by Leanne Davis
He had sent her flowers. He had written several cards with words of apology in them, begging her to call him. He had called the hospital with no acknowledgment. Finally Bill had reported hearing from the Andrews’ on Christine’s condition.
Bill had asked what was going on. Jason had refused to talk about it.
He planned to keep waiting for her to call because he was convinced she’d come around and at least want to talk this out with him, at least once. And when she did, he planned to beg for her forgiveness for what he’d said and done to her. Beg her to give him another chance.
Until today.
Until he found out it was his own mother who had nearly killed Christine. And, in fact, had killed her baby. It hadn’t been just an accident or a random robbery. It had been a deliberate act brought to Christine’s life by his presence. The blood in his veins ran cold at the implications of what had just happened.
There was no way Christine could ever forgive this. In fact, Jason didn’t think he deserved to be forgiven. Not only had he hurt her emotionally, but his mother had hurt her physically.
Every hope he’d kept the last few days, the hope that Christine would still love him, and forgive him, had finally died.
He’d lost her. When truthfully he’d known all along, he’d never really had her, and certainly never deserved her.
There was nothing left for him to say, he realized. He’d done too much, or been the cause of too much pain. Even telling her he was sorry was too insulting to say to Christine as he watched her stand there, expressionless, looking at the pavement. She was blank.
He’d do anything to ease this for her. And if leaving her alone was the only way he could help her, he’d do it, and respect what she wanted.
“Get out of here, Jason.”
Jason jerked his gaze up to Aaron. He’d been staring silently at Christine.
He met her parents’ eyes finally. They hated him and clearly wanted him gone away from their daughter. He nodded. He understood perfectly where her parents were coming from. They wanted to protect Christine, and all they saw in him was the man who had brought unhappiness and physical danger into their daughter’s life. A man not good enough for their daughter.
He turned and started to take a step towards his truck. When he heard a soft moan, he turned.
In that instantly she sprang as if she was possessed. She was awkward with a broken leg, but still she came at him. She was suddenly hitting him as hard as she could on the chest, scratching at his face. She was crazy and random with her blows. He didn’t stop her attack. She was too small to cause him any real harm, no matter how hard she tried.
He stood there, his arms at his side. He clenched his fist in an effort not to grab her and embrace her. Wanting to do something, anything, to make her feel better.
Aaron grabbed Christine almost as fast as she had come at him. She struggled against her dad for a moment then turned into his embrace crying, tears falling from her face. Jason watched. Tears sprang into his eyes. He took a step towards her but her father glared hard at Jason.
“You’ve done enough to her. Leave. Just leave her alone. Please. Just leave us alone.”
Jason stepped back. Christine clutched her father’s shirt. She buried her face into his chest. Jason hesitated. But finally he nodded, eyes on Christine, as he turned and walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Christine, are you coming tonight?”
Christine looked up at Tammy as she walked over.
“To Debbie’s birthday? Sure, why not?” Christine said, returning the girl’s smile.
“Wanna ride together? We’re leaving straight from work.”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you out front.”
Tammy turned and walked away. Christine looked around at the desks surrounding hers. They shared an open section of her father’s company. Managers and their assistants filled the offices that surrounded the work area. She, along with the dozen or so other secretaries, bookkeepers, and other less influential staff, filled the open area. Some desks were piled chaotically with papers and office paraphernalia; others, like her own, were neat and orderly, with baskets and files to help give some organization to the massive paperwork that flowed through the company each day.
Tammy was in marketing with Christine. Tammy had earned her position by working her way up from being a secretary. Christine had been given her job. Everyone knew whose daughter she was. That was why half the people there were so nice and helpful to her, and others tended to ignore her. There were a rare few, like Tammy, who genuinely seemed to like her.
Once she had gotten over her first few weeks of fumbling around and making embarrassing mistakes, she’d finally gotten a handle on her job. She was an assistant to Tammy, who was in charge of marketing the ideas that the research department brilliantly came up with.
It was nearing five. She finished some calls she had to make. She logged off her computer and put some papers in her briefcase when she looked up to find Trent at her desk.
“You done for the day?”
“Yes,” she answered, standing up and grabbing her purse and coat. She followed Trent as they strolled through the office to the elevators. They had forged a friendship over the last few months. It had started out strained and weird, but now there was a decided companionship and tenderness between them. She wondered sometimes if, even after all that had happened, they’d find a way to be together. They had a silent agreement to not talk about Jason Malone.
Once in the lobby she told him where she was going with Tammy, and Trent immediately volunteered to drive them both. They left together.
It didn’t take long to get to the restaurant where a birthday party in honor of Debbie, a co-worker and friend of her parents, was being held. They drove through the circular entrance. Trent handed off the keys to the valet. She waved at her parents, who had just arrived. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the cool dark interior of the restaurant’s entrance. It was The Mill, the place she so long ago had tried to set up Jason and Trent. The memory made her flinch. Damn, why did so much still remind her of him? Why did it still hurt so much?
She turned to speak to her mother when her gaze caught on someone far behind her. She stopped dead. Her mouth dropped open. Her heart stopped, her breathing changed, and her hands clenched. Jason Malone.
In that second, the last six months vanished. It could have been that last time she had seen him, in her parent’s driveway, when he’d turned his back on her. The day she finally accepted he really didn’t care about her, about the miscarriage, or the fact that she had been attacked. Not if he could walk away from her without a word. She had wanted to hurt him, more than she had ever wanted anything. She had wanted him to hurt like she physically hurt. She had wanted him to ache as she ached. But he hadn’t reacted. He had walked away.
That day, her father had carried her into their house and she had cried her heart out to him. Her numbness had finally cracked and she hadn’t been able to hold back the torment that haunted her. She had cried off and on for weeks. She refused to see anyone but her parents. She wouldn’t talk to anyone.
Later she found out Trent and Nora from the shop and even Bill Kelso had tried to see her, but she frigidly refused anyone access to her. Jason hadn’t called or come back.
Her bruises faded, her stitches came out, and eventually her crutches were traded in for a walking cast, until finally the last bandage had been taken off. She’d healed. Physically, after several months, she’d healed, until there was no physical evidence of that fall.
But emotionally there were deep scars that only now were beginning to fade. Time was helping. Time, and hating Jason Malone with all the passion she’d once loved him with. Hating him for everything he’d never done for her, for everything awful he’d said to her, and most of all, for walking out on her.
She dared not think of the baby she would have had, or what would have happened if that fall hadn’t stopped it. She’d given up caring who might have been t
he father. In the end, after what happened to the baby, it didn’t matter to her who had fathered it. She was devastated by the loss. So now, the only thing she thought about was getting up and getting through each day. One day at a time, without looking back.
Her father had given her a job at the company four months ago. Instead of inserting her in some ridiculous managerial position she wasn’t ready for and didn’t deserve, she convinced him to let her start closer to what her experience and age warranted. And... it was working out. It turned out to be a lifeline for her. She had some place to go, something to think about, and most of all nothing of it reminded her of the time leading up to the fall. She still saw Nora socially but she couldn’t bear to go back to the shop.
And to her surprise, she had started to love working at Andrews Enterprises. She didn’t hate everything about her parents’ life after all. And somehow her family had found each other again, after years of only existing together.
So, all and all, half a year later, she was hanging in there.
Until this exact moment.
Jason’s gaze swung up to hers and he too stopped dead. The person behind him ran straight into him with a surprised exclamation. The astonishment at seeing her was etched into Jason’s face.
She tried not to notice, but he was everything she remembered. No wonder she’d been so swept away by him. His dark hair was cut a little shorter, which made him look sexy as hell. Those bright blue eyes set in that sculpted face was still a striking combination. He had on slacks and a striped shirt with a tie. It looked odd seeing him so dressed up, but the clothes fit his tall, strong build, emphasizing just how tall and muscular he was.
He stood there, his eyes popping, staring at her like he’d seen a ghost.
She swore out loud, and only then did those with her notice she’d stopped walking and was looking back. They followed her line of vision, and her mother muttered, “Son of a bitch.”
****
Jason held the door open for Carla and followed her in. He looked around at the posh interior of the restaurant, done over in dark burgundies and blues. He started walking over to where the hostess would be. He didn’t get that far, as he found himself eye to eye with the face that had haunted him for months. Christine.
He stopped moving, absolutely dumbfounded to be seeing her. It felt like his mind, heart, and lungs stopped working. She’d already seen him and was staring at him coldly, assessing him.
He wanted to turn and stride out of there as quickly as he could. Only when he heard Christine’s very memorable mother hiss, “Son of a bitch” did he come out of his reverie and take a step forward. His mouth went dry. His hands became sticky.
“Hello, Christine.”
He stopped a couple of feet from her and to his never-ending bad luck, not only were her parents staring, but Trent and a couple of strange girls were also looking at him with open curiosity. He felt like a side show at the circus, the way everyone was gawking at him.
Christine didn’t move an inch or break eye contact. She didn’t even blink. For a couple of heartbeats they simply stared at each other. Of course, his brilliant greeting probably didn’t help. He had no idea what to say or do. Unfortunately he couldn’t just slink past them all.
“Christine, honey, come on,” Kay said from her side, tugging her arm.
She didn’t move.
“Christine,” Aaron said, his message clear, and the warning to Jason clearer. Jason shifted his gaze over her head. Aaron sneered at him. Jason dropped his gaze back to her.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” she finally answered, still gawking at him. He shifted his feet under her gaze.
“Chris—” Trent started to add when she suddenly whirled around.
“Go. I said I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Honey, why don’t you just come now?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, I said I’ll be there in a minute.”
Her little posse reluctantly started to shift away. They looked at Jason as if he was going to suddenly pull a gun on them and run off with Christine over his shoulder.
Alone, they stared at each other. Then he heard Carla say his name. He’d completely forgotten about her. She must have noticed he hadn’t followed her to the table and come back looking for him.
“I’ll be right there,” he said politely, trying to keep the impatience from his voice.
Christine swung her gaze from him to Carla. Christine didn’t move a muscle in her face.
“Okay,” Carla said as she turned and left them alone.
“Jason,” Christine finally said, her tone neutral. “What a surprise.”
“It seems to happen that way for us.”
“Us?” She laughed bitterly. He got the meaning.
He looked her over. She looked different; she looked great. In fact, he felt a little intimidated by her. Her hair was longer than ever, ending near the end of her shoulder blades. Her bangs were gone and her hair fell around her face in long layers that were as straight as an arrow. She was thinner than he remembered, and dressed to kill in a short, slim dark skirt with a white gauzy shirt that belted at her almost-too-small waist. The soft curve of her breasts outlined by the V-neck cut of her top. Her skirt ended well above her knees, leaving her curvy legs and black high heels exposed. He’d never known her to dress like this. It seemed odd. She looked great, but not like the Christine he remembered.
She seemed older and colder, and looked at him like he was a cockroach she wanted to smash with those sharp heels she had on.
He shifted on his feet, fumbling for what to say. There was so much he wanted to say, but where could he start?
“Do you want me to leave?”
“You’d like it if I told you to, wouldn’t you? So you wouldn’t have to deal with this and me being here. Yes, I imagine that would be quite a relief. So yeah, I’d love for you to not be here. But no, I don’t want you to leave. Stay and enjoy your date.”
He’d forgotten how easily she could read him, how well she knew him. Running was just what he had in mind.
She started to turn and leave. He reached out and touched her shoulder. “How are you?”
She turned, her eyebrows lifted. “You mean, since I broke my leg and miscarried your child? Oh wait, possibly your child, so I guess that excuses you from it all, doesn’t it?”
He jerked his hand back. What could he say to that? The anger in her voice was near venomous. Before he could figure out what to say she continued, “Oh, I’m fine, just great. Glad to know you care after, what? Six months?” Her gaze darted over him as she smiled a smug, rude smile. “You really weren’t worth it all, were you?” Then she turned on her heel and swaggered away, literally swaggering, as she walked past the hostess and into the restaurant, over to the table where her parents, Trent, and a bunch of people he didn’t know sat.
He looked after her. What had he done to her? The hatred in her voice was evident.
Granted, he’d said some bad things, but he had cared and been sorry. He’d told her so many times in the cards he sent her at the hospital. But she hadn’t wanted to hear an explanation or an apology. She wanted to hate him, not understand him. And she had every right to feel that way.
Feeling miserable and feeling like an ass, he walked in and sat down with Carla, Bill, and Jenny. It was the Kelsos anniversary and he was celebrating it with them and their niece Carla. From the looks on their faces they had seen Christine and her family walk in. He shook his head to indicate to leave it alone. They all looked over at Christine and then back to him. He sat down, suddenly feeling tired. He noticed Christine smiling and laughing with the crowd she was with.
It was without a doubt the worst meal he’d ever endured. Being just feet away from the woman he loved, when she hated him more than anything on earth, was about as awful a scenario as Jason could have pictured for running into Christine. He’d known that at some point if Christine stayed in Almstad they’d run into each other, simply because it wasn’t that big of a town
. But to spend over an hour only tables away from her was too much.
He could hear her laugh over the hum of the other people eating. He could see her out the corner of his eye as she ate and talked and sipped at her wine. She seemed to be fine, completely ignoring him, and in fact seemed to be charming the group. He tried to ignore the stab of jealousy that entered his gut as he watched his brother. His brother, who he also hadn’t seen or talked to in half a year. What were they now? Back together? He didn’t want to know. After all that had happened, he couldn’t stomach it if Christine had indeed ended up with Trent Gallagher.
Then again, wasn’t that supposed to be how the story went? What was meant to be all along? Wasn’t Jason’s presence in Christine’s life what had caused it all to go wrong in the first place?
Finally, the Kelsos seemed to take pity on him. When Carla wanted dessert, they insisted they wanted to go somewhere else for it and hurried the waiter to get the check. Thankful, he paid and got up to politely help Carla with her coat. Unfortunately, they were seated so he would have to walk past Christine’s table, or else it would be obvious he was avoiding her.
Bill, Jenny and Carla went first. He took a breath as he started to walk after them. In a way, he wanted to drink Christine in so he could remember every detail of her, but it also hurt to see her. But he couldn’t just duck his head like he wanted; he had to face her. As he passed their table, her parents glared, Trent stiffened, and Christine looked right at him, her face neutral, and he felt that straight to his toes.
She was the only person who had ever gotten to him. He gave a strained smile and nodded as he passed.
He was halfway to the entrance of the restaurant when he suddenly heard her call, “Jason?”
He stopped and turned slowly. She stood up at her table, staring after him. The people at tables between them looked on curiously.