A Second Chance (27 page)

‘
I won’t be around for a while
,
either
.
’
S
he
could tell that he was struggling with sharing
this revelation
, something extremely private hiding behind his reluctance. ‘
I
… thought I might accept an offer to
work on a major
advertis
ing
campaign
,
in India this time. It
’
s nothing sure yet, but I am considering it for the next
six months
.’

‘
Why
India?’
S
he
looked at him dumbfounded, his plan for the near future taking her by surprise. ‘I mean
,
I thought you were doing well here
.
’

‘I am
.
’
His
restless fingers
picked
some imaginary speck of dust
from
the table. ‘
Our dad is there right now, J
ade. He
’
s teaching in some private school, after spending a few years in Nepal. He contacted me not that long ago
,
and I was just considering that maybe it
i
sn’t
such a bad idea to get to know him
.
H
e
’
s getting older
,
and as
angry
as I
’
ve been at him for the last thirty years, I can’t say that I wouldn’t like to see him again.’

He was embarrassed to admit he cared for his father,
and
her heart
tighten
ed
painfully as she imagined the pain he must have gone through over the years. Proud and stubborn, he would never admit
to
eve
n
thinking about the man who
had
disappeared from his life with a finality that
had
def
ied
any hope of being loved and cared for. Still, she knew that his dismissive remarks about his father
were
just a cover for the true emotions he felt
but was
not ready to expose to anyone.

‘
Does
Laura know?’ she asked quietly, trying to guess how her friend would feel about it. She didn’t have any memories of her father
,
after all. Nothing but a few yellowing photographs.

‘I
’
ll tell her once the whole surgery thing is over
,
’ he answered, his dark eyebrows drawn together. ‘I was planning to tell her right after I returned from Hong Kong, but then mum called
m
e
all hysterical and worried
.
I figured she had enough on her plate as it is.
I
’
ve decided to put all those plans on hold until I know more about her treatment and what to expect in the near future.
Please don’t mention it to
her, J
ade
.
’
She nodded and he
smiled, the
ten
sion
on
his face relaxing just a notch
.
‘
See
, you have the wrong job. You have a talent
for
making
me tell you things that I keep to myself
, and you do it
without even trying. You should be a
shr
i
nk
or something
.
’

‘
Fat
chance
,
’ she grimaced and sighed, trying to ignore
her
sense of joy at his words
.
‘I think
it only works
with
you,
Liam. Others aren’t too
inclined
to share stuff with me. Heck, they don’t even tell me they
’
ve been cheating on me
with
someone
else,
while I
’
m getting ready to get married
.
’

Okay, I sound bitter as hell
, she thought as she rose to her feet and started walking to the house
.
A
tremendous noise
f
ro
m
inside
had given
her a good excuse to escape just in time, before he could try
to
make her feel better.
‘I’d better see what
’
s going on in there
,
’ she told him, without slowing down, relieved
when he didn’t
follow
her. Instead he
sat
at the table, his eyes somewhere on the horizon,
his mind
deep in thought.

‘It isn’t such a big deal
.
’ Laura wrinkled her nose as she watched Jade pace nervously up and down her living room. ‘
You
look amazing
,
and you know it. Whatever
anyone thinks
doesn’t matter.’

Well, there was no denying
that
Laura
was related to
Liam
, Jade thought as she eyed herself critically in the mirror. Both
Liam and his sister
shared the same lack of interest
in
what others thought of them, though it was Liam who would usually take it to extremes. Her reflection stared back at her, hazel eyes critical as she took in her simple turquoise dress with a
sco
op
neckline and short sleeves. She
had seen
it at one of those trendy shops that lined the city core and couldn’t resist it, even though the price tag
had
left her speechless for several seconds. She
had convinced herself
she
could afford it
as she fell under the spell of its color and deceivingly simple cut.

She
had
curse
d
her decision moments later, realizing that she had to buy a pair of shoes to go with it, her boring black pumps and red sandals
the only
non-work shoes
she
had
brought with her for the stay with
Laura
. In the end
,
her practical nature
had
persevered
,
and she
had
ended up with a pair of matching sandals from a regular store, resolutely avoiding the traps of
high-end
designer shoe salons that peppered the street. Her spending frenzy would go only so far, she mused, as she carried her loot back to Laura’s place, spent and exhausted.

She was glad she
had
purchased
it though, smoothing out a wrinkle in the slim
skirt that
ended just above her knee. She looked good without being overdone, the color bringing out the creaminess of her skin and the deep warm hues in her brown hair. She had left
her hair
loose, finding solace in its cover as it cascaded down her
back. Somehow
it had always boosted her confidence when she felt its weight and warmth cloaking her shoulders, as if it were an invisible shield
o
f
invincibility.
Her minimalistic approach to makeup seemed to work
too,
a touch of mascara and a hint of
eye shadow the
only enhancements
to
her otherwise bare face.

‘
You
are going to set the office on fire, Jadie
,
’
Laura
said
joyfully, her eyes meeting
Jade’s
in the mirror.
Laura
was working from
home;
her
two weeks off
were
over. She had played with the idea of taking a longer leave of absence, only to decide
against it as she confessed to J
ade that no matter how sick she might get from the chemo and radiation, the thought of having no work at all would soon drive her crazy. Her boss proved to be very understanding and allowed for part of her work to be done from home for as long as she needed.

‘I just want it to be over
,
’
Jade said,
her stomach tied in knots as she thought about the
visit to Liam’s office.
Laura nod
ded
sympathetically, her dark eyes serious. She knew the whole story, of course. To Jade’s surprise she didn’t find it odd
or
unusual
.
Jade had
expected her to react
with more confusion and even disapproval
to the fact that she was pretending to date her brother just to keep
one of his most fervent admirers
at bay. Then again, she had no clue about the baggage
Jade
was bringing into this drama,
she
thought,
feeling
almost guilty about not confessing the whole truth.
She couldn’t do it, though. The thought that Laura would
see
Jade
around her brother
and know
what she really felt scared her witless.

M
ost of the time, she wasn’t sure exactly
what she was
feeling
.
T
he
innocent and idealistic adoration from the past was mostly gone, she thought almost wistful
ly,
realizing that something she had treasured and clung to for a long time was
over
forever. Liam was a different person now, shaped by his experiences and
,
at times
,
barely reminding her of the young and larger
-
than
-
life young man she had known. In his place was a man even more attractive and magnetic, pulling her in with a total lack of effort. There were moments when she could see the old Liam through his smile and jokes, but for
the
most part, he was different
—w
iser, more aloof
,
and somehow indifferent to
many
things that mattered to her most.

She was desperately curious to find out what
had
happened to change him so profoundly
;
only her fear
of exposing
herself to her friend
stopp
ed
her from asking Laura. It must have been something
huge
, she reasoned
;
his sadness and vehement denial
of belief
in love
made
her wonder if the story about his girlfriend dumping him for his friend
held more
than he was willing to share.

Maybe the visit to his office would offer her a glimpse into his life that would help solve this puzzle
.
S
he stepped away from the mirror, satisfied with her efforts to look the part of a loving girlfriend. She had persuaded Liam to let her take
a
cab and pop by his office around lunch time, something that was far more plausible than his initial idea
of bringing
her in himself. Not that she had much experience
with
what was really normal for a couple that dated but worked separately, of course. Since Brian and she
had shared
their office and were together most of the time, the issue of coming over
had
never really
c
o
me
up
.

Once in the cab, she could stop being so damn calm, her brave façade for
Laura
melting faster
th
a
n
snow in
April
as her stomach tightened painfully at the thought of the acting job she had ahead. Liam
had
convinced her it would be easy
—
just her appearance and the fact he would introduce her and disappear for lunch with her enough to make a statement
as a
prelude to their stepping out together at the gala. A bit of
groundwork
, he smiled, as she chewed on her bottom lip with trepidation.