A Second Chance (5 page)

They ran a home
improvement
business, with Jade’s creativity and design education being
a
major part of their
growing
success. The stream of clients grew larger each week
,
and they were considering hiring one more consultant to meet the needs of their expanding clientele.

‘
And
you me
t someone there?’
She bit
her lip as
he
nod
ded
—
a quick
,
jerky movement that confirmed the
unthinkable. Brian Mc
Kay was cheating on her, and she
hadn’t seen
it coming
.
Not after they had been together for so long, their relationship maturing and evolving over the years.

They
had
met at the university, both of th
em eager to learn the ropes of successful designing. Jade
had been
given
the opportunity to put her new skills to the test
when
she did some quick projects for her father, who worked as a real estate agent. Helping him to
showcase
the homes in his listings proved very successful
,
and
before long
a list of customers
sought
her services.

Brian
had
responded to
the
ad
she
posted in the university cafeteria as
part of her search
for someone to help her
manage
the mounting pile of requests. She liked him immediately
,
and they worked side by side during the summer break. He was smart, quick
,
and had a good eye,
meeting
her requirements for a
business
partner. Their personal relationship followed suit, the friendship soon turning into romance.
Brian was sensitive and understanding, never asking for more than she was willing to give.
C
ommit
ting
completely
to their relationship
took her a while,
but
his patience and warmth finally
w
on
her over. She
had
thought they were made for each other
and had looked forward to an
uneventful, predictable life together.

Only it seemed it wasn’t going to happen
after
all.

‘Who is she?’
She was
curious about the woman who
was destroying
her happiness before she even
had
the chance to enjoy it. ‘Do I know her?’

‘That’s what I wanted to tell you.’ He shifted in his chair uncomfortably, his knee bumping into the table.
H
is coffee spilled over the rim of the cup, forming a puddle in his saucer.
Not a good sign, she thought as she watched him lift
the
cup and pat the saucer dry with a napkin.
H
e was stalling.

‘It’s Veronica
.
’
H
is blue eyes
were
defensive as
they
watched her face for
a
reaction. ‘Veronica Mayer.’

‘The one we wanted to hire?’
S
he
stared at him, a mix of anger, disappointment
,
and disbelief coloring her
response
. She had interviewed
the
green-eyed
redhead about a month
before
, marveling over her impeccable references and impressive portfolio
,
and
had
insisted they hire her on the spot. Brian
was the one
who had doubts, his careful nature rebelling against hast
y
decisions both in private life and in business.
T
hey
had
agreed to meet halfway,
giving
Veronica
a
temporary position
that could
become permanent
if
she proved
to be
as good as her recommendations.

So far everything seemed to
be going
wonderful
ly
,
with
Veronica’s talent and work skills
proving
even better than they
had
expected.
Apparently
Brian was better informed
than she
about Veronica’s
full range of
talents
.

T
he taste of
the
coffee in
Jade’s
mouth
turn
ed
bitter and burnt.
The thought of
the two of them making out in the office while she was
working
in the field
left her feeling unclean.
She
had been
cheated and
purposely
misled
throughout
the
many lunches, coffees
,
and afternoon chats they
all
ha
d
shared in the
p
ast
few weeks.

‘How long have you been banging her, Brian?
Was
that the reason you didn’t want to hire her in the first place? Because you knew her already and were worried it would complicate our life in the office
?
Just say something
!
’
S
he
slapped
her palm against the table,
causing
the cutlery and delicate china cups
to rattle
in protest.

‘Jesus, Jade.’ He
lean
ed
forward, his pale cheeks flushed with
embarrassment
. ‘Stop dragging everything into the gutter
.
I happened to run into her at the Home Show
;
it wasn’t planned or anything like that. We started talking and had lunch together, nothing more. And the rest came later, when I realized we had so much fun together. So don’t make it sound like some sordid affair, please.
’

‘We
’re already
in the gutter, Brian.
’
I
f he thought she would sit patiently and wait for him to explain why he
had
decided to break their engagement just four weeks before the wedding, he had another
thin
g c
oming
.
‘
I think
it’s
a very reasonable question to ask
.
I want to know what
earth
-
shattering experience
you had
with her to
make you
decide to break up with me
.
It must have been pretty amazing, if it
wiped
out seven years of our life. What does she have that I
’m
so obviously lacking?’

She
realized
, with surprise,
that she
was
more
curious
than
upset with the current situation. Maybe she was just
numb
,
the real reaction still to come once
it all sank in
.

‘She really loves me, Jade.’ He looked up, a swift smile
lighting
his face.
A
lump
rose
in her throat as she witnessed
the
transformation. He was happy and in love
;
she had no doubts about it. And
she
—
his fiancée and friend for the last seven years
—wasn’t the one
who made him
feel
th
at
way
.
That
hurt more than the realization
that
he didn’t love her
after all
.

‘Are you saying I don’t?’
She wasn’t
sure she wanted to hear his answer. She was afraid
that
truth might explode between them and ruin the fragile equilibrium
she had maintained
for the
past
dozen years.

‘I think you do love me, Jade
.
’
H
e
was looking at her with
the
gorgeous blue eyes she had noticed the first time
they met
—e
yes
she
had
liked instantly because they were as
different as
possible from another pair of eyes that refused to leave her memory.
Those e
yes
were dark, mysterious
,
and warm, and she had seen
them
in her dreams more often than she
care
d
to admit
.

‘You love me as much as you love a good book or gardening or our
neighbor’s
new puppy
.
’
H
e
saw her
about to protest
and
shook his head
. ‘No, listen to me, Jade. I don’t mean it as an insult, not
at all. It’s just that I know
for a fact now
that
things should be so much more than that
.
I
’m
just a
small
part of your life, and deep down you know I
’m
right, don’t you? You
’
re used to me and enjoy my company, regardless of the fact that the fire
burned
out long ago
.
S
ometimes I wonder if it was ever there, you know?’

She
could barely
breathe
as
his words
opened
the
hidden
drawer in her memory
she had
so careful
ly
kept
locked for the longest time.
She wanted to yell at him that he was totally wrong
,
o
nly
she couldn’t
.
Her
honesty prevented her from lying, even if it meant utter humiliation.

‘What do you mean?’ she whispered, unable to speak louder
.
‘
T
hat
you never loved me
?
And you needed to have sex with
someone else
to realize it?’

‘You know what I mean.’ He refused to be provoked
,
looking
at her with honest affection. ‘
I have tried long enough to make it work, hoping
we would
be together forever
.
Only, sometimes you weren’t even there. I mean, I knew you were thinking about someone else, Jade. I could tell
.
’

Listening to Brian
speak
the truth was tortuous
;
every word
was
undeniable.
She shook her head, a curtain of dark hair hiding her face from his gaze for a moment. It was easier to lie if one could look away
.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Damn it,
she was not going to
admit defeat. ‘I thought we had a great thing going, and I
was convinced
you thought so
,
too
. Seven years is a bit too long to live in a bad relationship, no matter how chivalrous you are.’

‘Ok
ay
, so I put it the wrong way.’ He shrugged his broad shoulders and looked at her with a faint smile. ‘I should have said that there were times when I wasn’t sure the two of us
were
the only ones
in the room, Jade. It felt as if I had to share you with
some
unknown guy who obviously meant a lot to you, since you can’t let
him
go to this day. And I
’m
not sure I
want
to spend the rest of my life wondering where your thoughts are going when I
’m
not around.’