Playing Pretend (29 page)

“It’s not that simple.” Caleb. “Kadence walked out on me.”

“Do you blame her?” asked Aaliyah. “She was gone for less than a day before she saw photos of you and Natalia out together playing happy family.”

“I never touched Natalia, but she’s the mother of my child. I owe it to Braelynn to find a way to make it work.”

“Does Natalia know the truth about Kadence?” asked Macy.

My brows furrowed. The truth about
me
?

“I don’t think so,” replied Caleb.

“You realize that Natalia will use that information if she had it, right? She’s a manipulative bitch.”

Aaliyah wasn’t wrong there, but what information were they talking about?

“I suggest you tell Kadence the truth,” added Macy. “Before it’s too late.”

“I can’t. I have reason to believe her father is coming tomorrow, and isn’t that why we came up with this plan in the first place?”

My eyes widened.

Had I heard that correctly?

“That was before you fell in love with her,” stated Aaliyah. “Things have changed, Caleb, and if you don’t fix it, you’re going to lose Kadence forever. Do you want that?”

It fell quiet, but I could hear my blood rushing in my eardrums.

“What you doing over there?”

I sucked in some air, and spun around. Annabelle was smiling at me.

“Uh, nothing,” I moved back towards my desk. “I wanted to give Macy her gift, but she’s busy.”

“I was also looking for Aaliyah,” said Annabelle. “We were supposed to go grab coffee.”

“She’s with Caleb, and Macy.”

“Oh,” Annebelle frowned. “That’s weird.”

I fell silent, and then Annabelle’s face lit up even brighter. If that was possible.

“Why don’t you come with me instead? Looks like you could use a friend.”

I considered it, and after hearing Caleb, Aaliyah and Macy talking about me, the office was the last place I wanted to be.

“Sure.” I grabbed my purse. “I’m buying.”

Annabelle and I walked to Starbucks a few blocks away and got seats in front of the window overlooking the street. She was easy to be around, and carried the conversation with ease. I didn’t know her all that well, even though I considered her a friend, so when she told me her fiancé, Brian, had cheated on her two years earlier I didn’t know how to respond.

After some awkward silence from my part, I asked, “Why are you telling me this?”

Annabelle sighed, and fiddled with her already crumpled napkin. “Because I know how hard it is to sift through everything you’re feeling, and I wanted you to know that I’m here if you need to talk.”

I was appreciative of her reaching out to me, but a little annoyed that my private life was not so private.

That’s what sleeping with the boss gets you.

I silenced the nasty, derisive voice in my head.

“We just weren’t meant to be,” I exhaled.

“You don’t believe that,” said Annabelle. “I have never seen two people more right for each other. And when you find that, you have to believe that it’s worth fighting for.”

“Caleb would disagree.” My laugh was bitter, and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to behave like a scorned ex.

“You know, it took me months to get over what Brian did to me, but I did, and I realized that it was worth it. Most women would leave if a guy cheated, and trust me, I was ready to kick his ass to the curb. I’m glad I didn’t.”

Annabelle was trying to be a good friend, I could recognize and admire that. I had few people I could talk to, and even fewer who would bother to check up on me. But what she thought happened, and what really happened were worlds apart.

“What made you stay?”

I was curious to know.

“I thought about what my life would be like without him, and when I couldn’t picture it, I decided to give him another chance. We started from scratch, and he hasn’t been unfaithful since. When he asked me to marry him, I knew it was the right time, and that for the rest of our lives he would love me, and only me.”

“Everything with Caleb was a lie, Annabelle. You can’t have a relationship with someone based on something that wasn’t real.”

“You may think it wasn’t real, but it was, and it
is.”

Annabelle really had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn’t want to burst her bubble by saying that. She was just trying to be a good friend.

“I think I need to move on,” I told her honestly. “That’s what’s best for me right now.”

It was Annabelle’s turn to look forlorn, like she’d failed. It was the exact opposite actually. She helped me see that some things just weren’t meant to be, and there was a greater sense of acceptance in that realization than I ever thought possible.

“Just be sure, honey.” Annabelle squeezed my hand. “I think Caleb is afraid to tell you how he really feels, so it might be worth taking that first step.”

Rather than argue, I gave my friend a genuine smile, grateful that she cared. “I just need time, time to take care of myself, and time to
be
on my own.”

“I understand.” We stood up. “Brian and I are going to watch an old movie tonight in Bryant Park, you’re welcome to join us.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’d rather be alone, if that’s okay.”

“Of course. Let me know if you change your mind, we’d be happy to have you.”

I nodded, and we walked back to the office, falling into step with everyone around us. I was anxious about being back in the office, the last thing I needed was to pretend (some more) that I hadn’t heard Caleb, Aaliyah, and Macy talking, or that I was unaffected by what I heard. For the time being I figured it was better to leave it, and deal with it at a time when I wasn’t so emotionally volatile. I’d already given Caleb too much. He didn’t deserve
more.

YOU SHOULD HAVE
known better.

That’s what I told myself.

When I chose not to question Caleb about the conversation I’d overheard, and when I was naïve enough to think I could just forget about the past two and a half months.

And then it all blew up.

Exploded.

Within twenty-four hours my life took a turn for the worse, and all I could do was watch it fall apart.

I should have known better.

I ARRIVED HOME AFTER
another busy day at the office, and made some dinner before settling on the sofa to catch up on the newest episode of Bones. The end credits had just started rolling when there was a loud knock at my door.

I stared at it with knitted brows. The only person who knew where I’d moved to was Aaliyah, and I was hoping to keep it that way for a little longer.

The knock came again, and I started wondering if it was Caleb. The possibility of having him here gave me pause. I didn’t know how to be around him now, or if I would be comfortable having him in my personal space.

So what if it’s him?
I reasoned.
You can behave professionally when it comes to your
boss.

Because that’s all he was now.

My boss.

Not my lover.

And I was just his employee.

Not his dirty little
public
secret.

We were over.

Simple.

Right?

I opened the door, and immediately wished I’d looked through the peephole. It wasn’t Caleb. Not even close.

“Hi, Kadence.”

I stared at my sister, and then looked at my ex-fiancé, Baxter, standing at her side.

Was this a bad dream?

It had to be. It just had to be.

“W-what are you doing here?”

I knew after having my ‘relationship’ with Caleb so publicized that my family would be able to find me, but I never expected them to show up.

“Aren’t you going to let us in?” asked Katrina. She looked so much like our mother with her long, dark hair, slender body, and flawless face. I’d always envied that about her.

Stunned speechless, I looked between the two of them, and when my eyes drifted further down, I noticed Katrina’s baby bump.

No.

No no no no.

“We decided to come see you in person,” said Baxter, his accent thick with his English twang. Five years and he still looked like the pompous asshole I was engaged to.

“Please, Kadence.” My sister was pleading. She never pleaded. For anything. She never had to. Everything had always come so easily to her.

“I’d rather not,” I replied. “I have nothing to say to either of you.”

I moved to shut the door, but Baxter stopped it with his hand.

“I realize this is sudden,” he looked at Trina, and she gave him a nod of encouragement. “But if it weren’t important, we wouldn’t have flown half way across the world to tell you.”

What the fuck? Was I in some kind of alternate universe? I knew the people standing in front of me, and they certainly weren’t the considerate type.

The possibility of them leaving if I shut the door in their faces was minimal, so I let out an exasperated breath and stepped aside. I had a bad feeling about this, the kind that made you want to vomit in someone’s face.

Okay, not really, but if given the chance, I would rather cut my leg off at the knee than talk to my sister and my dickhead ex. “Nice place,” my sister said, looking around.

I agreed with her, it
was
a nice place with its’ hardwood laminate floors, open-plan living room, spacious bedroom, and windows overlooking the street below – but right now their presence made it feel ‘dirty’. The harsh sentiment was a trigger, bringing the memory of the last time I saw Katrina and Baxter to the forefront of my mind – he had her on her knees in front of him while he fucked her hard enough to shake the bed.
Our
bed. I hadn’t thought about it in a long time, but the memory was still vivid, and stirred up all the feelings of anger, and resentment I felt when I left London. I thought that was the last time I would ever see them. Luck clearly wasn’t on my side.

“You have ten minutes,” I told them. “You can start with how you found me.”

“Let’s not waste time with that,” said Baxter. “We have more important things to discuss.”

“Like how you cheated on me with my sister?” I snapped. Katrina’s eyes fell. She couldn’t even look at me.

“We made a mistake.” Baxter reached out to touch me, but I flicked his hand away. “And we’re sorry that we hurt you, Kadence.”

“Five years,” – my blood warmed with vexation – “That’s how long I have been taking care of myself, and you’re saying
sorry
now?”

Katrina looked ashamed but finally brought her gaze back up. “We were different people back then and we’ve never forgiven ourselves for what we did -”

I scowled at her. “Spare me the bullshit, Trina. Looks like you’ve forgiven yourself just fine to me.”

“I never meant to hurt you,” she whispered. “And I regret it every day.”

“Not nearly enough,” I snorted with derision. “You’re pregnant, and wearing the same ring Bax gave me. I might’ve been blind to what was going between the two of you back then, but I’m not that stupid, naïve girl anymore. She fucked off and I grew up.”

Baxter said nothing, and my patience was almost at zero.

“Was there something else?” I asked. “You have five minutes left before I have the doorman escort you out.”

“The real reason we came…” Katrina started. She burst into tears before she could get the rest out.

I didn’t even know she had tear ducts, let alone that she knew how they worked. She’d always been as cold, and as heartless as our father, something she’d often prided herself on. I was having a hard time believing that her obvious distress was real, and not just another ploy to get sympathy. She wouldn’t find it here. That train flew off the tracks, and blew up the day I packed my bags all those years ago.

“It’s okay, baby.” Baxter rubbed my sister’s back, and the way he looked at her rankled me. Not because I was jealous, but because I’d wasted so much time on him. He charmed me, with his British accent, and sophistication, and his sandy blond hair and earthy green eyes. Lucky for me that wasn’t enough to hide the ugly that he had lurking beneath.

“It’s Dad,” my sister sniffled. I stiffened, prepared to tell her I wasn’t interested. I just hoped she wasn’t about to tell me he was in New York. “H-he’s dead.”