This one appeared to be unwell. He was gaunt, hallow-eyed, and hardly able to hold his own weight, let alone the weight of others. Lara was rendered immobile by the sight. Her disbelief rendered her speechless.
“How are you doing, Lara?”
“You haven't shaven in days,” she observed, gathering herself with great effort.
His mouth was touched by a phantom smile. “I was hoping for a friendlier welcome. Maybe I should have stay away a little longer.”
“Perhaps you should have,” she admitted, her astonishment giving way to uncontrolled rage. “Perhaps you shouldn't have returned.”
His gaze swept over her, landing on her face, which she knew was wracked with resentment. “Lara, sweetheart,” he said, his voice heavy with grief.
Her inside sagged. Her eyes welled up with tears, which washed her wounded heart clean of everything but the burning want to touch him. To be able to fe
Lara kept the connecting door between their rooms open for the rest of the night, worried as much about his rising temperature as the injury that was causing it. He opened his eyes and peered at her in the faint light at one point, as if he had no idea who she was. Another time, she overheard him deliriously repeating her name and knew he was on fire when she placed the back of her palm to his cheek. She couldn't give him aspirin because she didn't know the extent of any vascular damage, so she had to settle for sponging him down with lukewarm water. It relieved the temperature for a while, but it never entirely subdued it.She'd understood from the start that what she could do for him would only be a first-aid, and she'd hoped that the new day would make him more receptive to the kind of care that only a doctor could deliver. When his temperature rose dangerously just before daybreak, despite her attempts, she decided she couldn't wait any longer and called Roc
He wasn't able to respond. His lungs were bursting at the seams, and black dots danced in front of his eyes. He knelt over, his chest heaving, embarrassed by his frailty, not to mention his audience.She slowly made her way back to him after seeing his condition. "I knew you could be cruel," she said, "but I had no clue you were also ignorant.You've undoubtedly made your wound bleed anew, undoing all of your previous progress. If you keep doing it, you'll end up in the hospital, whether you want to be there or not." He sighed, "I want to be with you.""What's the point? Remember that we have nothing in common outside of the bedroom?""We both know that isn't the case.""How come you said it?""Because I was and still am irritated to no end. I can't stand not having control over my life any more than I can stand my father's grudging welcome. The sooner I return to the penthouse, the bette
So there it was, the end of the affair, given with his customary unflinching honesty. They'd finally used up their borrowed time, and she was standing on the doorstep the next day, something she'd worked so hard to avoid."We were never a good fit, were we?" she murmured, her voice hollow with grief."Never," he admitted after a dreadful, tension-filled silence."It's always a ships-passing-in-the-night type of thing."His voice, on the other hand, was rusty, like if he'd choked on a peanut. And she... she was on the verge of crying. She'd followed in her parents' footsteps and risked everything for the sake of experiencing the present moment. And in the process, he'd lost everything. Their biggest blunder had now become hers as well."So...o...o." She drew out the word on a long, quivering sigh. "I guess this is goodbye.""I guess it is.""It's
6:30 a.m. Time to make a move. Before the alarm clock shattered the silence, heturned it off. Chris paused for a time, savoring the touch of her skin on his. He'd listened to her crying softly throughout the night while feigning sleep. It had taken every ounce of self-control he had to keep from reaching for her and telling her exactly what he knew she wanted to hear. ‘I'll delegate my duties to someone else and stay with you.We'll marry, start a family, and establish a home together.' Before temptation got the better of him, she had succumbed to exhaustion. She was now sleeping with strands of her hair draped across his shoulder, as if to link him to her. She appeared to be youthful and attractive. As a child, I was defenseless and heartbroken. That was what he had done to her. What had begun as an innocent flirtation to demonstrate Rocco that his faith in her was misguided had spiraled out of control. Chris had foreseen it but ha
She laid in bed that night, surrounded by all of the things that made her feel at ease. She had hung her own blue and white wallpaper. Three years ago, she had bought a handmade wedding ring quilt at auction. Her rosewood bombe chest of drawers and imitation four-poster bed. The silver-framed photograph of her parents and two little oil paintings she'd discovered at an estate auction the summer after graduating from nursing school.She convinced herself that they were proof that she didn't need a man in her life. She'd put a rocking chair in the alcove near the window, where she'd nurse her baby, then a white bassinet next to her bed as her due date approached. She'd change the second bedroom into a nursery after he'd outgrown it. Clouds should be painted on the ceiling. On the walls, stencil unicorns and pixies—oh, and a guardian angel, because every child needed one, even if he couldn't have a father.A father... Chris...&nbs
Two days later, she and Helen arrived at the villa by cab. Getting a passport for her baby on such short notice had been difficult, but Lara had found a sympathetic government official who had cut through the bureaucratic red tape in record time after hearing her story.Nothing seemed to have changed as the vehicle turned the last curve in the driveway and the villa came into view. Against the deep blue sky, the palm trees grew tall. Under the sun, the flower beds burst with color. The peacocks strolled across the pristine lawns, proud as ever.The house told a different story on the inside. Although her arrival with a newborn generated a commotion, the atmosphere was solemn and depressing."Yes, she's mine," Lara said Aida, who was taken aback. "Am I on time?" she asks Ruben."Yes. He gained new strength when he learned you were on his way. He's awake and inquired how soon you'd be here just a few m
He cleared his throat and delicately brushed his thumb over the back of his father's palm, overcome. "In the end, I succumbed to the devastation and ruin. What was I doing in a distant nation trying to reconcile shattered families when my own was coming apart at home? What right did I have to keep you at arm's length, Father, when your biggest sin was wanting to provide me with a better life than you had when you were younger?""You're my son," Rocco said. "Stubborn and proud and hell set on making your own way in the world, just as I was at your age. And you wanted to make that world a better place.""Yes, I did. But I neglected you in the process. Have I left it too late to ask your forgiveness?"Rocco lifted his other hand and placed it alongside Chris's stubble-covered jaw with great difficulty. "Ah, my foolish boy," he grumbled. "Don't you realize it's never too late for a father to welcome his kid when he returns h
Of all the questions she'd feared he might ask, this one had never crossed her mind, and she briefly considered trying to come up with an inspired lie to throw him off the scent. Since she'd done such a good job of fooling him into thinking she'd found some other man to take his place, why not continue with the charade? But suddenly she'd had enough of the deceit and the subterfuge. She'd tell him the truth, or at least an edited version of it, and if he persisted in leaping to all the wrong conclusions, that was hardly her problem. "Because I'm not married," she said. "Why not?""I rushed into a relationship with the wrong man, we went our separate ways and I'm bringing up my baby alone. Don't look so disapproving. It was my choice, and hardly unique in today's world. Hundreds of women make the same decision every day.""You're not one of those women, Lara," he said. "You should have held out for the husband you always wanted.""Well