Coming Back To You

by Lynne, Donya

  “How is that a good sign?” Mark shook his head and glanced across the room. “I slept with another man’s fiancée, godammit.”

  “But she wanted to.” Rob grabbed his arm. “Do you hear me. She wanted it.”

  “The way Carol wanted Antonio?” Mark glared at Rob, but his anger was directed at himself. “Isn’t that what you mean?”

  Rob’s gaze went cold. The realization he’d just crossed a line without meaning to showed on his face. “This is different.” Now he was trying to swim his way out of the whirlpool.

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Yes, it is. Give Karma a little credit. Do you really think she’s going let this drag on with Bob or Brad or whatever his name is if she wants to be with you? Do you? She won’t let things get to the point where he’s standing in a church, waiting for her to come down the aisle. She’ll break things off. So, this is different. She won’t jilt him the way Carol jilted you. She won’t make a fool out of anyone in front of hundreds of people the way Carol did. And she won’t let that guy find her in bed screwing you on their wedding day. Karma’s better than that.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I can tell by the way you talk about her. And I met her, remember? She’s a good person. A good woman. Good women don’t hurt people like that.”

  “Carol was a good woman. She still is.” Even though Carol had majorly screwed him over, it didn’t make her a bad person. Not the most considerate, sure, but not bad.

  Rob shook his head and looked away. “Hell, Mark. What do you want me to say?”

  “Nothing. There’s nothing you can say. This is my fault.” Mark planted his open palm on his chest. “I’m the one who’s fucked things up here. Whether Karma is a good person or not doesn’t change things. It doesn’t change that I did something I swore I would never do.” He cursed himself, glowering at the shiny surface of the bar. “I slept with another man’s fiancée, Rob. What kind of lowlife does that? What kind of asshole fucks another man’s woman?”

  Rob sighed and took a step back. “Do you love her?”

  “What?” Mark’s head snapped around. “Didn’t you hear me? I messed up. I’m—”

  Rob pushed toward him. “Do. You. Love. Her?”

  “What kind of question is that?” He pulled back and took another drink, averting his gaze.

  “One you need to answer. If not to me, at least to yourself. Now, do you love Karma or not?”

  Mark clenched his teeth, glanced down into the round spout of his beer bottle, and shook his head. There was no way he could deny it. “Yes. All right? I love her. I love her more than anything. More than I’ve loved any woman.”

  “Then all this drama…” Rob circled his arm in the air. “Isn’t doing you a damn bit of good.”

  “What drama?”

  “All this sour shit about how you’re just like that dick, Antonio, and how you’ve committed some unforgivable crime, yada yada yada.” Rob flapped his hand like a puppet. “Drama!” Rob stabbed his index finger toward Mark. “When you love someone, you need to be with them, no matter what, especially if they love you back.”

  “She’s engaged to another man. If she loves me, she has a funny way of showing it.”

  “Well, what has she said about what happened Friday night? What’s her take?”

  Mark took a deep breath and blew it out. “I haven’t talked to her, yet.”

  “You haven’t…” Rob trailed off and blew out an exasperated sigh, looked toward the floor, and pinched his nose. After a couple of seconds, he lifted his face and shook his head disparagingly. “Dude, you are seriously fucked up. You haven’t talked to her?” He made a noise between a groan and a sigh. “And what was I just saying about drama?”

  “Look, she was sleeping when I left, and I’ve been too caught up with you and the wedding and everything else since I got here. I haven’t had two seconds to put two coherent thoughts together about what happened, let alone call and have a conversation with her.”

  “Then call her now.” Rob waved toward the pocket that contained his phone.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’ve decided this isn’t something I want to discuss with her over the phone. When I get back to Indianapolis, I’ll talk to her then.”

  Rob shook his head again. “God, Mark. What are we going to do with you?” He slung his arm around Mark’s shoulders. “You’re supposed to be the one who’s got his shit together, not me.”

  “Well, things change.” He swigged down another swallow of beer.

  Ever since he’d met Karma, his life had been a roller coaster. Up, down, around, upside down. She had him in knots. Some good, some bad, but the bad ones were his own doing. Maybe when he got back to Indy, he could untie a few of them and get his life back on course. After a year of turbulence, he was ready for a little smooth sailing, even if it meant she would stay with Brad and tell him to get lost.

  At least then, he might get a little closure.

  Chapter 29

  Monday, November 19

  Karma sat across from Lisa in her office, the door closed.

  “I thought you had decided to stay?” Lisa set aside Karma’s resignation letter.

  “Me, too.” Karma had come in on her vacation to turn in her notice.

  “What made you change your mind?”

  She told Lisa about Friday night and how Mark still hadn’t contacted her.

  “I can’t do it, Lisa.” She shook her head. “I thought I could. I thought being with him would be enough, but then he did this. I feel like he’s left me all over again, and I don’t want to live like that, wondering when he’ll leave for good. He obviously already regrets what happened. Even if we get past it, something else will just spook him later and he’ll be gone.”

  “What about Brad?”

  “It’s over. I’m going to his house next. To give him back the ring.” Honestly, she hadn’t liked the ring all that much. She’d hoped the square diamond would grow on her. It hadn’t. Just like Jade. Just like the monotonous sex and rain checks. None of it had grown on Karma, and it was time she set herself free. Not just from Brad, but from Mark, too.

  “I don’t want you to go.” Lisa was genuinely sad.

  “I don’t want to, either, but it’s time.”

  “Do you have another offer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where?”

  “A publication in St. Louis. One of my college professors found me the gig. He lives there now. I’ll also be helping him with research part-time.”

  “Have you already accepted?”

  “Not officially.”

  “How about unofficially?”

  Karma lowered her gaze. “I told him I was excited to get started, but that I wanted to discuss it with my family over the holiday before making it official.”

  When she met Lisa’s gaze again, reluctant understanding mixed with sadness painted Lisa’s expression.

  “So, basically, you’re already gone. The decision’s been made.”

  Karma nodded, twisting her fingers together. “Yes. I can’t stay here, Lisa. Not under these circumstances.”

  Lisa turned toward her computer. “You do realize the e-mail will go out today.”

  “What e-mail?”

  “The personnel update. All the executives and upper management receive a personnel update when an employee terminates.”

  Now that she thought about it, Karma did remember hearing Don talk about the personnel report occasionally. She’d even seen the data in presentations he’d put together for team updates, but she’d never seen the actual e-mail.

  Then her heart spasmed as realization dawned. “Wait a minute. Mark’s going to receive it? Today?”

  Lisa nodded. “While he’s at his friend’s wedding in Chicago. Are you sure you still want to do this?”

  Good timing had never been Karma’s friend, and now was no different. Sighing, she resigned herself that this was just how things needed to be.
“Yes. Just do it. Get it over with.”

  “I’ll hold it until the end of the day, but then I’ve gotta send it.” Lisa stood and came around her desk, arms outstretched.

  Karma stood and hugged her. “I’ll miss you, Leese.”

  “Me, too. But that’s what phones and e-mail are for, right? And weekend getaways.” Lisa pulled away. “Daniel’s going to be devastated, you know.”

  “I know. Let me tell him, okay?”

  Lisa promised she would, then Karma left and drove to Brad’s house.

  “Hey, I wasn’t expecting you,” he said, opening the door. He was on vacation this week, too. Unfortunately—or fortunately, as the case may be—he hadn’t planned to spend time with her. Jade was staying the week with him. Why would he possibly want to spend time with Karma when his daughter wouldn’t approve?

  “Yeah, this is kind of an impromptu thing.” She followed him to the kitchen.

  Jade was in the living room, sitting in a giant, purple beanbag chair, playing video games.

  “Hi, Jade.” A welcome wash of delight rushed through her just knowing she wouldn’t have to deal with her, anymore.

  Jade grumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes before turning her attention back toward the flat screen.

  Brad gestured toward the fridge. “Can I get you a drink?” Even though they’d been dating for months, he still seemed so formal with her.

  “Sure. I mean, no. No, thank you.” She sat at the bar, still wearing her coat. “I just came by to return this.” She pulled the ring out of her pocket.

  Brad froze. Then frowned. Then cleared his throat and looked away. “Why?”

  “Brad, it’s just not working. We’re too different.”

  “Is this about Friday? About your cat?”

  “No, it’s—”

  “Jesus, it was just a cat, Karma. It’s not like it was a person.”

  “Brad, no, that’s not—”

  “You’re ending our relationship over a goddamn cat? It was just an animal.”

  Karma shot off the barstool. “Will you shut up and listen to me!”

  Jade’s head shot around at the commotion. “Don’t you yell at my dad, you bitch!”

  Karma spun on Jade and lashed her index finger at her. “I am so done with you disrespecting me. I’m through. I’m finished trying to make you like me. I really don’t care anymore, because you’re no longer my problem. So go ahead and hate my guts. No sweat off my back.” She turned toward Brad and gave him a look. One that expressed she could no longer compete with his daughter when he wouldn’t even catch her back.

  All he could do was stand there, frowning as if he were stuck between warring factions.

  She crossed her arms and took a step back, her glance flitting to the ring before meeting Brad’s gaze again. With the peanut gallery silent once more, she returned to breaking off the engagement.

  “First of all, Spookie was not just some cat…not some piece of furniture that broke and can be replaced. She was my baby. She was special to me. To me, she was just as human as you and I are. You have Jade. I had Spookie. She was my daughter. My best friend. So how dare you make light of my feelings for her, because I already know you would never allow anyone to say such things about your daughter.” She waved toward the living room. “Second of all, that’s not why I’m ending our relationship, but now that you’ve made your feelings known, it certainly confirms that I’ve made the right choice.” She huffed and pushed the ring across the counter. “You’re a good man, Brad, but you’re not my good man. We just don’t click. You don’t get me. You don’t understand what I need and what I want. You never stand up for me when your daughter starts in on me and calls me names. Don’t you think I deserve at least that much?” She huffed when Brad didn’t say anything. “And I don’t get you, okay? If you think about it, you’ll see I’m right. I’m not trying to lay blame here. We just don’t work together. We don’t. I’ll always be third place to both Jade and your job, and I deserve to be first occasionally.” She paused. “Okay, maybe more than occasionally. I want to be first once in a while, and right now, I’m never first.”

  “Yippee,” Jade said, her voice uninspired. “Ba-bye.” She gave a little finger wave. “Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out, be-yotch.”

  Karma offered Brad an exasperated grin as she gestured toward the living room. “Perfect example. She says things like that, and you don’t say a word.”

  “Screw you, skank!”

  “Be quiet, Jade!” Brad turned angry eyes on his daughter for the first time Karma had ever seen. “I’ve had enough! You don’t talk to people that way.”

  Jade appeared stunned, eyes wide, mouth open. Then she threw down her controller, flung herself out of the beanbag chair, and stormed down the hall. “I hate you!”

  A moment later, a door slammed.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have let her talk to you that way. From now on, I won’t. I’ll make sure she’s nicer to you. I promise to be better.”

  Karma raised her hands, palms up. “It’s too late, Brad. I’m tapped out. And Jade was only part of the problem. I just seem like an afterthought with you. That’s not what I want.”

  “I can try harder.” Brad moved toward her, his eyes filling with the realization she was really leaving him. That she was really walking away.

  “No, Brad. You can’t try harder. Because if you do, you’ll resent me the way I’ve started resenting you. If it’s not your daughter, it’s your job. Or something else.” She didn’t want to hit him with how dull the sex was. She wasn’t that cruel.

  His face hardened. “It’s your boss, isn’t it?” The fury flamed back to life in Brad’s gaze. “You’re attracted to him, aren’t you?”

  Karma took a step toward the door. “Leave Mark out of this. This has nothing to do with him.” She would have ended their relationship regardless of whether Mark had returned or not. It probably just would have taken longer for her to realize she and Brad weren’t a good fit.

  “I don’t want you to go,” he said as she started for the door.

  “I can’t stay.” She opened the door. “Good-bye, Brad.”

  For the first time in months, she was free. No entanglements. No burdens.

  No Jade.

  Breaking up with Brad had been the easy part, though. Now came the hard part. Now she had to start a new life in a new city, on her own.

  Without Mark.

  Talk about setting herself up for an uphill climb.

  Chapter 30

  His nerves calmed by Valium, Mark stood at the front of the church, a few feet away from Rob. Memories of his own wedding day threatened to consume him, but he cleared his throat, shook them off, and kept his focus on holding himself together.

  The ceremony lasted all of fifteen minutes, but it felt like hours. Regardless, it did end, and finally he was able to escape. He practically dragged the maid of honor to the foot of the aisle and out the door to the waiting limousine, where he immediately downed a glass of champagne. Mixing Valium with alcohol be damned.

  “Holly said you had an aversion to weddings,” Tiffany, the maid of honor, said. She wore a crooked half smile and one eyebrow lifted knowingly.

  Mark poured another glass of champagne, took a deep breath as he settled into his seat, and loosened his tie. “Here’s to getting out of there.” He nodded toward the church and lifted his glass toward Tiffany in a one-sided toasted.

  She shook her head and laughed. “Men.”

  It was nearly four o’clock by the time they reached the reception, which happened to be at the same hotel where Mark had booked his room. Most of the out-of-town guests were staying there.

  Feeling loose after two glasses of champagne and a Valium, he strolled in with the rest of the wedding party.

  What he really wanted was to get back to Indianapolis. Last night, lying awake in his suite, he’d finally found time to mull over what had happened on Friday, as well as what Rob had said to him
at the bar.

  He did love Karma. Wasn’t that what was important? She didn’t belong with Brad. She belonged with him. And now that he’d had time to think about it, he realized Rob was right. This wasn’t the same as what had happened between him and Carol. As far as he knew, Karma and Brad hadn’t even set a wedding date. Mark and Carol had set the date, made the plans, shelled out the cash, and made it all the way to the big day before the truth came out about her involvement with Antonio.

  Still, it didn’t make him feel a whole lot better about sleeping with another man’s woman. Mark was a lot of things, but he wasn’t the kind who purposely sought women who were already taken.

  And yet he’d pursued Karma and taken her to bed without so much as a hint of reservation.

  So he was a bastard, but lying in bed last night, he’d decided he was going to fight for her. To hell with propriety and his noble sensibilities. If he was going to ride this out as the sign he’d asked the universe for last September, he needed to get in the game. And not just as an eager bystander. He needed to make his feelings known. He needed to confess his love. Not to himself, not to Rob, but to Karma. She needed to know. He needed to declare out loud…to the entire world…that he was in love with her and that he couldn’t live without her.

  “You doing okay?” Rob said as they waited outside the reception room for the wedding party’s grand entrance.

  “Yeah.” He smiled at his best friend. “You were right last night. Thanks for knocking some sense into me.”

  “That’s what friends are for, right?”

  They hugged it out then clapped each other on the shoulders. “I’m happy for you, buddy.”

  Rob nodded. “Yeah well, just return the favor by getting your ass back to Indy and proposing to that sweet thing you’re so crazy about. Then I can be the best man at your wedding. And this time we can do it right.”

  “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself.” Mark might be ready and willing to open his heart and let Karma in, but asking her to marry him was going to take more than a Valium, some alcohol, and a heart-to-heart conversation. “Let me cross one bridge at a time before you start marrying me off.”