Second Chances

by Gray, Christle

  ~~~

  “Tell me what to do, Ingrid,” Kristin begged her best friend from the other side of the desk. A sleepless night and restless afternoon had passed, with little result. David’s proposal still hung in the air, and she had only hours before she had to make her decision.

  Ingrid fluffed her short hair. “I’m not telling you anything, love. This decision is yours to make. But I’ll support you in whatever you choose.”

  “You can at least give me an opinion.” Why did Ingrid have to choose now to keep quiet?

  Her friend stopped preening and shot her a heated look. “And have you blame me if it doesn’t work out? Bugger that.”

  “So you think I should go for it, then?” How could something work out if she didn’t try for it?

  Ingrid rolled her eyes. “Nice try, but I’m belting up now.”

  A frustrated groan emanated from Kristin as she sank her head to her desk with a thud. Ingrid voluntarily shutting up? The woman must be ill.

  “Oh, all right. Cut out the dramatics.” Ingrid tapped the back of her head with a pencil. “The way that I see it, you had given up all hope of ever finding love after James died, and David gave you that hope back. Isn’t that worth something?”

  Kristin raised her head and nodded. “Of course, but does that outweigh all the hurt, fear and betrayal I’ve had because of getting back that hope?”

  Ingrid patted Kristin’s hand on the desk between them. “Only you can answer that, love.”

  Kristin sighed and stared down at her hands. If only that answer weren’t so fleeting.

  Her friend stood and flung her bag over her shoulder. “I have an evening meeting to go to, so I have to run.” She opened the office door and glanced over her shoulder. “Call me from Wales, all right?” She smiled and blew Kristin a kiss before she disappeared through the door.

  A loud chuckle of disbelief left Kristin’s lips. Her friend knew her heart before she was even aware herself. She shook her head in amazement.

  After she told Celia she would close for the night and be gone for a few days, Kristin ran upstairs to pack. Clothes landed in the suitcase randomly, as she didn’t really pay attention to what she grabbed. Her head spun with her decision. She smiled and zipped the bulging baggage, carrying it downstairs and to the gallery.

  Kristin walked back to her office to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything important. She could leave a note for Celia if anything came to mind. The sound of the gallery’s front door opening jolted her to attention.

  “I’m sorry, we’re closed.” Kristin turned around and froze in her tracks. Sophie Miller stood there, her eyes sending daggers at Kristin. The actress wore simple jeans and a white T-shirt, her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. Even casual, her beauty resonated throughout the room.

  “Hello, Kristin.” Sophie’s words dripped with distaste. The actress slowly walked forward, touching objects with her fingers like she inspected them for dust. The familiarity of that touch sent shivers down Kristin’s spine. “Mind if we have a little chat?”

  The woman’s mere presence made Kristin bristle. “Actually, I’m about to go on a trip.”

  Sophie sat in the chair that had been vacated by Ingrid not too long ago. “Please, have a seat.” The actress gestured to Kristin’s desk chair.

  “I have no intention of listening to any more of your lies, Sophie. You need to leave.” The blood in Kristin’s veins rushed into her ears.

  The actress’ blond ponytail bobbed while she shook her head back and forth. “Tsk, tsk. Such rude behavior. No wonder your business is suffering.”

  Kristin stormed over to the back of her desk chair so she could face the psycho. “Your ploys didn’t work. I found out what you did, and have since corrected everything, so why don’t you just shove off?” Anger filled her body with its searing heat.

  The psycho didn’t move and arched a perfectly shaped blond eyebrow. “I’m impressed. I figured you more for the giving up type. Now I can see you have some fight in you.” She leaned forward. “But maybe you need to think twice about what you’re willing to fight for.”

  Kristin’s breathing came heavy. “What do you mean?”

  Sophie dug through her yellow designer bag and pulled out a large envelope. She removed some sheets of paper and tossed them on the desk toward Kristin. The paper turned out to be colored photos, and Kristin picked the stack up gingerly.

  On the first picture she looked at, David was in a rumpled tux, and Sophie was in the blue robe Kristin had seen the actress wearing in Glasgow. The second photo, the pair just stood facing each other, nothing else. David’s face obscured a little bit.

  The next one, the actress had her arms around David, and he had his arms around her. The third, Sophie had her lips on his neck. The fourth made Kristin’s stomach lurch with nausea. Sophie was naked and she had her arms around David’s neck, kissing him. He seemed to be liking it. Nothing about his body language showed he tried to remove her.

  Kristin sank slowly into her desk chair, her body numb. David had lied about cheating on her with Sophie? These photos sure made it look that way. She glanced across the desk to find the actress staring smugly at her.

  “I told you that he belonged to me. Now, do you really want to fight for someone who would betray you so easily?”

  The numbness spread throughout Kristin’s body, turning her cold. David had lied to her. His eyes full of pain at her anguish, he had lied to her. How could that be?

  The actress smirked, obviously delighted with Kristin’s heartbreak. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Kristin shook her head in disbelief. “You are actually enjoying seeing me hurt like this. You are unhinged, Sophie.”

  The psycho laughed, and the sound sent shivers down her spine. “I’ve only just started, love. I haven’t even mentioned the baby yet.”

  Kristin’s stomach did a somersault. That last statement knocked the wind out of her. Baby? “What did you say?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

  “I’m pregnant. I only found out a few days ago.” Sophie’s cold blue eyes looked directly into hers, the wide smile across her lips devoid of any merriment. “We have a passionate life that makes me hot even as I speak. I’m not sure how far along I am. I’ll have the doctor sort it out.” She fanned herself with her hand.

  Kristin laced her fingers together to keep them from trembling as the photos glared up at her from the desk. Pangs of jealousy shot through her gut. She had always wanted to be a mother. But instead, this ruthless woman sitting in front of her had been given that blessing. “And David doesn’t know?”

  “Not yet. I wanted us to have our little conversation first, woman to woman.”

  “How thoughtful of you.”

  Sophie grabbed the photos from Kristin’s desk and peered at them in triumph. “Isn’t it amazing the quality of photo you can get from those little web cameras? I mean, really!”

  Kristin was unsurprised by this psycho’s level of self involvement. “I pity that poor child, having you for a mother.”

  The actress tossed the photos back on the desk, where they scattered. “Again with the rudeness. You Americans have no class.”

  She stood and gestured to the photos with a nod of her head. “You can keep those. I have my own copies.” Sophie turned to leave, but stopped briefly in the doorway. “And I do expect that you won’t be insulted if I say that I hope we never see each other again.”

  “Consider the feeling reciprocated, Sophie.”

  The psycho flashed her signature plastic smile. “Ta.” She strolled out the door, and hopefully, out of Kristin’s life forever.

  Kristin gazed at the photos scattered across her desk. She gathered them in her hands and flipped through them once more. Her stomach rolled with nausea again, so she stuffed the photos into a desk drawer, out of sight.

  Her body moved robotically as she locked Haven’s door and trudged up the stairs to her flat with her luggage. Throwing her keys on the side
table, she dropped her luggage with a dull thud. The door closed silently behind her, that numbness still permeating her body.

  In her bedroom, she picked up the one photo of James she’d left sitting out and traced her finger along the outline of his smile. Oh, how she missed him! He had given her so much strength when he was alive. Kristin could really use some of it now.

  A child. David was having a child with another woman. A psychotic woman at that.

  Returning to the kitchen, she sat at one of the barstools and laid her head on the counter. The coolness against her skin gave some relief to her apparently flushed face.

  That place deep inside, where she always hidden when she didn’t want to get hurt beckoned to her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Somewhere in the back of her brain, her mother’s voice cried out. See, I was right. You don’t deserve to be loved. You bring nothing but misery to yourself and everyone around you.

  Her teeth clenched as she pushed desperately against the tide of abandonment that voice dredged up. Loneliness, sadness, and insecurity, all wrapped up in a nice, neat bow that her mother gave her over and over. What a gift.

  Shaky legs caused her to stumble as she stood and slowly made her way back through her living room. A glance at the clock told her that David would know she wasn’t coming. Good. Maybe he would hurt as much as she. As she tried to walk forward, the world around her became blurry. Kristin touched her cheeks with her fingers and she found tears. When had she started crying?

  Kristin wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, finally reaching the bedroom. Her body shook as if she was freezing, but her face felt hot. Maybe I’m getting sick. She laughed, because that thought seemed too ridiculous to her, paired with what she had just gone through with Sophie. She laughed and laughed, the cackles gaining momentum and turning to cries of despair. I must be cracking up.

  Her legs buckled and she crumpled to the floor, the cry of complete anguish unrecognizable as her own voice. It came from deep within her, carrying all the loneliness, fear and despair she had been living with all these years. Kristin tried to stand, but her legs gave way again. Hard, wracking sobs devastated her body, convulsing in the kind of anguish that might actually kill her. She cried for losing James, cried for losing the light in her soul, and last of all, she cried for her abandoned love for David.

  ~~~

  David glanced at his watch again. It was almost five-thirty. He’d sent the car away once already, certain that Kristin was just running late. But as the minutes ticked by, the realization that she wasn’t coming seeped into him.

  Kristin wanted to give up the fight. He brushed his hand through his hair.

  Could David blame her, really? She had been so right. Everything had been difficult for them, more difficult than it should have been. Love shouldn’t hurt this bad. Kristin thought he had broken his promises to her. And he had begged her to trust him repeatedly. What was he going to do without her?

  David rubbed his forehead. He picked up his luggage and walked through the door to his apartment building to wait by the curb for the car. The black sedan crawled up the street and came to a halt. The back passenger door opened.

  Sophie stepped out, and the unexpected sight of her stunned him into silence. What was she doing here? Hadn’t they finished with their little game already?

  Her cool blue eyes assessed him as she stood alongside him on the street. “Hello, love.”

  He wasn’t up to a fight with her right now. He wasn’t up to anything except being miserable without Kristin. “What do you want, Sophie? I have to get to Wales. I’m late as it is.” A weary sadness sank down into the depths of his soul.

  Sophie flashed one of her smiles, reached up, and freed her blond waves from the band that held them captive. She shook her head, letting the strands fall freely about her shoulders. “I know. I thought we could go together. Maybe use the time to talk.”

  Her attempt at simple seduction didn’t make the slightest impact on him. Nothing but Kristin’s dark eyes penetrated his thoughts. Knots formed in David’s shoulders as he threw his luggage into the boot the driver had popped open. “I don’t have anything to talk to you about.”

  He slammed the boot closed and whipped his gaze up and down the street, still hoping to catch a glimpse of Kristin.

  “Are you looking for someone?”

  David snapped his attention back to Sophie. Her blue eyes were different, now. They weren’t their usual icy blue-gray, but a lighter, gentler blue. David’s heart almost softened toward her. Then he remembered the hotel and look what happened. She’s a calculating bitch who had ruined his chances with Kristin.

  “I have to go, Sophie. If you need to reach me, you can contact Bernard.”

  He gave her a wide berth as he attempted to climb into the car, but Sophie caught his arm.

  “And what if our baby needs you? What then?”

  David stared at her like she’d just spoken in a foreign language, not quite sure he had understood her correctly. “What baby?”

  Sophie took his hand and placed it over her stomach. “The one that I’m carrying. Your child. Yours and mine.”

  He stared at his hand on her stomach, dumbfounded. “You’re pregnant?”

  She nodded, her blond waves bouncing. “I just found out. Isn’t that wonderful? We’re going to be a family.” Sophie threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly.

  David didn’t move as she hugged him fiercely. Was this another of her lies to keep him in her life? The actress released him and stepped back. His eyes searched the blue depths of hers for some inkling of the truth.

  Sophie smiled.

  “I’m going to be a father?” The words sounded alien to him. He’d wanted children of his own someday, but the only woman he’d seriously contemplated doing that with had been Kristin. And now, that obviously wasn’t meant to be. “You know, I could care less about you. My only concern is for the baby. So help me, if you’re lying, Sophie…” Anger started his pulse rate on an uphill climb.

  She clutched his hand. “It’s true, David. No more lies. We have a second chance to make things right.” She climbed into the car and patted the seat beside her. “Come, now. We have a lot to talk about.”

  David scanned the street once more. Kristin really wasn’t coming. He sighed, stepped into the car and shut the door.

  Chapter Twelve

  A month had passed since Kristin lay on the floor of her bedroom, wallowing in complete and utter despair. She had not heard one thing from David in that time, not that she’d expected to. That was probably for the better. Kristin had actually resumed some semblance of a normal life, though very different than what it had been before.

  One of the smartest things she’d done was to make Celia her partner in the gallery. This freed a considerable amount of Kristin’s time. Though she had toyed with the idea before, it had eventually sprung out of necessity. With the sadness and anger she’d gone through in the last month, her break from David had overwhelmed her completely. She had been useless, and had even become quite ill for a week, not eating or sleeping.

  Finally, Kristin had taken herself to the doctor, making her realize that Celia’s dedication was actually a blessing, and she needed her help now more than ever.

  Stirring a pot of pasta simmering on the stove, the sound of the door buzzer broke her out of her reverie. Ingrid was late as usual for the lunch she’d planned. Her best friend had been keeping a close eye on her, fretting over her when she’d been sick.

  Kristin walked to the intercom and buzzed the door open, then returned to her simmering pots.

  Ingrid breezed in and set her things on the red couch, then hurried over to the small kitchen where Kristin stood by the stove. She deftly kicked off her black pumps and settled on one of the bar stools.

  She would never understand why Ingrid wore uncomfortable shoes so often. “New shoes?” Kristin tilted her head toward the discarded black pumps.

  “Of course, and bloody awful ones at
that.” Her friend bent to rub a place on the top of her right foot.

  “I won’t even ask why you bought them then.” She tasted the basil tomato sauce.

  Ingrid stuck out her chin in a gesture of defiance. “You just don’t understand the lure of impractical shoes.”

  Kristin chuckled and stirred the pasta. “Apparently not.” She leaned lazily against the counter by the stove watching her friend.

  Ingrid peered over the counter into the simmering pots, and inhaled deeply. “It smells wonderful in here, love.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” Kristin smiled weakly.

  Her friend tilted her head, concern flashed across her blue eyes. “How are you feeling today, by the way?”

  The struggle with how she and David had parted ways still felt fresh. It pained Ingrid to watch her in such agony, especially since it was similar to the grief Kristin had gone through after James died.

  “I’m okay. At least, I seem to have an appetite again.” Food had been her enemy while she’d been sick, but now they seemed to be striking a shaky truce.

  “Well, that’s a good sign. Your poor body was just worn out from grief, which probably made you more susceptible to whatever kind of nasty virus got hold of you.” Ingrid found a breadstick and popped a piece into her mouth.

  “It wasn’t a virus.” Kristin didn’t want to look at her friend and turned toward the pot, stirring it a bit too quickly. The doctor had confirmed no flu. And no cold.

  “So you’ve been to the doctor then? What was it? Food poisoning? Flu?” The tone of Ingrid’s voice was so eager.

  She glanced up from the pot she had been stirring and looked directly into Ingrid’s questioning gaze. Keeping things from her friend hadn’t worked out in the past, so she’d made the decision to be frank.