One Night Mistake: A Second Chance Romance Series (Book 4)

by Wood, Lauren

  The past was coming up a lot lately and I wasn't sure why that was. I wasn’t usually so consistent with my thoughts of him. Usually Jaime came and went in my mind, but he was sticking around this time.

  The next morning, I got up and Dahlia had left me a message overnight that I had an early meeting with Mr. Randall. I was glad that he was taking it all a little bit more seriously, but I couldn't help but wonder why it had to happen so quickly. She assured me that we didn't have anything else on the books, but I don't know why I had a strange feeling that came over me with the news. This was supposed to be a good thing.

  Since the meeting was so early, I didn't have much time to get dressed and get ready. There was a nervous air this morning that I didn't quite understand. What did I possibly have to be nervous about? It was just a meeting with a client. I did this every day.

  The house was just as grand as I remembered and I felt this peace come over me, seeing it like it was. There was certainly love and care all over, in the yard that was meticulously kept, as well as the fresh paint on the exterior that made everything around it brighten up a little bit. This was the sort of house that I wanted one day.

  I liked my starter house well enough, but save for taking some money from my parents, something I refused to do, I knew that it was going to be a while before I was able to afford something so grand. Or I was going to have to marry rich…

  I scoffed as I got out of the car and walked up the stairway that ran up the side of the hill to the house. I don’t know why that thought had come to my mind. It certainly wasn’t something that I would have thought of before. I can’t believe that I was thinking about it now. Marriage wasn’t on the horizon for me.

  When I got to the door, my hand was trembling slightly, and I tried to blame it on the air outside. It was chilly, even for November, and I was shaking a little more as the wind blew. The door was opened by a woman that I’d met the day before during my visit. I was afraid to ask her if Mr. Randall was here. I hated to think that I was going to be stood up again. It wouldn’t be the first time, dealing with the rich, but it was just as frustrating.

  “Hi, I am here to speak to Mr. Randall. Is he in? We have an appointment.”

  She smiled and opened the door. Caren brought me to a sitting room and said that he would be out soon. The house was just as magnificent on the inside and I had to wonder how he was going to feel about glitter walls and rainbow ceilings, certain to clash with all of the fine things he had around the house.

  I waited as patiently as I could, but several moments went by. I was feeling stir-crazy, so I stood up and took a look at some of the old pictures on the mantel. One picture in particular didn’t seem all that long ago and the boy in the picture looked a lot like someone that I’d met so long ago. It felt like a lifetime ago, but the voice, even deeper because he was an older man now, was still the same.

  I didn’t have to turn around to know who was behind me. I would have recognized that voice anywhere, and before I could make myself face him, I had to pull it all back in. The little girl’s voice called out to me, “Angie, I’m so glad you’re back. I told you dad would be here.”

  I moved to face her, and I smiled in her direction, taking care not to look directly at Jaime just yet.

  “Yes, you did. You also said that I would get a gift if he was late.”

  I stood up after bending down a bit to talk to Ree. “So, where is my gift, I wonder?”

  The smile was large, and I was feasting my eyes on the body of the man. He was bigger now, full-grown, and his muscles were no doubt larger than I remembered. But some things hadn’t changed. His eyes were still that dark chocolate color that I’d loved so much, and those dimples were there, as my eyes met the rest of him, moving up slowly. It was a moment that I wanted to savor. I had been looking for Jaime for a long time.

  My body felt alive again, unlike anything I’d felt for him in a long time. I tried to see the same young man that I’d fallen for before, the one that had taken me into his arms and made me scream out his name until my voice was hoarse. The one with the strong hands that had held me firm, while I tried to get away from a tongue lashing that even now made me tremble inside. I’d finally found him.

  There was a problem though. I could see that the man was still the man that I’d met so long ago. He was the one I’d desired and dreamt about for all of these years, but he’d changed. Pain replaced the carefree look that I remembered. There were worry lines that now marred his handsome face. What had he gone through to make him change visibly this way?

  “Um, daddy, you are supposed to say hello back. This is Angie.”

  He stuck his hand out, but it felt almost cold to the touch when I grasped it. The connection felt like it was missing, and I found that the hardest to handle. I didn’t want that to be so.

  “Nice to meet you, Jaime.”

  His eyes never quite met mine. They just looked past me, around me, almost through me. The elation that I’d felt when I first realized who he was, was quickly waning, replaced with a deep sadness I didn’t know how to respond to. He had always been a ghost to me, but now he felt like nothing at all. That hurt the most.

  6

  Jaime

  My heart was suddenly pounding in my chest. This was the woman that had kept me up so many nights in the past. This was the woman that I wished I could have found before I married Anika and started working for my father. After her, it seemed like my life had gone downhill.

  She was just as beautiful as before, with the time that had passed being very kind to her. She really wasn't that old, not even thirty yet, just like me. We had just been so young when we had met before. I could see how she had aged, and I knew that there was a great deal more age in the mirror when I looked at myself in the morning.

  Angie didn't have that though. Her smile was just as bright, and I had seen it for a moment before it had suddenly faltered. I knew that it was my expression that had made her stop so suddenly. I hadn't been able to control myself, even though I wished that I had been able to. Now though, I straightened my face up to nothingness. I’d gotten very good at it with all the court dates that I had for my divorce. Any sort of emotion had to be headed off.

  Angie tossed her blonde hair back and her blue eyes twinkled at me. My body responded as it should, but the rest of me was holding back. I didn’t know what to say, to make this right.

  I decided then and there, that I could not open myself up to the woman again. Last time, she had done so much damage in less than twelve hours. I couldn't go through it again. I was just finally starting to get myself right and the last thing that I needed, was a distraction as big and long felt as Angie produced. But damn she looked good. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her long, lean form and the rise and fall of her beautiful breasts, as she breathed in a little faster. Even her alabaster skin was as smooth and unblemished as before. Perfection.

  “It is good to see you. I am sorry that I missed the appointment yesterday. There was something that I had to attend to, that came up last minute.”

  “That's okay. I am sure that you are very busy, Mr. Randall.”

  “It's Jaime, please call me Jaime.”

  “Well then Jaime, I brought a few drawings of the areas that you wanted redecorated. If you have any questions, please ask them now, so that we can get exactly what you want done. Your daughter's room is a little more vibrant, but she said that she could have whatever she wanted. Is that true or a little girl’s embellishment?”

  The blonde woman looked at my daughter and Marjorie immediately smiled and agreed. Marjorie got along with most people, but there was a special way that she was looking at Angie. It was like she was looking up to her, and I wondered what was going through her mind.

  I had heard all about the visit from my daughter when I got home a little after she had left. Ree had been very excited about Angie, but of course, then I hadn't realized who Angie was. There had been a moment of recognition when I heard her first name, but I had already p
ushed the idea aside. I had been chasing the name Angie for years now and since it was a very common name, it never led to anything.

  Now though, Angie, my Angie, was in my house and I didn't know what to do about it. I knew what I wanted to do, but then again, I told myself a long time ago, that I wouldn't fall down the same trap. Love was not something that I was interested in. Lust was a lot easier, but even then, I had rules about that. One of those rules was I never went back for seconds. We had already been together a long time ago and that's where it needed to stay, in the past.

  When I got into the room with the two girls, they were chatting back and forth and for a moment, my heart ached for my daughter. Her mother had not been a very good mother when we had lived together, but now she was basically nonexistent. I still wasn't sure how it was supposed to be explained to Marjorie. I did my best, but I could see very clearly there was a certain bond that my daughter was crazy desperately to have and the bad part about it was, that there was nothing I could do. It was not something that I could provide for her, no matter how much I loved her and wanted to.

  I watched them interact for a while and I told myself that this was at least good for Marjorie. Having Angie here was going to prove burdensome, I could already feel it, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I shouldn't even worry about it. My daughter having exactly what she wanted, to add a little bit of joy, was worth more than a few moments that were a little uncomfortable. It wasn't like it was anything bad. It was just a little infatuation from so long ago, before I realized the damage that one night could do to a man.

  When I finally made myself known, my daughter wasn't even that worried about my presence. She was talking excitedly and pointing at the pictures that I had not even seen yet. When I got closer, I could see what my daughter was freaking out about and I almost couldn't blame her. If Angie could do half of what she had done for the picture, my daughter was sure to be very pleased.

  I had heard about Angie’s talent from someone that had worked with her before. She wasn't as big and professional as some of the other places that I'd worked with in the past. Her work spoke for itself. It spoke from the happiness on Ree’s face right now.

  I had to think that all of it was worth a little bit of discomfort. It wasn’t like we had done more than spend a night together. It was just one night, not even a whole day. How could I possibly let that affect me in such a way?

  There was a moment when she looked up suddenly, like she finally realized my presence. Her body immediately tightened up and I didn't like the looks of it at all. That was not the effect that I wanted to have on her. It was certainly not the effect that she had on me.

  “Sorry, I got a little carried away in here with Marjorie.”

  “It's great!”

  “I was just showing her the drawings. You of course have to approve everything, but I wanted to get her opinion, since I promised her the coolest room ever. It's a pretty tall order, and I want to make sure that I get it right.”

  The smile was still as winning as ever, and I found myself sinking down just a little bit more. My eyes closed for just a breath and then they flashed to the beautiful blonde. I had not since found a woman that could come as quickly and beautifully as Angie did. I don't think that I ever would.

  “Yes well, I did tell her that whatever she wants, she could have. That goes for anything. I am sure that it will be just fine, whatever the two of you come up with. I trust you.”

  She sank a little bit, her smile faltered. I wondered why that was. Was she feeling as energized to have me around as I was to her being around? It would have made me at least feel a little bit better, just knowing I wasn't the only one that was completely freaking out inside.

  7

  Angie

  After getting over the shock of seeing him, and then seeing the pain on his face that had been etched in over the years that we had been apart, I started to at least calm down a little bit around him. There had been something that happened, something that made it where his wife was nowhere to be seen and he was raising a young girl by himself. Those were obviously the reasons for why there was so much pain in his face. I wanted to fix it, make everything better. More than that, I wanted to get the man back that I had once known. That was the man that I had been thinking about and yearning for all of these years. I wasn't ready to let that go. I did not want to make him a ghost.

  I stayed for a couple of hours and I loved getting to know him again. It was really nice. He offered to let me stay for lunch and I almost turned it down because of the awkwardness that stood between us. Then I told him yes, because I didn't want this tension between us any longer. If we had a minute to talk alone, I was hoping that we could put this all behind us. It would certainly make me feel better.

  The lunch was delicious and of course Jaime had a cook that worked just for him in the house. He told me that Dante could whip up anything in moments and I believed him. The food in front of me was obviously of a superior quality and I had to wonder for a moment, how long it would take and how much it would cost, to employ someone like Dante. When I finally get rich and get a house like this, I'm definitely going to want to get me a cook as talented.

  I told as much to Jaime and he chuckled. We had laughed a lot the first time we had met, and I realized then, that I had missed the sound. It was just so deep and rich and full of life, sort of like the man that it would bubble out of. There's a lot that I missed, and it was hard to see him now, especially when there were so many questions.

  Marjorie was tired from the day's events and went to go lay down for a nap. I was rather surprised that a child her age still took a nap, but Jaime told me that most of the time she didn't sleep.

  “It’s considered her quiet time. Sometimes I need a little quiet, while I'm getting ready for a case, and this helps us both out.”

  I had to agree, but I was still rather surprised at how together he was. Most dads, single ones especially, would have been completely freaking out. Not Jaime though. He seemed to take it all in stride.

  “Can I ask you a question, Jaime?”

  His daughter was long gone and I felt like it was finally safe to ask the burning question that had been inside of me for so long. The only one that kept me up at night, but the most obvious one.

  “Where is her mother?”

  His smile immediately faded, and I wish that I hadn't even asked. Whatever was the condition, he was obviously not happy about it.

  “We got divorced and after it was final, she just kind of disappeared. Anika moved back in with her parents and I guess now she is living the high life. My parents want me to try to wrangle her in, but Anika is wild. She always has been, but having kids, I don't know. I guess I thought that she would chill a little bit. I know I certainly did. Partying lost its value to me very early on in fatherhood. I couldn't understand why she couldn't do the same thing.”

  I stopped for a moment, because it was just pouring out of him and I think he saw my reaction because he immediately started to clam up again.

  “Long story short, she's gone. I don't know if she's going to come back to see Ree or not.”

  I put my hand on his shoulder and I knew right away that I shouldn’t have done it. There was an electric current that immediately started to flow through me. It was the same way when we had kissed for the first time on the plane. We hadn't even gotten on to the ground before he had sought out my lips. What would I do if he did so now? Would I lay into it, like I had before, or would I be able to resist? I thought that now I could at least resist, but what was the fun in that?

  I needed to calm down. I was just working it up in my head. I was making it more complicated than it had to be. What happened between us, happened a long time ago. It was natural to feel this way, right?

  “It is obvious that your daughter loves you and you are a good father. Maybe right now, that's all she needs.”

  I wanted to say more, but I didn't trust myself to. I had always wondered why I had reacted the way th
at I had with Jaime. After a while, with more distance in between our meeting, I realized that I had nothing to do with Jaime at all. I convinced myself that it was my age. I was young and he had been a rich man with the mischievous smile. That's all it was.

  “Thank you, Angie, that’s good to hear. I always wondered if I am doing enough.”

  I looked around and told him that it appeared that he was.

  “So, then Angie, let’s get down to the real discussion, shall we?”

  I agreed. Here I thought we were going to nit-pick my choices and find a solution for it all. I was wrong though. I was rarely wrong, but this was twice now in the same day already.

  “Sure, Jaime. What’s this real discussion that we need to have?”

  He grinned at me. “Let’s talk about the fact that we know each other quite well, Angie. I was going to let it go, but I don’t think we should. We should just get it out there in the open, especially if we're going to be working together. Don't you think it would be better to clear the air?”

  “I don't know if that's a good idea or not, Jaime. Maybe it is best, just to let it all lie.”

  I could almost feel hope bubbling up inside of me with the idea of me and him together. I don't know why, but I was sure that just the idea of it would put me in a place that I didn't want to be. I didn't want to need him anymore, not after all these years. I still thought about him, but after a time, I was able to at least move on superficially.