A Second Chance (25 page)

His children would in fact begin to
drive, go off to college, and meet someone, fall in love, and get
married. It would be within the next ten years, not eighteen or
twenty.

She tried to still her shaking hands
by clasping them together. It was a damn silly time to be worrying
about it. But she couldn’t help it. It had shaken her
up.

They were married. Why couldn’t she
find the joy in the moment? She was happy, damnit. She was married
to the man she loved. It was enough, and she grew angrier with
herself for letting her thoughts wander beyond the cutting of the
wedding cake.

“
Sweetheart, are you ready?”
Carlos opened the door.

“
Yes. Thank you.” She
straightened her tense shoulders and willed her unsettled stomach
to be calm as she walked to him. As he stepped back to let her
through the door, she stopped and looked at him. “I love you. You
need to know I love you.”

Carlos cocked his head to the side and
slid a look over her. “I love you too. Everything’s
okay?”

“
Fine.” She balled the
fabric of her dress in her fists and forced herself to smile.
“Let’s go greet our guests.”

As the doors to the elevator opened,
Madeline saw Corbin standing next to the fountain in the lobby. She
wondered if he’d recognize her in her long, flowy dress. Her eyes
weren’t covered now, and her hair was long and red.

He noticed her and smiled.

“
You are
stunning.”

“
Wow. Thank you.”

“
No, thank you.” He offered
her arm, and she laced hers through it as they walked to the
restaurant.

Madeline had spent the afternoon in
her room, wondering if going to dinner with a stranger was the
right thing to do. How many times had she read a newspaper article
about vacations that ended in robbery or murder? The thought made
her twitchy.

“
Everything all right?”
Corbin turned to her with his bright smile.

All she could do was nod. Stepping out
of her comfort level was never something Madeline did well, but
after the years she’d spent inside that zone, she thought she’d
better learn.

They sat together outside where the
terrace overlooked the ocean. The sun dipped down into the water
and cast a glow over them. They ate, drank wine, shared
conversation, and laughed. The more time she spent with Corbin, the
less stressed she felt.

During the evening, Corbin proceeded
to move his chair closer to her and now leaned in, touching the
softness of the red hair that gave her such personality.

“
Why red?”

“
My sister-in-law.” She
sucked back a breath. “My ex-sister-in-law gave it to me to wear.
She’s an actress in New York and has an entire closet full of these
fabulous wigs. She was quite helpful when I needed a pick-me-up.”
She smiled thinking about it. “My sons like the red one, so I wear
it most often.”

Corbin sat back in his chair and
watched the people as they walked through the restaurant. She
wondered what he was thinking. It was obvious to her that he
enjoyed people, but why had he picked her out of the crowd? There
were hundreds of women on that beach, many with bodies that would
fascinate any man.

“
So why are you in Mexico,”
she asked, taking a sip of her wine.

“
It clears my mind. Life
gets too complicated, don’t you think?

Madeline nodded. Complicated. Yes,
that summed up her life lately.

Corbin leaned in toward her. “Have you
ever been here?”

“
First time.”

“
I come three times a year.
I enjoy the beach, have some nice meals, and relax.” He covered her
hand with his. “This time I decided I’d find the finest woman on
the beach and have a romantic dinner.”

Madeline felt her throat tighten. “But
you’re here with me.”

Corbin laughed and sat back in his
chair. “And you don’t think you’re the most attractive?”

“
Hardly.”

“
Not all men seek a woman
who looks like she should grace the cover of a magazine. Some of us
want that inner beauty and that resonates very loud on the outside
as well.” He moved his chair around so he sat closer to her. He
touched her cheek. “Madeline, you are one very beautiful woman,
both inside, and out.”

The evening air had grown warmer—or
Madeline’s blood pressure had taken quite a spike. What did this
man want? Was he sincere enough to want only conversation? Or would
he expect Madeline in his bed when the evening was over? Was she
woman enough to say no? Was she woman enough to say yes?

She took a large drink of her
wine.

The waiter took their
order.

Madeline mulled over the thought of
sleeping with a stranger. Talk about stepping out of a comfort
zone; that would do it.

Corbin smiled at her. “You’re
wondering what my motive for tonight is.”

“
Is it that
obvious?”

“
I’m safe.”

Of course he’d say that. That didn’t
help her decide what to do when she was done with her wine and her
tilapia.

Their dinner was served and the
conversation stayed light. Corbin was a gentleman, and Madeline
found she’d eased into the evening and looked forward to whatever
might come next.

“
There is a piano bar in the
lobby. Why don’t we go in there, and maybe he’ll play us something
slow to dance to.”

“
I think that sounds
wonderful.”

Madeline gathered her purse and Corbin
escorted her from the restaurant.

Just as they crossed the lobby, her
cell phone buzzed in her purse. She dug for it. Her body shook with
nerves. Who would be calling her? Something must have happened.
Everyone knew she was on vacation.

When she turned on the screen, she saw
the text message Eduardo had sent to her. Tears filled her eyes and
her jaw tightened. She slipped the phone back into her purse and
looked up at Corbin.

“
I think I’d better call it
a night. Thank you for dinner.”

He sighed and dropped his head.
“Breakfast tomorrow morning at nine?”

“
That would be
nice.”

“
Let me walk you to your
room.”

She wanted to tell him no. Now wasn’t
the time to fall apart with a nice man who thought she was
beautiful. Why was she mad at Eduardo for sending her a picture of
his father and his new bride kissing on their wedding day? She
should be happy.

They rode the elevator in
silence.

Madeline pulled the key card from her
purse as the elevator doors opened, and they walked down the hall
to her room. Her hands shook, and she dropped the key.

Corbin bent over and picked it up.
“Let me.”

He slid the card into the lock and
opened the door.

Madeline sucked in a breath and willed
the tears away. “Thank you for dinner.”

“
I had a wonderful evening.”
He touched her cheek. “I look forward to seeing you in the
morning.”

With that, Madeline rose on her toes
and pressed her lips to his. He didn’t move away; instead he
gathered her closer to him.

When they’d pulled away, Madeline
closed her eyes tighter and thought of the picture her son had sent
her. “Corbin, would you like to come in for a drink?”

Carlos had fallen into bed exhausted,
and as he pried his eye open, he realized he had fallen asleep.
He’d probably only dozed off.

He had danced with every woman at the
wedding and with Kathy in between each of the other dances. He’d
had plenty of champagne and little food, so his head had a dull
throb working behind his eyes.

He scrubbed his hands over his face
and looked down at the band of gold that adorned his finger.
Married. He’d moved on. A little chuckle escaped him. They’d been
so tired, they hadn’t even consummated their wedding. Well, that
wouldn’t do.

He rolled over but found that he was
alone in their bed.

Carlos sat up and looked around the
room. His tuxedo hung in the doorway, the rental bag behind it.
Kathy’s wedding dress hung on the back of the bedroom door. Really,
he thought, those things should have been tossed to the floor in a
mad rage. How pathetic was he?

He climbed from the bed and made his
way to the bathroom. The small clock on the counter said it was
almost eleven in the morning. He shook his head. Perhaps he’d had
more champagne than he thought he had.

He brushed his teeth, found a pair of
sweatpants and a T-shirt, and pulled them on. He couldn’t be sure
there weren’t people lingering in his kitchen.

As he walked down the hallway toward
the kitchen, he noticed suitcases lined up against the wall. A
smile formed on his lips. A week in Hawaii. That would be a
well-deserved vacation.

Kathy was in the kitchen moving about.
He stopped and watched her for a moment. There was an urgency to
her. She scrubbed the counters and tucked items into drawers. But
that wasn’t all he noticed. She was wiping her eyes. She was
crying.

He walked to her, rested his hands on
her shoulders. She stiffened under his touch. Gently he laid a kiss
on her neck. “Good morning, my wife.”

She didn’t speak. Instead, she brushed
away the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Carlos turned her to him. “Sweetheart,
what’s wrong?”

“
I’ve made a terrible
mistake. I’m so sorry for it too.’

“
What could you have done?
Honey, what happened?” He ran his hand over her hair and waited for
her to lift her eyes to him.

“
Oh, Carlos. What have we
done?”

“
Why don’t we sit down?
Let’s have some coffee. I could really use come coffee.” He ran his
fingers through his hair. “Sit down and I’ll make some
coffee.”

He pulled a chair out for her, and she
sat as he busied himself with measuring out coffee and pouring
water into the maker. He was fully aware she was sitting at the
table tearing apart a paper napkin. On his first day as a newlywed,
this was not what he’d expected.

Carlos made himself a piece of toast
and found the bottle of Tylenol. He popped two in his mouth and
cupped his hand under the faucet to fill it with water to wash them
down.

Once the coffee had brewed, he poured
two cups, sat down with his toast on a napkin, and looked at his
wife. He didn’t remember much about undressing and climbing into
bed, but he’d slept like a baby. One look at Kathy told him she’d
been up all night.

Her skin was pale and her eyes
darkened by tears and lack of sleep. He thought the morning after
your wedding was supposed to be a happy one. How was it he was
afraid to open his mouth?

He took her hand and gave it a
squeeze. “Are you feeling okay?”

She released the shards of the
tortured napkin and looked at him. “No. No, I’m not
okay.”

“
What did I miss?” He tried
to gather her hand again, but she pulled away, setting them in her
lap. “Kathy, what is it?”

“
We got married.”

He gave a little chuckle. “Of course
we did. We planned it for months.”

“
No. What I’m trying to say
is, we shouldn’t have.”

Carlos shook his head. “I don’t
understand. What do you mean we shouldn’t have?”

Kathy dropped her shoulders and stood.
She paced the floor for a moment and then dropped her hands and
looked down at him. “God, this is so hard.”

Carlos rose to meet her eye to
eye.

She held up a hand to stop him from
moving closer to her. “I was being selfish. I should have called
the wedding off weeks ago. But I thought it was the right thing to
do, to continue.”

He shook his head. He had no idea what
was going on. He stepped another step toward her, but she retreated
and walked around the table. She placed her hands on the back of
the chair.

“
I’m packed and leaving for
Hawaii.”

“
Okay. I’ll go get packed.”
He nodded nervously, motioning toward the bedroom. “Is that what’s
bothering you?”

“
No. I’m bothered by the
fact that you won’t be going to Hawaii with me. I’m bothered that I
let this go this far.’

“
Where am I going?
Sweetheart, what the hell is going on?”

“
I’m going to Hawaii without
you. Carlos, I don’t want to be married.”

He moved to her, catching her hand
before she could jerk it away. “You’re nervous. You don’t know what
you’re talking about.”

“
But I do.” She smiled and
let out a breath. “It shouldn’t be a problem. The papers haven’t
been filed. We don’t have to file the marriage. It’ll be as though
it never happened. If they don’t accept that, we’ll have it
annulled.”

“
You don’t love
me?”

“
Oh, I love you. I love you
too much to do this to you.”