Second Chance (24 page)

Both Katie and
Genna agreed. Still gazing at their men, the three drank their drinks in
unison. Patrick’s aunt, Becky Martiny, looked at Sue and they laughed. “See, I told
you. They get like this,” Becky said.

Becky was sitting
next to Sue on the couch, holding her sleeping three-year-old daughter, Erica,
an adorable little girl with curly brown hair and blue eyes.

Sue was half the
size of Toby Gray, a handsome six-foot-four black man who was now demonstrating
a one-armed choke on Michael. She was still watching Michael and Toby and
didn’t hear Gina asking her a question.

“I’m sorry?” Sue
asked, realizing she was being spoken to.

“What do you
think of Michael?” Gina asked. “He’s quite the catch.”

“He is, isn’t
he?” Sue replied.

“Michael thought
Sue was a teenager when they first met,” Katie said. “He even approached her
and asked if she was Team Edward or Team Jacob.”

“No he didn’t!”
exclaimed Gina.

Genna laughed.
“Did he really?”

Sue nodded. “Yes,
he did.”

“So which team
are you?” Genna asked.

“I’m afraid I’m
Team Bella,” Sue said. “Who is Judith?”

“Judith was
Michael’s fiancée,” Patrick’s cousin Nicci answered, placing a tray of hors
d’oeuvres on the coffee table. “They were high school sweethearts.”

“What happened?”
Sue inquired.

Nicci sighed.
“Michael wanted kids. Judith didn’t. She wanted to focus on her career, fashion
design, she calls it. I mean, I’ve seen her drawings, she’s good. I’m only
saying she could do both—family and career if she wanted to. She could work
from home and they certainly don’t need the money. But anyways, Judith broke
off the engagement about five months ago, saying she wasn’t ready for marriage
and kids.”

“How did Michael
take it?” Sue asked.

“He took it
pretty hard. I mean, they had been together since high school,” Nicci answered.

The evening
progressed and time did not allow for Sue to inquire more about Michael and
Judith. The shower was filled with laughter. Tony had done a wonderful job of
planning the games. And the food was excellent. Sue made a mental note to thank
all who assisted with the party.

After everyone
left, Michael stayed back to help Sue take out the trash. He didn’t have to,
they both knew, but since Michael’s proposal, things seemed to have changed
between the two of them.

“Will you tell me
about Judith?” Sue asked as they sat at the kitchen island. The evening was
still early and Sue thought this was the time to find out and the perfect
person to answer her questions. She knew she was prying, deliberately being
nosy. But she needed to know.

“Judith?”

“The woman in the
pictures with you. The ones in your study.”

“You’ve been
snooping?” Michael asked, almost with an edge in his voice.

“Yes. That’s the
consequence of allowing a stranger into your private abode.”

Michael scowled.
She had no right to intrude. Then he checked himself. How could he be angry
with her when she had straight out answered him honestly? “Touché. What else
have you been snooping?”

“Don’t worry. I
left the medicine cabinets alone.”

Michael grinned.
“Afraid I’m psychotic?”

“As a matter of
fact, yes. What sane man would want someone like me? Chronic liar, among other
things.”

“A sane man would
have made love to you and made you his.”

“A sane man would
have run,” she replied quietly. “Why do I get the feeling that you are placing
me on a pedestal I don’t deserve to be on? What type of woman do you believe me
to be, Michael? Surely you don’t believe me to be a virtuous, Virgin Mary?”

“Virtuous, virgin
Sue is more on my mind.”

She almost
laughed.
If he only knew
. “I’m neither virtuous nor virgin.”

“Neither am I so
I guess we’re perfect for each other.”

“Two wrongs don’t
make a right.”

“Who is Khyber?”
Michael asked, suddenly. Sue blanched at the mention of Khyber, but he
persisted. “You were talking about losing Khyber when you were intoxicated.
I’ll tell you about Judith if you open up about Khyber.”

A long silence
passed before she could collect herself, before color returned to her face. Sue
sighed. “I come with a whole lot of baggage and until I learn to pack lighter,
this is no way to start a relationship.” Sue silently got up and walked away.
She was not ready to talk about Khyber. Not to him. Not to anyone, aside from
Katie. At the door, she stopped. “Have a goodnight, Mr. McHeney. You know the
way out.”

Sue lay in bed,
unable to sleep. Michael had left over an hour ago and now she couldn’t stop
thinking whether she made the right decision. She had been rude and mean.
Truly, he did not deserve her coldness. She could have given him a simple no.
She could have told him about Khyber. She could have…hell. She knew what she
could have done. Yet, she had done what she did. There was no excuse for her
behavior.

A pounding at the
door startled her out of bed. “Who is it?” she yelled out as she closed her
robe and tied the sash. No answer but the pounding came again.

“Please open the
door, Suzy.”

Recognizing the
voice, Sue opened the door demanding angrily what the bloody hell he wanted.
She was greeted by a disheveled Jae who was grinning at her with one of his
wicked grins.

“Suzy!” He
stumbled through the door and embraced her in a tight bear hug, bringing her
off her feet and twirling her around.

She pushed
against him and demanded he release her. Jae placed a kiss on her lips, giving
her an unpleasant whiff of alcohol before releasing her. Stepping around him to
the door, Sue said, “Go home, Jae, you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.”
He followed her with his eyes. “Can’t you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing
to forgive. We didn’t fit. Life goes on.”

“Is it that
simple?” he asked quietly.

Her heart leaped.
Controlling the impulse to cry, she turned to anger. “It’s that simple!” she
snapped. Still holding the door open, she angrily said, “Go home, Jae. It’s
late and I’m tired.” The strong desire to not shatter in front of him was the
only reason keeping her from throwing herself at him, asking him to never let
her go. That was the only thing keeping her from bawling like a crazed woman
and telling him that it was not that simple. That the way he was looking at her
was tearing her heart out.

“Why did you
return my gift, Suzy?”

“I couldn’t keep
it.”

“Why?” he
whispered.

Since he was
making no move to leave, Sue turned to close the door, seeing that it was
snowing outside. That would explain his wet hair and the dampness on his
clothes she felt when he embraced her. Turning back to him with a tired sigh,
she replied, “Thank you for your generosity, but…” Meeting his eyes, she saw,
she didn’t know what she saw. Had she seen the look of those light brown eyes
the way they were now years ago, she could say with a certainty that he was
hurt. But now, she wasn’t so sure. “…for my sanity’s sake, I can’t keep them.”

He fumbled in his
blazer and produced the black velvet box. “I purchased this for you, keep it.”

“Jae, I can’t—”

“Then do whatever
you wish with them.” He clumsily shoved the box into her hands.

She felt his warm
touch and goose-bumps rose on her skin, sending a shiver through her body.

He turned to
leave and he stumbled, bracing himself on the door to keep his balance. His
head was pounding, threatening to split in two at the slightest of movements.

“God, Jae, are
you all right?” She dropped the velvet box and immediately rushed to him. She
felt the cold dampness on his thin blazer. It was soaked through. How long had
he been outdoors?  She would have to ask him later. Right now, she needed to
focus on him.

Jae turned to
her. She looked up at him and what she saw made her heart ache. His eyes were
cloudy and unfocused. She raised both hands to cup his face and felt his skin
burn beneath her palm. He smiled at her touch and leaned into her palms.
Gently, she asked, “What happened?”

“I’ve missed
you,” he whispered hoarsely. “I miss you, my Shorty.” He touched her cheek, his
thumb lingering at the corner of her lips. “Did you miss me?”

“Yes. I did,” she
replied and took his hand into hers. She led him toward her room.

“Do you remember
the falls?”

“Yes. I do,” she
answered and led him to her bed.

He gave her a
boyish grin. “I kissed you there…at the falls, do you remember? I did.”

“Yes. I do. Tell
me what you remember,” she said, taking off his white, damp blazer. His blue
dress shirt was just as damp, molding onto his hard body.

“You were very
angry I threw you into the pool. You called me an arsehole and kicked me.” He
leaned toward her, laughing softly.

She felt his warm
breath on her skin as she unbuttoned his cuffs, her heart racing just to have
him this near. “That was not very nice of me,” she said, unbuttoning his dress
shirt with shaky fingers.

“You are very
beautiful when you are angry and calling me names. Do you remember the fish
market?”

“Yes. I do,” she
said, taking off the damp shirt.

“Do you remember
our wedding?”

“Yes. I do,” she
said, unbuckling his silver belt buckle. Her heart was still racing and she
needed to take a shaky breath to stabilize her trembling fingers as she
unbuttoned his white trousers.

“Did you love
me?” he asked quietly.

She didn’t answer
him. She uncovered her bed and sat him down.

“I love you, my
Shorty.”

She felt a punch
to her gut and swallowed repeatedly to ease the lump in her throat. She didn’t
answer him as she continued to strip him of his remaining clothes.

“Will you kiss
me?” he whispered.

“I will.” She
laid him down and covered his shivering body with the duvet. “Rest, my stubborn
one. You are not well.”

Jae closed his
tired eyes and did as she instructed. She looked at him for several heart beats
before finding the courage to take off her robe. She got into bed with him and
took him in her arms. It was not until his burning body stopped shivering and
his breathing steadied did she let go of him.

He was so very
handsome with his hair falling freely on his forehead. His face relaxed and
unguarded. She could watch him forever like this. She lightly traced the bump
on his nose and placed a kiss on his soft lips, whispering, “I love you too, my
Lefty.”

Sue left her room
with Jae’s damp clothes. Passing the foyer, she saw the velvet box. She picked
it up with her free hand, feeling the weight of it all. She collapsed on the
stairs, hugging his clothes and the box. Why was it so hard to let him go? She
could still remember every moment she shared with him in Seoul. Why couldn’t
she just let him go? Tears welled in her eyes and she hugged his damp clothes
tighter. Burying her face in his clothing, her body shook with sorrow.

CHAPTER
31

“And in
entertainment news tonight, South Korean pop star Khyba announced his marriage
to a woman name Sue Thao,” reported ShowBiz Tonight anchor Stephanie
Montgomery. “He made the announcement Thursday evening during his interview
with Daniel Larry. The announcement caused quite a stir from his fans around
the world as the news of his unexpected nuptial spread. Here with me tonight is
Susana Song. She is corresponding from New York, where Khyba just finished his
international tour and promoting his new movie,
Empire
. Susana, what can
you tell us about this woman, Sue Thao?” The screen switched to Susana as she
started to answer the question.

“Oh my God,
Patrick record this!” Katie yelled. She retrieved her cell phone and called
Sue. No answer. Katie didn’t leave a message. She started to dial Michael’s
phone number as a picture of Sue was shown on the screen. It was a med school
graduation picture, taken the day of the commencement ceremony.

“Dr. Sue Thao is
a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. It has been
speculated that she is the woman who gave Khyba his name,” reported Susana.
“According to sources, there was a meeting between the couple in New York prior
to his announcement of their marriage. There was, however, trouble in paradise
as sources reported there was an altercation where Sue actually slapped Khyba
at Shinobu, where Khyba was celebrating the success of his international tour.
While promoting his new movie
Empire
on the
Late Show with Daniel
Larry
, this is what the singer had to say.”

The screen
switched to showing a clip of Khyba talking with Larry. Khyba was laughing and
joking about his accent and his sex appeal. Khyba spoke about his relationship
to a very special woman, the woman who inspired his first solo album. Larry
jokingly asked if love had anything to do with his unexpected marriage or if it
was a shotgun wedding. Khyba laughed and replied, “Love has everything to do
with it.” Khyba didn’t mention anything else about his wife except her name in
the interview nor did he give an answer to the question of whether it was a
“shotgun” wedding.

Susana reported
that observation. There were more reports and speculation as to why Khyba was
suddenly announcing something so personal when he was known to guard his
privacy. The reports and speculation grew to conclude that perhaps it was a
shotgun wedding and if so, how long had Khyba known Dr. Thao?

CHAPTER
32

Sue stood by the
bedroom window, thinking about whether she was going to say goodbye to Jae
before she left on Sunday. As soon as Jae was well enough to leave, she had
told him to go. He had left with Tyson the day before and she had not heard
from him since.