A Second Chance (11 page)

She put the money into the slot and pressed the button, ready to catch the bottle as it slid down toward the opening. Only it didn’t
.
S
he pressed the black button repeatedly, unwilling to give up on the promise of having a drink. It didn’t help
.
T
he
bottles were firmly stuck in the machine
,
and no amount of pressing any of the six buttons seemed to make any difference.

‘Oh, great
,
’ she sighed
.
D
isappointed
,
she gave
up before someone would think she was trying to rob the
vending machine
. It just wasn’t her day
,
and she would have to let it
go
. S
he looked up toward the exit.

Her heart stopped suddenly, the hubbub of the cafeteria forgotten as she watched two
men
walking down the corridor, just about to enter the café. One was a doctor, his white coat and name tag barely registering in her mind as she looked at the man
to whom
he was talking.
This man was tall, dark
,
and breathtakingly handsome. His hair was cropped short and his tanned face, dark straight brows
,
and jet black eyes were achingly familiar.

He wore
charcoal jeans and
a black shirt, the rolled up sleeves offering a glimpse of his tanned, muscular forearms. He was talking to the doctor
,
and
the
swift smile that came and went across his face
sen
t
a shiver of excitement down her spine.

God, this can’t be happening
, she thought fervently as she stepped back, eager to hide herself from his eyes.
Liam was here, even though Lau
ra was sure he was still in Hong
Kong, working on his exhibition.

He
looked
even better than in her memories,
and
her palms
were
sweating as she glanced at him once again.
T
he pictures she had seen of him in the magazines didn’t really do justice to the almost lethal sex appeal that seemed to come to him as effortlessly as breathing. Her disobedient eyes clung to him hungrily, feasting on his familiar features.

She remembered everything,
the
wounds she thought
had
finally healed opening as if no time at all
had
passed
.
She remembered the way he would cock his head to the side while listening to someone, a gesture so etched into her memory
that
she could close her eyes and see him doing it at any time.
S
he recalled the little scar on his forehead, barely visible if one didn’t know where to look for it. He
had
got
ten
it
when he had skied
into a
fence;
she smiled involuntarily, remembering Laura telling her that his daredevil attitude caused much grief to his family. He
had
hit an ice patch and lost control of his skis, ramming into the fence and earning eight stitches and a broken wrist
.
It
hadn’t stopped
him from returning to the sport the moment his cast was off and conquering the run without any further mishaps.

His cheeks were shadowed with a few days worth of stubble, giving him an air of
ruggedness
and an almost pirate
-
like
quality. He was as attractive as ever, a fact not lost on many of the nurses and female visitors
who
looked him over with appreciative eyes. Jade bit her lip, aware of the absurd feeling of jealousy that came over her without
warning. She
had no right to be jealous, she repeated
firmly
to herself, consciously bringing back the images of all the lovely women who
had been
his companions in the years they
’d been
apart. She remembered poring over their photographs, eager to find out what his type
was
even though
she had
absolutely no chance
of
ever
be
ing
one of those lucky ones.

O
ne
had
stood out in particular
—
Jessica
,
a
gorgeous dark
-
haired girl with lovely blue eyes and dimples. She knew Liam was involved with her for at least two years
,
and she
had
expected to find their wedding photographs
featured in the paper sometime
soon. Instead she
had
just
learned
from Laura that they
had
broke
n
up, a snippet of information
about which
she would be eager to
find out more
,
but
was
not quite daring
enough to ask.

The
two men
were walking in, and she had to decide what to do next if she didn’t want him to find her staring at him openmouthed and silent. It should be easy just to walk up to him and say hi, she mused feverishly, as she stepped out from her hiding corner. She wouldn’t be able to avoid him completely anyway, knowing he was here for Laura. Why agonize silently if she could have it over and done with right now? All she had to do was to keep cool and act normal
;
his
concern
for Laura probably
was
consuming all his attention
,
anyway.

He noticed her at exactly the same moment her eyes went to his face, her legs suddenly
so
shaky
she nearly tripped
.
He
recognized her
immediately
, his eyes widening and a smile brightening his rather somber face.

‘Jade?’
H
e
was at her side in two steps, closing the distance between them with his purposeful stride. ‘
You
’
re here
!
T
hat’s unbelievable!’

She found herself in his embrace, strong arms going aro
u
nd
her with
an
ease born of familiarity.
H
er senses were assaulted with his delicious fragrance and warmth that seeped into her, melting the frozen ring that she
had
built around her heart.

She stepped back, her face burning as she noticed curious glances going their way. After
all,
it was Liam Latimer, his brush with fame putting him into a leag
u
e she could never even aspire to join.

‘Good to see you
,
Liam
,
’
s
he
said with a little smile, wincing inwardly when she thought about the casual look she was sporting. Her plain
t-
shirt and
jeans were clean but old
and,
paired with her
sn
ea
kers
and a simple
hair
-
do
,
made her look about sixteen again. She
wore
barely any makeup,
and
her dark hair
was
pulled
casually
into a ponytail,
a
few stubborn strands escaping from the
rubber band
to frame
her pale face.

‘I
’
m so glad you
’
re here
.
’
H
is dark eyes
were
warm as he looked at her with
the
smile that
had
made her knees weak ever since she
had
discovered she couldn’t see him as
just
another friend. ‘Laura didn’t tell me anything, you
know.
’

He
turned to the doctor
who
stood at his side with a patient smile pasted on his face and shook his head in disapproval
.
‘Luckily
,
M
om
is a terrible liar
,
and I can tell right away when something
’
s
wrong
. So I rushed ba
ck and had a chat with Laura’s doctor
.
’

‘I can’t tell you all the details without my patient’s approval, you must understand that.’ The doctor
’s
eyes
were
cautious as he explained the procedure to both of them. ‘Once Laura gives me
the
green light
,
we can discuss all the details, but for now that’s pretty much all I can share with you, Liam.’

He excused himself and disappeared into the crowd, leaving
the two of
them standing face to face for the first time in over ten years.

‘I am really glad to see you
.
’
His
dark eyes
were
serious as he sighed deeply and pointed to the empty table at the window. ‘
Can
we sit here for a while? I would go in there and talk to Laura right now, but I guess it
’
s important for her to find out as much as possible, and I think they would kick me out anyway, right?’

‘I think they might.’ She nodded as they walked over to the table
,
where
she watched him pull out her chair in an old
-
fashioned gesture.
He
waited for her to sit down before he joined her, his long legs
brushing
her knees under the miniscule table.

‘How did you know
that
she would be here
?’ she asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer. ‘
About
the meeting
,
I mean
?
’

‘
Nothing
stays secret in the Latimer family.’
His grin was charming
, white teeth flashing in his tanned face. ‘I talked to
M
om
yesterday
,
and she mentioned Laura telling her about this special meeting she had to attend today. The rest was very easy, really
.
’

‘I
’
m sure Laura will be absolutely thrilled to see you.’ She smiled back, eager to wipe away the sadness that lurked in his eyes even while he tried to stay cheerful. ‘
She
didn’t want to disturb your project and that’s why she kept quiet, but I
’
m positive that deep down she was hoping to see you.’

‘She’d better, because I
’
m not going anywhere
.
’
H
e
watched her with a little smile, her skin heating as she felt his gaze linger on her face and go lower over her body.
H
e
was
n’t
leering,
but
still she felt as if she
w
ere
being
stripped naked and exposed to his penetrating gaze.

‘
You
’ve
grown up
.
’
He smiled
again, his jet black eyes enigmatic. ‘
But
still, I would recognize you anywhere, Jade.’

‘
I
’
m
twenty
-
eight, so I think
that
counts as being grown up.’ She knew she sounded petulant, but
she
couldn’t help
it. She
remembered him telling her how young she was the last time they were together and hated
being
reminded of that
evening.
Some
things weren’t meant to be repeated, she thought as she
gave him a challenging look
.