Good Karma (52 page)

She dribbled, and the hint of a smile played
over her lips. She was obviously enjoying this as much as he was.
He loved that she wasn’t intimidated by all the men on the other
courts, or that he was obviously more practiced than she was. Karma
gave it all she had. He liked that competitive fire in her belly.
Few women had it. At least that he’d seen.

She bulldozed toward him, rushing the
net.

He planted his feet and slid in to block her,
but she barreled right through him, sending the ball up. It came
down through the net.

“Foul!” he said. “Charging!”

“Charging my ass,” she said, snagging the
ball on the bounce. “You stepped in front of me.”

He took the ball. “Oh, I see. That’s how
you’re gonna play, huh?”

“It was a legal move. Quit crying about it
like a little girl.”

He laughed. “Little girl?”

“If the shoe fits.”

He got up in her personal space, grinning
like he had the best hand in a game of poker. “You are in so much
trouble.”

“Promises, promises.” She stole the ball out
of his hands, turned and dribbled for the goal, making an easy
layup.

She caught the ball and passed it to him.
“Your ball.”

He passed it back. “No. I’ll let you take it
out again.” This was too much fun.

With a coy smile, she traded spots with him.
“If you insist.” She started dribbling, creeping up on him. Just as
she was about to make her move, he grabbed her around the waist and
pulled her against him.

She yelped as he picked her up, laughing.
“Foul!” She pretended to blow a whistle, and then they both broke
into laughter before he gave her a breathless kiss.

A quiet moan broke in her throat, and he
pulled back.

“I think that was a technical.” Her face
flushed and lit up like a kid who had just run down the stairs at
breakneck speed on Christmas morning.

“Am I ejected?” He let his hand drop to the
upper curve of her rump, where he gave her a little finger pat.

“Nah. I like the way you foul.” She pulled
away and darted after the ball.

They played for another thirty minutes, which
really ended up being more like thirty minutes of competitive
foreplay than basketball, then they packed it in. On the way home,
they stopped at a corner store for a few things then picked up
sandwiches at Mark’s favorite deli.

“That was more fun than I’ve had in a long
time,” she said as they settled on his balcony with their
sandwiches.

“Same here.” He felt invigorated and alive in
a way he hadn’t felt in years. It was almost as if he were ten
years younger. But that was the Karma Effect. This was what she did
to him, and he couldn’t deny he loved how he felt when they were
together.

They ate in comfortable silence, with only
the breeze off the lake and the sound of distant traffic to lull
them into an easy ambience.

After she put away her last bite, he invited
her onto the lounge chair with him. With the sun behind his
apartment building, casting them in shadow, it got chilly fast, and
Karma readily snuggled into his embrace.

He absently linked his fingers between hers
and lay back, closed his eyes, and enjoyed her presence. He was
usually so tense, even when he didn’t appear to be. There was
always something to do, a job to work on, a date to plan, memories
to avoid. His mind was always going, going, going. It never
stopped. Until now.

For the first time since he could remember,
he didn’t think about anything at all. Not his assignment at Solar,
not about Carol, and not about how his apartment had been a
ransacked disaster twenty-four hours ago. His mind was free and
clear, completely in the moment and at peace. A glassy, tranquil
pond covered with early morning mist in the heart of summer. And it
was because of the woman lying beside him, tucked into the crook of
his arm.

“This is nice,” she said softly, as if she
knew he relished the serenity she gave him and didn’t want to
disturb it.

“Mm-hm.” Mark opened his eyes and gently
rocked her against his side as he kissed the top of her head. “Are
you getting cold?”

“Just a little.”

“Come on,” he said, sitting up with her.
“Let’s go in, get cleaned up, and turn off the phones. He stood and
wrapped his arms around her waist. “I want to be with you and only
you tonight.”

“Me, too.”

He followed her inside and closed the sliding
glass door, ready to put yesterday and all the bad memories behind
him.

Chapter 44

There’s
just some magic in truth and honesty and openness.

-Frank Ocean

After soaking in a relaxing bubble bath for twenty
minutes, Karma wrapped herself inside the fluffy terry robe Mark
had loaned her and vacated the master bath so he could take a
shower. While he did, she brushed out her hair and tied it back in
a ponytail then knelt beside her bag, which sat next to his duffel
on the bedroom floor, and fished out a pair of flannel pajama pants
and a T-shirt. She stood, slipped out of the robe, pulled on the
T-shirt, and began to put on the pants when something sparkly
caught her attention from inside Mark’s bag.

She frowned and peered inside as she cinched
the drawstring around her waist and tied it in a bow. Then she bent
down for a closer look. Were those diamonds? She gasped and reached
inside his bag to pull out a necklace that looked like it had cost
a fortune. So many diamonds. Then the velvet box caught her eye,
and she took it out of the bag and opened it.

Oh my. Was that an engagement ring? And were
those wedding bands? They were. She sat on the edge of the bed,
wondering what Mark was doing with a set of wedding bands, and
pulled the diamond engagement ring out of the box. Of course, she
had to try it on. What self-respecting woman wouldn’t want to put
on a fat diamond like that just to see how it looked and felt on
her hand? It was just a tiny bit too big, but otherwise looked
fabulous on her, and she smiled. What lucky girl had been destined
for this ring?

Wait a minute. Mark said he didn’t do
commitments. So, what was he doing with wedding rings?

After the expected jolt of hope vibrated her
heart, she remembered with disappointment their conversation from
several weeks ago when he had mentioned a woman named…what was her
name? Karen? No, Carol. That’s right. Karma looked at the diamond
on her finger and frowned. Mark had suggested Carol was the reason
why he couldn’t commit, but he hadn’t gone into details about their
relationship. Was this supposed to have been Carol’s ring?

The bathroom door opened, and she glanced up.
Mark wore a towel around his waist and rubbed another over his hair
as he turned for the dresser.

“I was thinking that tomorrow we could—what
are you doing?” Mark stopped in his tracks when he saw the ring on
her finger.

Icy awareness licked down her spine as a
chill blasted through the room. Clearly, he hadn’t meant for her to
see the rings. Maybe not even the necklace. Uh-oh. What had she
done?

Quickly, she took off the ring and dropped it
back in the box, but not before Mark closed the distance between
them and snatched it and the necklace away from her as if they were
poisonous relics that only he could handle.

“I—Is that the jewelry that was stolen?” she
said warily, trying to defuse whatever firestorm she had awakened
inside him.

“I don’t want you touching these.” He marched
to the dresser, tossed them inside a wooden chest, and slammed the
lid closed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”

“I can’t believe you went through my things,
Karma.” Mark spun on her. Anger and something darker—anguish or
fear, maybe—roiled over his face. She had never seen him angry and
didn’t know how to respond, but she knew she had to say
something.

“I wasn’t going through your things. I was
getting dressed and I saw the necklace. That’s all. I wasn’t
intentionally snooping.”

Standing akimbo, head down, Mark took several
deep breaths. “Those weren’t meant for you to see, Karma. You never
should have touched them. They’re not yours. You should have left
them in my bag.” The tone of his voice sent knives into her heart.
He made it sound like she had purposely snooped. Well, to hell with
being accused of something she hadn’t done.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, standing up. “I
guess I didn’t see the sign that said, ‘Hands off, Karma. You can
only look where I tell you to look and touch what I allow you to
touch.’ My mistake.”

He frowned. “That’s not what I said.”

She swiped her hand toward his duffel bag.
“If you didn’t want me to see that stuff, then you shouldn’t have
left your bag open right next to mine. Or you should have put it
away so I wouldn’t see it.” Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She
felt betrayed and wounded, but worst of all, she felt like an
inconvenience. Not even thirty minutes ago, she had felt like she
belonged here, comfortable and welcome. Now she felt like an
intruder.

Mark was still frowning but didn’t say
anything.

“Great.” She threw up her hands and turned
away so he wouldn’t see her cry. “This has turned into a great
trip. Thanks for the awesome time, Mark.” She grabbed her bag,
zipped it up, and turned for the door.

“Where are you going?” He took an urgent step
forward then stopped, scowling at her bag.

“I’m going home. At least there I don’t have
to worry about poking my nose into the wrong nook or cranny.” She
shoved past him.

“Karma, wait. It’s getting late. You
shouldn’t—”

She spun and held up her hand. “Thank you for
your concern, Mark, but I found my way here just fine. I can find
my way out, too.”

“Karma—”

But she didn’t stick around to hear what he
had to say, and, after figuring out the deadbolts on the door,
swung it open, stormed out, and slammed it shut behind her. This
had been a side of Mark she had never seen, and she hadn’t liked
it. His accusations had stung and made her feel like she was
somehow inferior.

That Carol woman must have been some kind of
special for him to guard her engagement and wedding rings more
acutely than a lioness guards her cubs.

Karma stepped into the elevator and choked
back a sob. At least now she knew where she stood. For all his
words to the contrary, she was nothing more than a post to scratch
his itch on. It looked like her dad had been right about Mark after
all.

* * *

Mark stared numbly at the door. Had Karma
really just left?

When he had come out of the bathroom and seen
Karma wearing Carol’s engagement ring, a dreadful chill iced his
blood. She shouldn’t have touched them. She was too pristine to be
tainted by such poisonous objects. To see them touching her skin
had been like seeing a cobra bite her.

But he had handled the situation terribly.
Fear had rushed out as blame. Being caught off guard had made him
react defensively, and he had accused her of putting herself in
harm’s way even though it was his fault for not taking enough care
to protect her. Would he ever learn? Was he forever destined to
fail with those he treasured most? First Carol, now Karma. He had
let them both down.

Obviously, he still wasn’t ready to try for
forever again. Not that he needed proof. When it came to matters of
the heart, he would never be ready to give himself completely to
another. He would always mess up. Somehow, in one way or another,
he would always fall just shy of being everything a woman deserved.
His behavior tonight had confirmed that. He would always pull then
push.

But he couldn’t let Karma leave under these
circumstances. It was late, she wasn’t familiar with Chicago, and
she was upset. Because
he
had upset her. He shouldered the
blame entirely. But he could apologize. He could bring her back and
convince her to stay. He didn’t want to lose her over something
like this. He wasn’t
ready
to lose her. Not even close.

Moving fast, he dressed and grabbed his phone
as he darted out the door.

* * *

Karma couldn’t find her damn car. She had been so
excited just to arrive in one piece this afternoon that she hadn’t
paid attention to what level of the parking garage she had parked
on. After circling for nearly five minutes, she got back on the
elevator and went down one more floor then stormed out just as her
phone dinged.

A flicker of hope danced in her heart even
though it shouldn’t have. She didn’t want to hear from Mark right
now. Nope. She didn’t. Not at all.

I’m not even gonna look.

Ugh. She stopped and fished out her phone,
unable to resist her heart’s demand.

Don’t go. Please.

Her heart smiled. Too bad she was listening
more to her brain right now.

Why should I stay?
She hit
send
and set back out on Car Quest.

Her phone dinged a moment later.

Because I’m an ass and I’m sorry.

Well, okay then. That’s a start. Karma’s
quick steps lost some of their gusto.

At least you’re honest
, she sent
back.

Please stay. I promise not to be an ass. I’ll even
sleep on the couch. Just please don’t go.

Karma slowed almost to a stop as she typed.
You don’t have to sleep on the couch
.

Then you’ll stay?

She rolled her eyes, tried not to look at her
phone, determinedly picked up her pace briefly then stopped, sighed
with defeat, and typed her reply.
Fine. I’ll stay.

Where are you?

She looked around and realized she was
standing next to her car. Great. Good timing now that she had
decided to stay. She found a sign.

Parking garage. Level 3.

Resigned, she turned around and began the
walk back to the elevator. Mark had gotten to her, already so deep
inside her heart that she was amazed she’d been able to leave at
all. But she had. Over a stupid ring.