A Second Chance (44 page)

Laura
was laughing now, her short
and surprisingly curly
hair going very well with her red sleeveless dress. Her surgery
had been
successful and the results of the tested samples proved that her cancer was caught in the earliest stage. After undergoing chemo and radiation as a precaution, she now
had
a
clea
n
bill of health, only a pill a day reminding her of the ordeal. Rocco
had
stood by her side the whole time, cheering her on and even helping
to
pick out the wig for the time she would lose her hair. He made her laugh when she felt like crying
,
and their love only grew in
the
face of
the
difficulties they had faced together. Jade watched them together and was touched to tears with his gentle thoughtfulness as he seemed to always know exactly what Laura wanted. She had no doubts they would be very happy together.

‘
Jade
,
darling, would you like some of my pudding?’ Liam’s mom was watching her
with
concern, her blue eyes very
observant.
‘
Y
ou look so pale, my dear. Next to Liam, especially.’

Well, she had her reasons for it, Jade thought as she wondered if she should let go of their secret or enjoy it just a bit longer. She knew Liam was dying to surprise his family but was leaving it up to her to share with them the news. He watched her now, the darkness of his eyes warm and turning her to mush, as usual.

‘I don’t think I can eat it right now, thanks
.
’
S
he smiled weakly, shaking her head. ‘I…
h
ave
difficulties
eating
at the moment.’

‘
A
virus?’ Liam’s mom was very concerned, her lips pursed in disapproval
.
‘
I
told you
,
Liam, the whole India trip was dangerous. There are stomach bugs everywhere
,
and knowing the two of you, you managed to eat enough dangerous stuff to catch something.’

For a woman who had four husbands and two kids, she could be absolutely naïve, Jade thought as she struggled to stop herself from giggling.

Thankfully Laura wasn’t as dense, her eyes widening in surprise as she exclaimed
,
‘
Wh
oa
, that’s some news, you guys
!
How far
along
are you?’

‘
S
ix
weeks
.
’ Jade grinned back at her, noticing from the corner of her eye Liam’s proud expression.

‘
C
ongrat
ulation
s
, darlings
.
’ Liam’s mom hugged them both, a cloud of some very expensive and elegant perfume surrounding them instantly. ‘I
’
ll be a grandma, that’s so wonderful
.
’
S
he
fished for a hanky, and blew her nose delicately, a sound of a doorbell saving her from getting even more teary.

‘
T
hat must be my surprise, I hope
.
’
S
he
rose to her feet, looking a bit sheepishly at the gathering of her
children
and their loved ones
. ‘I… I invited someone to meet you
;
please be nice. I fancy him quite a bit
.
’
S
he
disappeared momentarily, the rest of them puzzled into a moment of silence.

‘Wow, is it possible?’ Liam grinned
, biting
into one of his mom’s anise cookies. ‘
A
nother
catch?’

‘
N
o
idea
,
’ Laura shook her head, confused. ‘
Mom’s been
busy all the time, first with me at the hospital
,
th
e
n
with some exhibit
.
W
ho
could it be?’

T
hey
found out soon enough, the tall, silver
-
haired man who walked in with their mother making Laura gasp in surprise.

‘
D
r
. Reynolds, how are you?’

‘
W
e
met at the hospital, dear
,
’ Mrs. Latimer explained, her eyes sparkling
.
  ‘Jack was nice enough to comfort me when I was so worried about you, Laura. We started meeting at the hospital cafeteria and talk
ing
, isn’t
that
so?’
S
he
turned to the man, who was hanging on to his
umbrella for his
dear life
as everyone’s eyes
clung
to him with visible interest.

‘
Y
es
,
B
unnykins
.
’
H
e
graciously
overlook
ed
Liam’s choking sound as
the latter
almost spilled his tea. ‘
I
t
was the first time in thirty years I actually
enjoy
ed
their food
.
’

‘So we started dating
,
’
M
rs
. Latimer intercepted, her voice gentle
.
‘I just thought I would get all of us together, since Jack and I have plans for the future. Not immediately, of course
,
’ she added hastily, reading her kids
’
faces and worrying about their reaction
.
‘
B
ut
somewhere down the road, we might just want to legalize it
.
’

They all enjoyed the evening, and a
s they left her house, Mrs. Latimer
hugged
J
ade
one more time, her blue eyes radiant
.

‘
S
weetheart
, I am so incredibly happy for you. I can’t
wait to
tell Jack
,
though
,
if it
’
s ok with you.
I j
ust
want to see his face when he knows he
’
s dating a grandma
.
’

‘
S
o
what do you think?’
Jade
asked Liam, once they were installed safely in their car. She was still getting used to his look, her eyes feasting on his handsome features. He
had grown
his beard in the last month in India, after they were on a trip to the remote jungle region with no
razor
blades left. She liked it a lot, his swarthy looks reminding her of pirates or handsome rebels from the pages of the books from her childhood.

‘I think that if you keep looking at me like that, we are going to take a detour,
M
rs
. Latimer, and end up parking at the end of the cliff to enjoy the view.’ He grinned and took her hand only to kiss it swiftly
.
‘
I
always wondered about the idea of doing it there, Jade.’

S
he
laughed in response, her eyes playful
.
‘I meant your mom and this doctor. How do you feel about it?’

‘
S
weetie
, if he loves her only a quarter of how much I love you, they should be fine
.
’
H
e
winked at her and added
,
‘
A
nd
it could be useful to have a doctor in the family, don’t you think?’
A
s
she stared at him in surprise he laughed again, his wolfish grin dangerous
.

‘I mean, we are just starting with our family, right? I can only think how great it would be to have a doctor handy when one of our brood gets sick at two in the morning
.
’

‘A brood?’ she repeated weakly, her lips twitching
.
‘
H
ow many do you actually have in mind, Liam? I thought we agreed on two, three at most?’

‘
T
hat
was before
this
doctor business
.
’
H
e
was holding her hand again, his other around the wheel
.
‘
N
ow I feel a bit safer. I think we could go for four to five, what do you think?’

‘I think that it will take a whole lot of persuading, Mr. Latimer
.
’
S
he
played along, her eyes challenging
.
‘
A
fter all
,
that is quite a steep jump, isn’t it?’

‘
O
h
, I
think I
can persuade you
.
’
H
e
laughed, the pad of his thumb scraping against the soft flesh of her inner palm. He noticed her shivering in incontrollable response and grinned knowingly. ‘I think it will be fun
,
too. For both of us
.
’

She didn’t protest too much, knowing that he was right. Actually
,
she found herself looking forward to the persuading part, her memories giving her hope and a whole lot of anticipation. And as gentleman
ly as
he was, Liam didn’t disappoint her
,
either. She watched him drive the car to the side of the road, where a barrier around the steep cliff
provid
ed
a safety measure for the tourists
who
would step out
of
their cars to enjoy the view.
S
he
saw him turn off the key and turn to her with
the
seductive smile
against
which
she had no defense.

‘
W
ell
,
M
rs
. Latimer?’ he asked, the silence between them charged
.
‘
H
ow about
some practice
?’

A
nd
she could do nothing but agree, his low laugh
t
er the last sound she heard before drowning in his arms.

*  *  *

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