Sisters in Bloom

by Melissa Foster

  Oh, God. Mom. Danica called her mother.

  “Hi, honey,” she answered.

  “Hi, Mom. Sorry I forgot to call you back. I’ve been busy with Kaylie.”

  “How is she?”

  Is that a man’s voice in the background? “She’s fine.” Definitely a man’s voice.

  Her mother giggled.

  “Mom? Am I interrupting something?” Danica looked up at the ceiling. Please don’t be in bed with him.

  “Oh, Patrick and I are with some friends, playing bridge.”

  “Bridge? You play bridge?”

  She laughed again. “I do now. Listen, honey, I’ve got to go. I’m glad Kaylie’s okay.”

  Danica stared at the phone long after her mother hung up. Bridge? She dove into her work, and was surprised that an hour had passed when her cell phone vibrated. She read the text from Blake. “Open the door?”

  She texted back, “What door?”

  “Front door.”

  Danica walked through the dark lobby to the entrance, where Blake stood holding a bag of Chinese takeout and two candlesticks. Danica pulled the doors open. “What’s all this?”

  “I missed you.”

  “I haven’t been here that long. Maybe an hour or so later than usual.” She laughed and took one of the bags from him.

  “An hour, a week, what’s the difference? I wanted to be with you. Eating dinner alone is no fun at all.” He gave her a deep, sensuous kiss.

  “Wow,” she said when he pulled away. “You did miss me.”

  “With all this stuff going on between Kaylie and Chaz, I was just feeling thankful for what we have, and I never” —he kissed her again— “want to take you for granted.”

  Danica’s lips met his. The taste of Blake, the feel of his hands on her body, transported her to some place far away from Kaylie’s drama. Her body felt light, her mind happy, and she tingled all over. They kissed their way over to the lobby couch, where Blake laid her down beneath him, then gently pressed his fully clothed body on top of her.

  He moved her thick curls from her face and stared into her eyes. Danica was hungry for more. She lifted her mouth to meet his lips, and he leaned back, out of reach. “If you won’t move in with me, will you marry me?”

  Danica laughed. “What?”

  “I’m serious.” His dark eyes softened, and his voice was just above a whisper, a sexy, soothing admission. “I love you, Danica. I love your wild hair and your sense of humor. I love the way you make sure you have everything organized the night before for the next morning. I love the way you pour more cereal to finish the milk in the bottom of your bowl.”

  Danica couldn’t believe her ears. They’d never even talked about getting married. Hell, she hadn’t even moved in with him yet—not officially, anyway.

  “Baby.” He kissed her again—a toe-curling, gut-wrenching, deliciously warm kiss, leaving her unable to think straight. “I will never love anyone the way I love you. You are the snow on my mountain, the wax on my skis.”

  “So romantic,” she joked, resting her head back down on the couch. Oh my God! Oh my God! She didn’t even know she wanted to hear the words, and when he said them—marry me—fireworks exploded in her head. Her heart screamed Yes! Yes! Yes! But her mind tethered her response to thoughts of Kaylie.

  “Don’t you see? You’re everything to me. I adore you.” He looked at her expectantly. His smile faded with her silent gaze. Blake lifted himself off her. “Danica?”

  Marry him? Marry him. She blinked, then blinked again. Stunned didn’t begin to cover the feelings that made her heart race and her mind reel. Married? Her mind went to thoughts she hadn’t even realized she had—would they end up like her parents?

  “I love you,” she whispered. It was all she could manage.

  He smiled. “Good?”

  The confusion on his face brought Danica back to the moment. Blake was everything she could possibly want in a husband. He was courteous, empathetic, strong, and protective without being overly jealous. Sex with Blake set her world on fire—hell, kissing him set her world on fire. So, why was she hesitating?

  “Kaylie,” she said. Oh, God! Did I say that out loud?

  “What?” Blake sat up, and Danica sat next to him.

  “I can’t get married unless I know Kaylie is okay.”

  Blake clasped his hands together, leaning his elbows on his thighs. “What does Kaylie have to do with us getting married? I’m not asking Kaylie to marry me. I’m asking you. You, Danica. Just you. You and me, a life together, you know how that works.”

  “Blake.” She turned to him and reached for his hand. “Kaylie’s life is in shambles. Can you imagine what would happen if I came to her and said I was engaged at the same time that she said they called off their engagement? She’d be devastated.”

  “Okay, then we won’t tell her yet.”

  Love shone in his eyes, his voice, and in the warmth of his hand. His heart was on his sleeve, there for the taking, and she had no intention of breaking it. She just wasn’t sure how to navigate her own happiness when Kaylie’s was so fragile, and when hers and Blake’s was on the line.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Kaylie practiced with the band for two days. The songs sounded great, and the band knew just what to do to enhance the melodies. It had been two days since she’d heard from Chaz, and she was beginning to think that Lea Carmichael might have been the owner of the sock after all, even though Danica had spent an hour the evening before convincing her otherwise. All of Danica’s comments made sense; Chaz had never given her reason to worry before. It could have been Max’s brush and sock, or someone else’s—it didn’t mean he’d actually cheat on her. She knew Chaz loved her to pieces, and he wanted their baby as much as she did. But she had been really moody before he left, and that look in his eye when he said they had to talk had been a little unnerving. Why am I doing this to myself? He loves me!

  She’d left messages for Chaz several times each day, and she’d finally given up. She wanted to believe that Danica was right. He was just busy. He’d come back and they’d figure it out, and their relationship would be just fine. But her heart broke a little more with each passing hour. She tried to take comfort knowing she was singing at the event in just a few days, and in her heart, she knew that no matter what came her way, she could handle it. But that didn’t change the fact that she wanted Chaz, the way they were, with no woman coming between them.

  She climbed into her car after band practice and answered her ringing cell phone.

  “Max?”

  “I can’t talk long, but I wanted you to know that Chaz is miserable. He’d kill me if he knew I was calling you, but I can only imagine how hard this is for you, pregnant and all.”

  “Have you seen him?” Kaylie was caught off guard. She had forgotten she’d called Max and now, her mind raced with a million questions. The pain she’d been ignoring came rushing back, overwhelming her. She put her hand on her stomach and breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm her speeding pulse.

  “We’re in Seattle. We thought we’d only be gone one day, but Jansen’s really not well.”

  “What happened?”

  “We don’t know. He’s having some kind of heart issues. They’re talking about all sorts of crazy things.”

  Kaylie took a deep breath and asked the question she’d been trying to forget. “Max, who is Lea Carmichael?”

  Max didn’t answer.

  “Oh, God. I knew it,” Kaylie said with a heavy heart.

  “Kaylie, listen, it’s over with them. She’s just taking revenge or something, but don’t worry. Chaz will make it all go away.”

  “Over?”

  “Yes, it’s over.” She heard Max take a deep breath, then blow it out. “Kaylie, Chaz loves you. He’s just overwhelmed right now. But he loves you more than life itself.”

  “But Lea—”

  “He ended it with her in no uncertain terms.”

  Ended it. That means there was someth
ing to end.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Seattle sucks,” Chaz said to Max. They were sitting in the waiting room at Seattle Hospital. It had been raining for two days straight, and Chaz was starting to feel the downward spiral of having not seen the sun for far too long, combined with every facet of his life being in turmoil.

  “Hopefully, he’ll wake up today and we’ll be able to talk some sense into him.” Max sat beside him with her laptop on her legs, using the hotspot from her cell phone for Internet service.

  “Cooper said that I get first right of refusal, so obviously we’ll stop this crap from going any further, but I really need to get all of this cleared up. I’ve gotta know what Jansen was thinking, but more important, what the hell is it that Lea wants?”

  Max turned her dark, serious eyes toward him.

  “What is it?” Whatever it was, it couldn’t be anything worse than what was already going on in his life. The doctors were really worried about Jansen—and Cooper was working on the Lea issue. The whole thing sickened him. If Jansen died, it would be his fault.

  Max crossed her arms.

  “Max, you’ve got that look. What it is?” Chaz had seen that I-don’t-want-to-say-it look before. “Max,” he coaxed, “just tell me. You look like you did when you told me about the mechanical failure on event day three years ago. We handled that. There’s nothing we can’t handle. Lay it out for me. What the hell happened now?”

  “You know what she wants.” Max’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. “She wants you, and if she can’t have you, then no one will.”

  Chaz laughed. “That’s ridiculous. People don’t really do that.”

  Max held his gaze.

  “No way. She’d never take it this far.”

  “Chaz, I’ve done some digging, and I’ve uncovered some pretty unsavory dirt on her. She’s crazier than we ever thought. Look at this.” Max proceeded to show him several articles dating back seven and eight years, each of which documented affairs with wealthy, married men. “It seems as if she likes to break up marriages.”

  “I wasn’t married when I met her, and she is far wealthier than I am.”

  “She was in and out of rehab in the early nineties, and ten years ago, she was accused of trying to run over an ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend.”

  “Acquitted.” Chaz ran his hand through his hair.

  “You knew about that?”

  “She told me when we were together. She said it was an accident.”

  “Chaz?”

  He looked over.

  “Don’t you see the hint of a pattern here? She’s getting all up in your business all of a sudden, now that you’re having a baby and getting married?”

  “Who would wait a year before trying to mess up someone’s life?”

  “Someone who does it for fun.” Max turned back to her computer. She chewed on her fingernail.

  “What else is bothering you?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Max? You only chew your nails when you’re really, really stressed. Like when you thought your dad was going to die type of stress. Spill it.”

  “You’re gonna be really mad, so I’d rather not. When are you going to call Kaylie?”

  “I told you, once I have this crap ironed out. Then I can focus on her.”

  “Aren’t you worried it’ll be too late?”

  The thought had crossed Chaz’s mind far too many times than he’d like to admit. But he was so hurt over her accusations that he’d almost convinced himself that they shouldn’t be together after all.

  “Chaz…” Max closed her eyes. When she opened them, he was staring at her, waiting, knowing she had something to say that he most likely didn’t want to hear. “I called her.”

  “You what?” Chaz sprang to his feet. “How could you meddle in my business like that?”

  “I was trying to help. She’s pregnant and worried.”

  “Damn it, Max.” Chaz went to the window and stared into the sheeting rain.

  “I told her that you ended it with Lea. She deserved to know and not to have to worry about—”

  Chaz spun around. “You did what?”

  “I…I told her that it was over, that she had nothing to worry about. That you loved her.”

  “Max, she didn’t know about Lea.” Chaz paced, crossing and uncrossing his arms.

  Max rose to her feet. “Oh my God. Wait, she must have known. She asked me who Lea was. That’s why I said that you’d ended it.”

  The doors to the ICU opened and all eyes turned toward the doctor who walked straight to Jansen’s wife and children.

  “I’m sorry. He had a massive heart attack. We did everything we could to save him.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chaz sat across from Max in a café down the street from the hospital, the loss of Jansen still sinking in. Max wiped tears from her puffy red eyes. He reached across the table and held her hand. “Max.” He didn’t know what else to say. A good man probably died because of something Lea did—because of him—and there was no way he could ever make that right.

  “It’s just…I didn’t know him very well, a few phone calls here and there, but did you see his wife? His daughter? And it kills me just knowing that Lea was probably trying to break them up just to screw you over.” Her eyes hardened. “Doesn’t it bother you at all?”

  “More than you’ll ever know.” His gut felt like one giant sinkhole filled with regret. “I really need to call Kaylie,” he said quietly, “before I lose her, too.”

  Max nodded.

  “Tell me again what she said.”

  Max took a deep breath and then a sip of water. “She asked me who Lea Carmichael was, like she knew about her. She knew her name, so I assumed...” She looked at him pleadingly. “You know I wouldn’t have said anything if I’d known you never told her. I thought she knew and that was why she asked. The way she asked was like she thought something was going on with you and Lea, so I just assured her that it was over.” Max wiped her eyes. “I never should have called her. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. I should have told her, but…” I didn’t want to deal with it.

  “I can call Kaylie and explain,” Max offered.

  “No, it’s fine. I need to do this. I have no idea how Lea’s name would have even come up.” He stood and took his cell phone from his pocket.

  “You were just so mad, and I knew you didn’t mean it. I was trying to help,” Max reiterated. “As for Lea, I wouldn’t put anything past that crazy bitch.”

  Chaz put a hand on her shoulder and then walked out of the café to call Kaylie. The first call rang four times before going to voicemail, so he tried again. And again. And again until finally he heard her voice—and lost his.

  “Hello?”

  The chaos of the last few days whirred around him. Kaylie’s voice was empty. Flat. His loving girl wasn’t there. What had he done?

  “Chaz? Are you there?”

  A lump formed in his throat, and he pushed his strained voice through a whisper. “Kaylie.”

  “Chaz? Are you…are you all right?”

  “I…no. Kaylie, I’m sorry.” The realization that he’d somehow hurt her, lied to her, came rushing in and pushed the emotions he’d been holding in to the surface. “Kaylie, it’s not what you think. I’m so sorry.”

  He listened to her breathing heavily, pictured her beautiful full lips quivering the way they did before tears fell down her soft cheeks, and he felt another fissure form across his heart.

  “Kaylie, I only wanted you to be happy. I thought by telling you about…” He couldn’t even bring himself to say the woman’s name. He had to. He owed that much to Kaylie. “Lea. I was worried that if I told you about Lea, you’d worry every year if she sponsored our events.”

  “So you spent the night with Lea Carmichael to somehow save me?” she fumed.

  “What? No. What are you talking about?” He looked up at the sky and willed the tears of shame and anger tha
t burned at the edges of his eyes not to fall; he never should have kept this from Kaylie.

  “I know, Chaz, okay? I found her sock on the couch and her brush in the bathroom. Damn it, Chaz, Max told me everything. She said you ended it, but it’s too late. I can’t marry someone who would cheat just because I forgot to call.” She lowered her voice with her last words, and Chaz heard music in the background.

  “Lea and I were together two years ago, not now.” Anger stirred, and he tried to keep his voice calm and steady, but the woman he loved wasn’t thinking straight, and he had to fix things. Now.

  “I can’t do this right now. I’m at band practice.”

  “Kaylie, I promise you. Lea and I were not together. I met her in Hawaii to talk about the sponsorship. That’s it. You can ask Max. She came along. I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.” She had to understand.

  “In other words, you didn’t trust yourself so you brought Max with you? That’s pathetic.”

  His voice rose despite his best efforts to tamp it down. “Damn it, Kaylie. That’s not at all why I brought her. Lea’s a bitch. She’s trying to buy a percentage of ownership. Jansen’s percentage. Now Jansen’s dead, and—”

  “Jansen’s dead?”

  Chaz closed his eyes and gathered his wits about him. Every muscle in his body unclenched, and he sank against the wall of the building, beneath an awning. Rain splattered his shoes and the edges of his pants. “Yes, massive heart attack. It was awful. Kaylie, Lea’s a nightmare. I swear to you on our baby’s life that she and I ended things two years ago, before I met you. We were only together for a couple days. And it was Max’s sock and hairbrush that you found. You can ask her.”

  Kaylie was silent, so Chaz continued. “It’s you I love. You’re the only person who matters to me. You and our baby.”

  She remained silent.

  “Kaylie, honey, I adore you. Surely you know that. I’d never risk what we have for anyone, especially not her. But you have to trust me. We had one fight. You didn’t call me, and you immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was with someone else? If we can’t trust each other, how can we get married?”