his body heat resonating off of him and clinging to her sweaty T-shirt. In order to keep her calm she stepped away and walked to the cabinet which housed a cup with scissors in it, high enough to not be touched by little fingers.