by Dara Girard
“Because you asked the wrong question.” He nuzzled her neck and she could hear the smile in his voice. “You know I’ll marry you.” Her captured her eyes again. “But will you marry me?”
It was a fair question and her first response was to say yes, but she could understand his hesitation. She’d said yes to him before. She wanted to ask him if he’d truly forgiven her, could reconciliation be this easy? Did he really love her still? But she knew now wasn’t the time for more questions, only answers. “Yes,” she said.
He released a long sigh, as if he’d been holding his breath.
She stared at him, surprised. “You didn’t think I’d say yes?”
“It took you long enough to say anything.”
She drew him closer. “Maybe because I’m tired of speaking.” She kissed him and with her kiss she silently said, I never thought you’d forgive me.
And his low moan said, It wasn’t easy.
Her hands roamed intimately over his body saying, I’ll make it up to you.
And as he stoked the passionate fire within her, causing her body to vibrate with liquid ecstasy he made his claim silently saying, You’ll have a lifetime to try because I won’t let you go.
Soon nothing more needed to be said silent or otherwise, their entwined bodies moving rhythmically to the love beating within their hearts. A love that had only grown stronger and threatened to overtake her completely.
Chapter Sixteen
Caryn stared at her reflection in the mirror. Only a week ago she’d been standing in Adrian’s bathroom ready to escape and now…now she was going to marry him. She stared at her reflection not sure of the woman she saw. She didn’t look like the woman from a week ago, or the woman who’d walked out of Haven Spa. This woman looked radiant, vibrate in love. Yes, that’s what it was. Love. It was thrilling and made her feel alive. She was in love and a little frightened, but she’d hold on tight. Hold on to him and the promises they shared.
She reapplied her lipstick, left the bathroom, and found Adrian at the piano. He’d changed into a pair of jeans and a striped black and orange T-shirt. He ran his fingers above the keys without touching them.
“Your place or mine?” he said.
Caryn stared at him stunned. “We just did it at your place.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up in amusement. “I meant, will we live at your place or mine?”
She sat down beside him and playfully nudged him with her elbow. “You could have phrased that differently.”
He playfully nudged her in return. “I know. Do you want to get a house?”
“No, I think your place is good for now.” She watched his silent performance then said, “I love this song.”
His face split into a wide grin. “I thought you would.”
“Still playing those honky tonk songs?”
His smile slowly faded. He nodded.
“Then why aren’t you playing one now?”
“I know you hate them.”
“I never said that.” She tugged on his goatee. “ I teased you because it was fun, but I was glad they made you happy. Especially since you were working so hard back then, I was afraid you’d burn yourself out.”
He began to play then said in a low Kentucky drawl. “I done good?”
“Yes, boy. You done made yo mama proud.”
He winced.
“What?”
“You still can’t do a Southern accent.”
“Don’t be mean. That was good.”
“Yes, if you wanted to sound like a West Indian who got lost in the Bronx.”
“Says the man whose father was a professional cricket player.”
Adrian tapped the side of his head. “I have an ear for various American accents.”
“And I don’t?”
He winked at her. “Don’t worry, love, I’ll marry you anyway.”
Caryn’s cell phone rang, interrupting her reply. “Saved by the bell.”
“You don’t have to answer. You can continue to argue with me and lose.”
She walked over to her handbag and picked up her phone. “I know,” she said, recognizing the ring tone for her brother, Roland. She sighed. “But I have to take this.”
“Go ahead.”
“It won’t take long.”
Adrian sent her an odd look. “You don’t have to explain.” He nodded to the phone in her hand. “Go on.”
But she felt she did have to explain. If only he knew what her brother’s phone calls usually meant. Maybe she’d be wrong this time. She answered. “What is it?”
“Mom’s acting strange.”
Nope, she was right. “And that’s news because…?”
“Someone needs to talk to her.”
Caryn sat down and lowered her voice. “And you think that someone should be me?”
“Either you talk to Mom or you talk to Ella.”
She stiffened. “Why would I need to talk to her?”
“Her husband just called me. He’s threatening divorce.”
Caryn silently swore. Roland always referred to Louis as ‘her husband,’ never believing that the union between the two would last long. “I’ll talk to her, you talk to Mom.”
“I think—”
“Let me just talk to her first before we make any decisions. Is she at work?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’ll call you later.” She hung up. “I’m afraid I have to go.”
He stood up from the piano and walked over to her. “Is something wrong?”
Very. “I have to call my sister,” she said, grabbing her handbag. “Just regular family stuff.” She made sure to keep her voice light although her heart felt heavy.
He rested his hands on his hips. “Just answer me one thing.”
“What?”
“Do you have any regrets?”
I wish I didn’t have to go. I wish I could spend all day and night with you. “About us?”
He nodded.
There was a lethal calmness in his eyes, as if he were asking her another, deeper question. “No,” she said, kissing him lightly on the lips. “I got exactly what I came for,” she lied, wanting him to believe that she’d come for the notebook and seduced him with her clothes, then realized she hadn’t gotten what she’d wanted and silently swore. They still hadn’t resolved the Roberta issue. Now that they were a couple, Roberta would believe he’d cheated.
“I’ll handle the video,” Adrian said as if reading her thoughts.
“Thank you.”
“Come back for dinner.”
She headed for the door. “I’ll see if I can.”
“What’s going on?”
Her footsteps slowed. “Nothing, I just told you—”
“Don’t lie to me.”
She turned to him. She didn’t want to lose him, but couldn’t tell him the truth yet. “It’s something to do with my sister. I’ll explain it…later. Not now. Please don’t force me to talk about it now.”
“All right. Come back tonight. I don’t care how late.”
Caryn hesitated.
“I’m not hearing a yes.”
“I can’t make any promises.”
He fell silent then said, “Is this the reason why you left me the first time?”
Caryn opened the door. “I told you, I’ll explain later.”
He nodded. “Fine, but I’m not as patient as I used to be.”
Chapter Seventeen
Every time Caryn stepped into her sister’s airy, beautifully decorated consignment shop, she felt like running out again. Stores like this were one of their mother’s greatest weaknesses. Although no bell chimed when she stepped in, her sister immediately turned, alert to any possibility of a sale. When she saw it was her sister, her bright smile of greeting dimmed.
“Either smile or meet me outside,” she said in a low voice. “I can’t have customers thinking you’re going to be ill.”
Caryn nodded and left the store and waited. She glanced out at the crowd
ed parking lot of the busy shopping center, watched a woman carrying two large fake plants from the craft store on one side and smelled the scent of baked bread and chocolate chip cookies that wafted through the door of the sandwich shop next door.
“What is it?” Ella said, coming outside.
“Roland called me.”
Her eyes widened with fear. “What’s happened to Mom?”
“He called me about you.”
She folded her arms. “What about me?”
“Louis is threatening divorce this time. What did you do?”
“Where’s the extra money coming from?”
“What?”
She gestured to Caryn’s clothes. “Do you really need me to price what you’re wearing right now? I’ll start with the shoes.”
Caryn rubbed her nose. “I’ve been saving.”
Ella narrowed her eyes. “You save, but you don’t splurge, especially on things. What are you hiding?”
Caryn tilted her head to the side. “Do you think changing the subject is going to save your marriage?”
Ella squinted at a red jeep pulling out of a parking space. “It’s no big deal.”
“What did you do?”
She sighed then turned to her. “Louis found out that I have a storage unit he didn’t know about.”
Caryn leaned her head back in despair. “Ella, you already have two.”
“I needed more space,” she said without apology. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of merchandise I receive and—”
“You’re still shopping, aren’t you?”
“It’s my money and it’s not as bad as it once was.”
“How big is the unit?”
“It’s not that big.”
“Give me a number.”
“It’s not that much.”
Caryn slowed her words. “How big?”
“Ten by fifteen.”
Caryn leaned back. “You’re out of control, Ella.”
Ella pulled her forward. “I just had the window cleaned,” she said checking for possible smudges.”
“Ella.”
“And don’t you just love my new display?” She smiled up at the two well dressed mannequins—one in a spring dress, the other in an evening gown.
“Ella, you have to address this.”
“I’m in perfect control.”
“Mom—”
Ella spun to her, anger in her eyes. “Don’t you dare. I’m not one of your clients. Louis is just upset because I kept a secret from him. That’s all. I’ll apologize.”
“He’s getting fed up with—”
“He loves me too much. He won’t leave me.”
“Ella, you know I’m here for you.”
A sour smile touched her lips. “There’s that tone again. That condescending, patronizing tone. That tone that says ‘I’m better than everyone else so let me fix you.’”
“That’s not true.”
“Do you think living in your minimalist townhouse, with no clutter, no object out of place means that your life isn’t a mess? For years I wondered why you let Adrian go, a man so wonderful even I was half in love with him, but now I know. It’s because you’re afraid to hold on to anything.” Ella turned and gripped the door handle to her store. “My life is full and rich and maybe a little messy,” she said opening the door. “But it’s mine.”
Minimalist.
Caryn sat in her living room staring at her space with new eyes. She had her living room set, but no bookshelves, just those in her office where she kept her notebooks, but she didn’t own books. She borrowed them from the library, no collectibles, few pictures, two paintings spaced evenly apart. She didn’t need to own things like books, music or movies. She rarely entertained, so she didn’t need a wine cellar like her friend…or vases for flowers or plants. A simple life. That’s the world she’d created for herself. Not because she was scared. And, although she’d let Adrian go, she’d gotten him back again.
Adrian. She’d told him she’d explain, but she couldn’t share too much, not yet. She sent him a text that she’d see him tomorrow, hoping he wouldn’t be too disappointed, although sending the text broke her heart.
Chapter Eighteen
“My sister is a shopaholic,” Caryn told Adrian the following evening, as the flames of a dozen candles glowed against the darkness. She hadn’t expected the romantic mood when he’d invited her for dinner—the living room picnic of fresh rolls, shrimp scampi, and wine; the petals of red roses scattered along the white blanket—but as she entered his apartment, she’d felt a sense of resolve. She could balance her two worlds and keep them separate. She’d practiced her explanation on her drive to his place, hoping that when she said it, she didn’t give away how severe her sister’s compulsion was. She looked at him, the candlelight highlighting the sharp angles of his jaw and continued in a nonchalant tone, “And her husband’s threatening divorce. I was trying to help her.”
He lowered his gaze and rubbed his thumb against the stem of his wine glass. “Are you sure it isn’t something else?”
“What do you mean?”
He lifted his gaze. “I want us to be honest with each other.”
My mother is a hoarder and my sister…has tendencies. The real reason I had to meet with her is because she’s bought another large storage unit without telling her husband. Right now my brother is dealing with my mother because she’s not acting like herself and that’s saying a lot. And my sister thinks I’m afraid to hold onto things so I may have issues as well. Do you still want to marry me? “I am being honest.”
“Do you know why I did this?” he asked gesturing to the scene.
“Because you’re a romantic?”
“No, because I wanted you to remember the first time I did it.”
Caryn couldn’t help a smile as the memory filled her thoughts. “Yes, but it wasn’t this grand. You’d managed to kick Ken out of your cramped apartment for a couple of hours and you’d bought…what were they? They’re like the cheapest flower.”
“They weren’t that cheap.”
She pointed at him. “Carnations!” she said with a laugh. “But they’d been dyed red or something and I remember the candles.” She tapped her chin, thoughtful. “And you’d made this large pizza and had the red peppers arranged in the shape of a heart.”
“You remember that very well,” he said pleased.
“I remember every moment.”
“Do you remember what you wrote in your note to me?”
Her voice faltered. “Of course.”
“What did you say?”
He’d caught her. She licked her lip. “I don’t remember it word for word.”
“It was important,” he said, his tone soft, seeming to mirror the darkness. “Don’t you think you’d remember the gist of it?”
“It was so painful I blocked it out.”
“Or maybe you don’t remember because it was a lie.”
“Do we have to talk about that now?” she said forcing a smile. She let her finger trail over the surface of one of the petals. “I thought we wanted to move forward.” She scooped up some petals then let them fall from her fingers. “Forget the past.”
His expression didn’t change. “That phone call yesterday changed things. I watched you, CeCe. You couldn’t leave my place fast enough.”
“I admit that I’m worried about my sister.”
His tone deepened. “You’re worried about something else too.”
Not now. I can’t talk about it now. “Let’s not ruin this moment.”
“I need to resolve this. If it made you run from me once, it may again.” He lifted a brow. “You still don’t remember what you wrote?”
Caryn searched her mind, frantically trying to remember the excuse she’d used for leaving him all those years ago. She remembered wanting to make him angry. Wanting him to hate her. Or at least give him a reason to stay away. What had she said? Slowly images began to come together. She saw Ken being nervous about an investment
deal falling through, Adrian’s sister telling him that he couldn’t afford to get married. Money. His problem was always money. She’d used it somehow.
Debt. Yes. She’d told him that she was drowning in debt and that she’d hid it from him and didn’t want him to be tied to her because of it. She wrote how ashamed she was for deceiving him. That she couldn’t wait for him to make it, that she liked to spend money now. She’d written that he was better off without her.
“You remember now?” he asked, studying her.
“Yes.”
“Will the debt return?”
Caryn hung her head. His question made it clear that he knew her excuse was a lie. He made it sound as if it was someone rather than something. “No.”
“How can I be sure?”
She reached out and took his hand. “Because I’m older now and I’m tired of running. I won’t let anything come between us.”
Adrian reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring then slid it on her finger. “That’s a promise I plan to hold you to.”
Caryn stared down at the round-cut, white gold, diamond ring, amazed by how glorious his ring felt on her finger. “You bought me an engagement ring already?”
“Why wait?”
She lifted her gaze to his face. “I thought you’d want to keep us a secret for a while.”
His compelling brown eyes held her still. “You thought wrong.”
Chapter Nineteen
They had hoped never to meet again.
Barbara Lancaster watched as Hazel Everett, wearing a blue dress that had suffered one wash too many, made her way to the table located by the window of the tearoom. One of the few in the county, let alone the state, but Barbara despised the smell of coffee and abhorred the thought of meeting in a cafe. However, the charming setting of white table cloths and silver trays filled with tea cakes didn’t help her mood. She wished to be elsewhere, but her smile of greeting gave nothing away.
“I’m glad you could make it,” she said as her companion approached the table.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Hazel said, taking a seat.
“So, I assume he’s told you.”