by Dara Girard
“About him and…and…her,” Hazel said stumbling over the last word, making it clear she had a hard time addressing Caryn by name, even less as a pronoun. “Yes, he did.”
Barbara’s mood improved a fraction, pleased that Adrian’s mother was just as upset as she was about the situation. “I didn’t expect it to come to this.”
“We have to do something to stop them.”
“Which is why I called you,” Barbara said, pouring her some tea. “To make sure we’re both in agreement.”
“Of course.” Hazel added sugar to her tea. “I haven’t changed how I feel.” She nosily stirred it, letting her spoon hit the side of the cup, as if she were playing the triangle and calling a large work crew in for dinner. “They can’t be together, it—”
“Don’t upset yourself,” Barbara said, resisting the urge to snatch the spoon away. To think this woman had bred children, she thought tasting the tart crumbs of bitterness. She’d never had the opportunity, although she and her husband had tried for years. She would have made a perfect mother, unlike her sister. Her sister had wasted her chance, but providence had given her Caryn.
Caryn was the daughter she should have had. She’d come into her life just when she needed her, becoming the daughter she’d always wanted to have. Caryn was her chance to be the mother she was meant to be. And as a mother she had to protect her from a family that also had a stain of mental illness in their bloodline. Adrian was unsuitable because of his hold on her. She didn’t like his power over Caryn and she’d fight to keep him away.
“How can I not be upset? I find the entire thing upsetting. What is wrong with him? How could he even think of going back to her? Has he no pride?”
“Your tea is getting cold.”
“What?”
Barbara nodded to Hazel’s teacup, which had managed to survive her continual banging. “I think it’s been properly stirred.”
“Oh yes,” she said then set the spoon down and slurped her tea.
Barbara reached for a teacake wondering which sound she hated more. “I’m afraid my niece can be very convincing and she’s undergone a makeover. That may have persuaded him to change his mind.”
“We need to change it back. She’s after his money.”
Barbara’s tone cooled. “My niece is not mercenary.”
“I’m sorry,” Hazel said quickly, realizing her error. “It’s just so frustrating.”
“Yes, we both want the same thing. I was able to stop her last time—”
“And you think you can do it again?” Hazel rushed to finish, her brown eyes bright with hope.
“No, I think you may need to do it this time.”
Hazel’s hope dimmed. “What can I do?”
A sly smile touched Barbara’s lips. “I have a few ideas.”
Chapter Twenty
“I can’t let you do this,” Terri said, watching Caryn model a form fitting red dress in front of her bedroom mirror.
“I’ll wear another color.”
Terri pounded her fist on the bed. “I’m not talking about the dress. You can’t get back with Adrian.”
“I already am. And he’s invited me to be his date for an important event. I can’t let him down.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“You’re the one who said I wasn’t over him and you were right.”
“I was trying to encourage you to find someone else,” Terri said her voice nearly a whine. “Not go running back to him.”
“I didn’t run.”
“Please don’t do this.” She held up Caryn’s hand and pointed to the ring. “This is probably a trick.”
“The diamond is real.”
Terri shoved her hand away and scowled. “You’re pretending not to understand me on purpose.”
“We’re getting married. Nothing has changed. I love him as much now as I did then.”
“You’re giving him a chance to break your heart. What if this is all an act? The words, the dinner, the sex.” She held up a finger when Caryn opened her mouth. “And don’t tell me how real it was because I don’t want to know.”
“He’s not acting.”
“You don’t know that. You just want it to be true.” She leaned forward, her voice urgent. “What if he plans to dump you on your wedding day the way you did him?”
“He won’t. He’s forgiven me.”
“You don’t know that. It’s been eight years Caryn. Eight years. You don’t know what he’s like now.”
“He’s the same.”
“Sleeping with him isn’t the same as knowing him.”
“We’re planning our life together. I agreed to sign a prenup—”
“See?” Terri said, making a smug gesture. “He doesn’t want you to have access to his money.”
“I offered because I want to show him that I’m not after his money,” she clarified, returning to her reflection.
“You’re being naïve. You need to test him to make sure his heart is really yours. It’s all happening too fast just like it happened all those years ago. You’re following your heart instead of your head.” She glanced down. “What is that?”
“What?”
Terri bent down and looked under the bed. “My foot just hit something. You don’t usually keep things under your bed.” She pulled out a box.
“It’s nothing.” Caryn said, wishing she’d hidden her box somewhere else. What if Terri opened it and asked her questions? What should she say? What did other members do when someone found out? She snatched the box from her. “Don’t look.”
Terri looked at her startled. “Why not?”
“It’s a birthday gift.”
“My birthday already passed.”
“For next year,” Caryn corrected, tucking it on a high shelf in her closet.
Terri shook her head. “Sometimes I’m not sure I know you anymore. The closet full of clothes, returning to your ex. And those stockings look dangerous.”
Caryn felt the same way. Her third pair were the most daring of her selection—a triangle patterned dark black pair with bold silver thread. She didn’t know how to explain them away, but didn’t want to.
“What’s gotten into you?” Terri continued then shook her head. “No, don’t answer that. Answer this. Is Adrian really the one making you this happy? Making you glow with a beauty I haven’t seen for years?”
Caryn turned to her friend, bit her lip and nodded.
Terri sighed. “Then I just wished I wasn’t so afraid for you.”
Caryn rested her hands on her shoulders, seeing the concern in her eyes. “Me too. I’m scared of being this happy, to be this much in love again. But I won’t fight it. I can’t. Yes, something has come over me. I’ve got a second chance and I’m not letting go.”
Adrian debated whether he should laugh or take a picture as he stared at his sister, Monica, who stood in front of his door with her arms out wide, blocking him from leaving his apartment. Strands of hair escaped from her ponytail and she stood on her tiptoes, although that didn’t make much difference since he was over a foot taller than she was. “I’m not going to let you do this.”
Adrian pulled on his jacket, realizing it was his mistake to let her drop by in the first place, but she’d told him she’d found a place for the bears. “You’re going to make me late.”
“I don’t care. I admit that I didn’t like Roberta, but I’d prefer you with her than crawling back to Caryn.”
Adrian folded his arms. “She came to me.”
“When Mom told me you were planning to marry her, she broke down and cried.”
“Mom only cries when she wants something from Dad.” Adrian pushed his sister aside and opened the door.
Monica slammed it closed, fell to the ground then stretched the width of it. “I can’t watch you go back to her.”
“Then close your eyes.” He gripped the door handle.
She pushed to keep the door closed. “You’re my little brother and I’m trying to protect you.
You shouldn’t be with her at all. That woman should come with a warning label. She humiliated you and broke your heart.”
He managed to open the door, pushing her away with it. “I’m going.”
She grabbed his leg instead. “No. Don’t do this.”
He shook his leg. “Let go.”
“Not until you come to your senses.”
He glared down at her. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then listen to me.”
Adrian started walking down the hall, dragging her with him.
“How do you know she really loves you?” Monica continued, keeping her hold. “How do you know she won’t run away from you again?”
He kept walking.
“Ow! You’re giving my thigh rub burn.”
He glanced down at her denim skirt, unfazed. “Then let go.”
“Are you thinking of revenge? A little payback? That’s it, right? You’re going to give her a taste of her own medicine.”
He pinched the back of her neck, forcing her to let go. She yelped out in pain then grabbed his coat sleeve, ripping it. He stared at the torn sleeve then stared at her. “Are you crazy?”
“You should ask her,” Monica shot back. “She knows about it more than I do.”
His gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”
Monica hung her head suddenly embarrassed. “Nothing.”
He seized her elbow and dragged her back to his apartment. “Start talking,” he said, taking off his jacket and heading to his bedroom.
“It’s n—”
Adrian crumpled the jacket into a ball. “Say ‘nothing’ again and I’m going to stuff this thing in your mouth.”
Monica sat on the bed. “It’s just that…crazy seems to run in her family.”
He opened his closet and grabbed another jacket. “Crazy seems to run in a lot of families,” he said, giving her a significant look.
“I’m talking real crazy. Mental illness kind of crazy.”
“How do you know that?”
“I don’t…all right, all right,” she said when he picked up the torn coat and began to ball it up. “I found out through Mom. She didn’t want you to know.”
“Know what?”
“About Caryn’s family. She spoke to Caryn’s Aunt Barbara. Mom wouldn’t go into details, but mentioned that Caryn’s decision was best for both of you and we agreed.”
“What do you mean ‘we’ agreed?”
Monica bounced
to her feet. “Gosh, look at the time.”
Adrian pushed her back down. “Who is ‘we’?”
“I thought you didn’t want to be late.”
He lowered his voice, his expression darkening. “I’m not going to ask you again.”
“I didn’t know until after it happened, but Mom and Caryn’s aunt convinced Caryn that marrying you wasn’t the right thing.”
“Are you telling me Mom knew that Caryn would leave me?”
“She’d begged her to call it off. She didn’t think she would go that far, that’s what upset her the most. She was supposed to cancel before that day, but she fooled us.”
“Fooled you?”
“Yes, she took it too far. That’s why you can’t trust her. You don’t know what she’ll do.”
Monica kept talking, but Adrian didn’t hear the rest of her words. Instead he remembered the look on Caryn’s face that day. The expression in her eyes. He hadn’t understood it before, couldn’t interpret it, but now he could. “I’m sorry. I can’t,” she’d said, and now he saw the pain, the regret, the guilt that came with her words. It seemed to have come out of nowhere, but now it all made sense. He’d remembered her looking briefly into the crowd and how her expression changed. What had his mother said to her? What was she hiding?
“It’s getting late,” Monica said. “You’d better call her and cancel.”
“I’m not canceling anything,” Adrian said, leaving his bedroom. “And you’d better call Mom to warn her.” He opened the front door.
Monica followed him into the hall. “Warn her?”
He turned and sent her a dark look. “Yes, that she’s going to hear from me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“If you’re not feeling well, we could have cancelled,” Caryn said in a low tone, casting a nervous look at Adrian’s tight jaw and grim expression as they stood in the ballroom of the annual spring gala. He’d apologized to her for running late, saying he’d eaten something that hadn’t agreed with him, but she felt there was more to it than that.
She hadn’t had a chance to talk to him alone since they’d entered the event. It was the first time she got to see the extent of his success. It went way beyond his expensive apartment or even the ring on her finger. He was a man of status and power and people flocked to him with evident admiration. She didn’t mind being in his shadow, pleased to see how far he’d come. He carried himself with an easy confidence she knew had been hard won, but despite his smiles and laughter, she sense something was wrong.
It was when they had a rare moment alone that she asked him the question and he was slow to answer. Casting a wave and a smile at a couple before he answered. “I want to be with you tonight,” he said, nodding at another guest.
“Could have fooled me.”
He turned to her, startled. “Really?”
She laughed at his expression. “You don’t look happy, not that anyone else would really notice, but I know you too well.”
“It’s not you,” he said, his gaze suddenly intense. “I’m glad you’re here. You’re so beautiful.” His gaze softened into tenderness. He brushed his lips against hers, leaving her wanting more. “I just wish…I wish we’d gotten back together sooner.”
“And you blame me for that.”
He shook his head. “No, now that I know…I mean. No, it’s not that.” He glanced up as if searching for a reason to look away. “I see Ken.”
Caryn stiffened. She knew she’d meet people from the past but she wasn’t sure she was ready.
“It’s going to be okay,” Adrian said as they walked over to him.
Caryn felt her heartbeat quicken with every step. Ken had his back to them, but still had the tall arrogant stance she remembered, his black hair slicked down.
“Hey, Ken,” Adrian said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
Ken spun around with a smile, which slowly faded when he spotted Caryn. “I see you came alone. Where’s Roberta?”
Adrian’s expression changed. “Don’t make me embarrass you.”
“I don’t embarrass easily.” He flashed a cruel smile. “I guess we have that in common.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “But I can tell by that look that you don’t think I’m being polite. Okay.” He leaned towards Caryn and said in a soft voice. “Will you please give my friend back his balls?”
Adrian lunged at him. “You son of a—”
Caryn jumped between them and said in a low voice. “Not here. Please. People are starting to stare.”
The two men held each other’s gaze.
“We’re used to stares, aren’t we?” Ken said. “When you left him, I was right by his side as everyone stared at him standing at the altar.”
Adrian grabbed his arm. “Don’t disrespect—”
“Adrian it’s okay,” Caryn said quickly. “He has a right to feel the way he does.”
Ken shot her a glance. “Thanks for the permission.”
“I didn’t mean…”
“But I don’t blame you.” Ken lightly tapped the side of Adrian’s face. “He’s better looking now that he’s got money.”
Adrian grabbed Ken’s hand. “You’re itching for me to break your fingers.”
Caryn seized his arm. “Let’s go.”
Ken sent her a significant look. “Yes, please do.”
Adrian didn’t move.
Caryn tugged at Adrian’s sleeve. “I want to go.”
Adrian shoved his friend away and let her lea
d him to the hall.
“I shouldn’t have come.”
“He has no right talking to you like that.”
“Yes, he does. He’s your friend and he loves you. He knows how much I hurt you.”
“He didn’t just disrespect you. He disrespected me.”
“No, he—”
“You’re my woman. My choice. And he’s trying to tell me who I should be with.” He glanced up at the sky as if he could find the answers in the stars. “First my mom and now him.”
Caryn frowned. “What about your mom?”
Adrian shook his head. “Never mind.” He swore. “I need a drink.”
“That’s a good idea. You go get a drink.”
“And where will you go?” Adrian asked when Caryn headed in another direction.
“I want to talk to Ken.”
“Okay, we’ll both get a drink first.”
She shook her head. “No, I want to talk to him alone.”
“Ken’s got a temper.”
“I know.”
“If he makes you cry…”
“He won’t.” She kissed him in reassurance. “Trust me.”
Caryn didn’t have a problem finding Ken again. He was enjoying the company of five ladies who appeared to find everything he said fascinating. She tapped him on the shoulder. “Could I talk to you for a moment?”
“Excuse me, ladies,” he said, then slowly turned and walked past her. “I’m going out for a smoke, you can follow if you want.” Once outside in the portico of the hotel, he took out a pack and lit a cigarette. A warm spring darkness seeped past the lighting of the building, casting shadows along the brick path and bushes.
“I hurt everyone back then, and I am truly sorry,” Caryn said, knowing her words sounded hollow, but having nothing else to say.
“Really?” Ken narrowed his eyes through the haze of smoke. “It took you eight years to figure that out?”
“I know how you feel.”
He took a long drag then exhaled. “No, you don’t. We all loved you. We thought you were the best thing to happen to Adrian. Especially me.” He tapped his chest. “I still remember the day he told me he’d met the woman he was going to marry. I think he’d only known you a month by then. I’d never seen him so happy. Then you left him…on his wedding day.” He took another long drag of his cigarette and exhaled, the smoke spiraling up before it disappeared. “Let me paint you a picture. There’s this man standing in front of his family and friends ready to make one of the biggest steps in his life. No one else knew this, but he didn’t even sleep the night before. That’s how excited he was.”