Chances Are

by Abramson, Traci Hunter

  Not quite sure how to go about it privately, he headed for Trent Farley’s office. As the director of public relations, Ben hoped Trent could advise him on the best course of action.

  Ben rapped on the open door.

  “Hey, Ben. Come on in.” He waved him in and motioned to a chair. “What can I do for you?”

  Ben stepped inside and closed the office door to ensure some privacy. “I have a situation I’m hoping you can help me with.”

  “Uh-oh. Don’t tell me you’ve done something to ruin that clean-cut image you’ve got going.”

  “Not exactly, but I do have something I need to take care of that I would like to keep private.” Ben took a seat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I need to add someone to my insurance without it hitting the press.”

  Trent’s eyebrows drew together. “Ben, the only way you can add someone to your insurance is if you get married.”

  Ben nodded.

  “You’re getting married?” Trent asked incredulously in a near mirror image to his parents.

  “I am married. Her name is Maya.”

  “Why the big secret?”

  Ben thought of his initial reasons and the fact that he didn’t want to tarnish his positive image by being linked with Heather such a short time before marrying Maya. Now he found that he wasn’t as concerned about those things. Instead, he thought of the effect the scrutiny of the press could have on Maya. “My wife has some health problems, and I don’t think she’s strong enough to deal with the media right now.”

  “What kind of health problems?”

  “Cancer.”

  “Did you know about this before you married her?”

  “I did.”

  Trent stared for a moment and then shook his head. “Wow. You really are a good guy.”

  “I don’t know about that, but I would appreciate it if you could help me figure out how to put her on my policy without the information leaking.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” he told him. “I assume you’re heading to work out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Swing by my office before you leave, and I’ll have the paperwork for you. Then you can fill it out and get it back to me on Monday. I’ll send it in for you so no one will have to know.”

  “Thanks, Trent. I appreciate it.”

  “I should be thanking you. If this is as bad as your secrets get, you’re going to make my job a dream.” He stood and took Ben’s outstretched hand. “By the way, are you going to make it to Liam’s wedding on Saturday?”

  Ben tried to visualize what it would be like to take Maya, but he wasn’t sure either of them was ready for the speculation they would endure from his teammates. But when he thought of being with all of his friends without Maya, he couldn’t quite picture it. Not ready to commit one way or the other, he said simply, “I’ll be at the wedding. As for the reception, I’ll do what I can.”

  * * *

  Ben jogged up the stairs from the parking garage and stopped in the lobby to retrieve his mail. He unlocked the box to find it stuffed full. When he pulled it all free, a thick manila envelope ripped open and several legal-sized envelopes fell onto the floor. He scooped them up and headed for the elevator. On the ride upstairs, he ripped open the top envelope to see that he had been invited to another movie premiere party in Los Angeles.

  He was just thinking that Maya wouldn’t react the same way Heather had if she saw an invitation like this when he noticed the red “Past Due” stamp on the next envelope. Certain he didn’t have any bills he hadn’t paid, he shifted the invitation to the back of the pile and ripped open what was clearly a credit card bill. His eyes widened when he saw the balance: $15,014.72. He scanned through the charges to see that except for the interest and past due fees, the entire balance was carried forward from the previous month.

  Afraid that maybe someone might have succeeded in stealing his identity, he shuffled through the rest of his mail to see two more envelopes that appeared to be unfamiliar bills. He opened the second, this one with a balance of nearly ten thousand dollars. Like the other, most of the balance had been carried forward from the previous month. Only one new charge was listed, and that was at a pharmacy down the street.

  Ben couldn’t remember going there since returning home, except to pick up something for Maya, but he distinctly remembered paying cash.

  Maya. He looked up at the top of the statement for the first time to see that her name was on the top, not his. He also noted that the address wasn’t his here in DC but was his sister’s in Tennessee.

  He turned the manila envelope over to see that it was addressed to Maya, and the return address was Kari’s. Realizing his sister must have been forwarding the mail to Maya, he carried it all into his apartment and dropped it on the coffee table.

  “How was your workout?” Maya called out from the kitchen.

  Ben didn’t answer. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the credit card debt she was carrying and the sudden realization that he hadn’t seen her buy a single thing since she had moved in with him.

  Had she been using him for his money this whole time? He hadn’t really thought about the fact that he always paid for dinner, aware that her means were limited, but now he found himself needing to know exactly how bad her financial situation was. Had she married him so she could continue her treatments, or was it because she was destitute?

  “Ben?” Maya called out, concern in her voice. “Are you okay?”

  “Actually, can you come here for a minute?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Maya walked into the living room and sat beside him. “Is something wrong?”

  “It looks like Kari forwarded some of your bills to you.” Ben held out the manila envelope, only part of the contents still inside.

  “Did some of it get lost along the way?”

  “The other bills are right here.” Ben held them up and recognized the moment she saw that they were open. “I thought they were mine, so I opened these. Why didn’t you tell me you had so much debt?”

  “It didn’t matter.”

  “Maya, we’re married. Of course it matters. This could come back and hit me.”

  She snatched the bills from his hand. “These aren’t your responsibility. They’re mine.”

  “Right now, you’re my responsibility,” Ben insisted. “How did you get so far into debt anyway? And credit card debt, no less. That’s the worst.”

  Maya stared at him with hurt in her eyes. “It’s amazing what someone will do when they’re fighting for their life.”

  “I guess I already knew that,” Ben agreed with anger in his voice. “After all, you married a complete stranger to get what you wanted.” He froze the moment the words were out of his mouth, wanting to take them back but knowing he couldn’t.

  Maya stood. “This was your idea. If you want me to leave, just say so.”

  “Where would you go?” Ben shot back. “Like it or not, we’re stuck with each other, at least until your treatments are over.”

  The flush of anger in her cheeks drained. She took several steps toward the bedrooms before turning back to face him, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I never meant for you to be stuck with me.”

  His own anger faded, softened by her tears. “Maya . . .”

  Her only response was to continue into her room and close the door. Through the silence, he could hear the quiet click of the lock.

  * * *

  Maya held the phone to her ear, Kari’s voice carrying through it. “Okay, so what happened?”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Nice try. This is me, remember?” Kari countered. “I haven’t been able to get two words out of Ben all weekend, and you aren’t much better. Did the two of you have a fight?”

  Maya crossed her bedroom and looked out through the glass door that led to the balcony. She was going stir crazy staying locked up in here, but it was better than having to face Ben. She had nearly thrown her things into a suitcase and followed thro
ugh on her implication that she would leave, but the truth was that she didn’t have anywhere else to go, and Ben knew it.

  “Come on, Maya. Spill it,” Kari pressed.

  “He saw my credit card bills, and he freaked out. I think he’s scared he’s going to get stuck with all of my medical bills or something.”

  “He should know you well enough by now to know you would never do that.”

  Maya’s voice grew quiet. “Not intentionally.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “If something happens to me while we’re still married, my creditors could try to get him to pay. His name isn’t on any of my cards, so he should be protected from my debt, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s legally my husband.”

  “I never thought about that,” Kari admitted.

  “Well, he’s thinking about it now.” Maya turned from the window and flopped down on her bed. “What was I thinking getting myself into this?”

  “You were thinking that you want to live to see your twenty-first birthday, remember?”

  Tears shimmered in Maya’s eyes. Her birthday wouldn’t come until July, but if she and Ben were right, she very well might not make it that long. She tried to swallow the tears so Kari wouldn’t hear them in her voice. “Twenty-one is starting to sound overrated.”

  “Yeah, right,” Kari said sarcastically. “Just talk to him. You’ve already been living together for over a month. I’m surprised you weren’t ready to kill each other after the first week. And you survived my parents’ surprise visit.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be glad when this is all over and Ben is free of me.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Never mind.”

  Kari was silent for a moment before she pressed forward. “Don’t worry about my parents. I’m sure they’ll be fine with everything once they get used to it,” Kari assured her. “By the way, are you and Ben coming home for Christmas?”

  “I assume when you say home, you mean your parents’ home in Cincinnati.”

  “Yeah, that home.”

  “I don’t know what Ben’s planning. Dr. Schuster said he’s going to suspend my treatments during the week of Christmas, but he doesn’t want me to fly because there is too great a chance I’ll get sick.”

  “You could drive,” Kari suggested.

  “I don’t think I could make a trip that far yet. It’s almost nine hours by car,” Maya said. “If you get a chance, you should talk to your brother. I don’t want him to feel like he has to stay home and babysit me.”

  “I’ll talk to him, but I really wish there was a way you could come too.”

  “Me too, but everything doesn’t always work out the way we plan.”

  “No, but sometimes it can work out better.”

  Maya sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

  Chapter 28

  Two days was all it took for Ben to decide he didn’t like the silent treatment. Since his argument with Maya, the only time he had seen her was when he’d taken her to the hospital for her blood work on Friday. The whole way there she hadn’t said a word, and as soon as they’d returned, she had gone back into her room and stayed there.

  That entire day, he had reminded himself that everything he had said was justified. She should have told him how bad her credit card debt was before they had gotten married.

  Then, as time went on, he realized how clueless he had been, not to mention how spoiled and pampered his life had been compared to hers.

  Even though he hadn’t wanted to think about it, he knew how desperate her situation was. He had already seen for himself that she wasn’t working and couldn’t afford an apartment. In a roundabout sort of way, she had admitted that she chose her food based on how much it cost. He also knew that if she hadn’t been denied, she would have used her new credit card to finance her living expenses while going through treatments.

  By the second day, he had started to worry that she wasn’t eating, but then he had seen the empty yogurt cups in the trash. Now he just worried that she wasn’t eating well.

  His cell phone rang, and he saw Kari’s name on his screen. Again. This was the third time today that she had called, and he had lost track of the number of text messages she had sent. Even though he didn’t want to deal with her interference between Maya and him, he finally answered the call.

  Kari didn’t bother with a greeting. “I have a plan.”

  “Dare I ask for what?” Ben asked.

  “For how you’re going to make up with Maya.”

  “Kari, stay out of this. Maya and I can handle our own problems.”

  “Then handle them,” she demanded. “I talk to Maya, and she sounds miserable. Then I talk to you—when you’ll answer your phone—and you’re downright grumpy. Go talk to her.”

  “I tried that already.”

  “Try harder,” she suggested firmly. Then her voice softened, and she added, “Do you even know what’s bothering her?”

  “Yeah. She’s annoyed at me because I called her out about her credit card debt.”

  “All of which is a result of her medical expenses,” Kari told him. “But that isn’t why she’s upset.”

  “That’s what it looks like to me.”

  “She’s worried she’ll die before she can pay off her bills and that you really will get stuck with her debts,” Kari told him with a hitch in her voice. “She doesn’t want you to have to deal with any of that if she doesn’t make it.”

  Ben felt that same hollow feeling he had when he first found out about Maya’s illness. Whether Maya had months to live or years, it was about time she stopped waiting to see if she was going to live and start actually living. Remembering Trent’s comment about Liam’s wedding, he decided it was time to show Maya what life could be like. “Do you know what size dress Maya wears?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Because I think I need your help. How would you like to go shopping with me?”

  “Ben, I’m in Tennessee.”

  “We both have cell phones, and we know how to Skype.”

  “True,” Kari agreed with a smile in her voice. “Very true.”

  * * *

  Maya sat on her bed and stared out her window. The sky was overcast, but the temperature still wasn’t quite cold enough for snow, even though it was already December. It had only been two days since her argument with Ben, and she was annoyed to find that she already missed him.

  She would have liked going to that new art exhibit at the Smithsonian today or maybe hanging out and watching a movie. They could have gone for a walk before the rain started and talked about their plans for the week. She hated to admit that talking to him was what she missed the most.

  Her breath caught, and reality struck. She was falling for him. Ben Evans was no longer Kari’s older brother. Maya didn’t think of him as a professional athlete with his star on the rise. He was just Ben. The man she had married—and now knew well enough to love.

  Startled by this new reality, she jolted when a knock sounded on her bedroom door.

  “Maya. I have something for you.”

  She closed her eyes. How could she face him now? What would he think if he knew she had fallen for him?

  “Come on, Maya. This is getting ridiculous. We need to talk.”

  He was right. Drawing a deep breath, Maya pushed herself off her bed and crossed to the door. She pulled it open, surprised to see that he was dressed in a tuxedo and holding a garment bag.

  “Kari helped me pick it out. Hopefully, it will fit okay.”

  She kept her hands by her side. “What’s this for?”

  “One of the guys on my team got married this afternoon. The reception is tonight. I’d really like it if you would come with me.”

  She didn’t speak, not quite ready to forgive him and not quite sure how to deal with her newly recognized feelings.

  He sighed. “I’m sorry I jumped on you about your credit card balances. It’s been a long time since I’ve h
ad to worry about money. I should have known everything on there was medical.”

  She blinked in confusion. “It is, but how did you know that?”

  “Kari told me, but she shouldn’t have had to. I should have known better.”

  As far as apologies went, it was a good one. Maya could also admit to herself that she yearned to go out with Ben, go out where she could pretend they were a real couple. Maybe if she pretended often enough, Ben would get used to her. Maybe someday their marriage would feel real.

  When Maya didn’t say anything, Ben took a step back and motioned to her room. “Go on. Go try on your dress.”

  A touch of regret made it into her voice when she spoke. “I thought you didn’t want your friends to know about me.”

  “We don’t have to tell them you’re my wife. We can say you’re my date.”

  Her heart fluttered, and she lowered her gaze for a moment before she asked, “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.” He handed the garment bag to her. “Here. Go try this on.”

  “Okay.” Recognizing the gesture as a peace offering, she nodded and closed the door between them. She opened the bag to reveal an elegant, teal-colored dress. She took it out, running a hand along the silky fabric. Then she noticed a second article of clothing, a long coat in basic black. At the bottom of the bag was a shoe box. She lifted the lid to reveal a pair of pumps the same color as her dress.

  She tried it on, instantly wishing she had a full-length mirror so she could see how it looked. She couldn’t remember the last time she had something new, much less something her own size. The dress fell to her knees, and when she slipped on the shoes, she found that they fit too.

  She opened the door so she could see herself in the bathroom mirror and found Ben still standing right outside her door.

  He turned to face her, his eyebrows lifted, and he let out a low whistle. “Wow. You look amazing.”