Love's Deception (6 page)

“W
hat a night.” Carissa sighed as she closed her front door and slumped behind it. What in the hell was she doing? She’d dug a nice little grave for herself, that was what. Now how was she going to get out of this one?

The door pushed open from behind her and she jumped away in surprise. When her aunt eased her head inside, Carissa eyed her with astonishment.

“Please tell me you’re not just getting home.”

Helena smiled and closed the door behind her, but before she responded, she cast a futile glance over her niece’s attire. “I see I’m not the only one just getting in.”

“I spent the night at the hospital. Where were you?”

Helena smiled wickedly. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

Carissa shook her head. “You’ll never change.”

“Change? God forbid. I’m in the prime of my life. And unlike you, I’m still determined to find my Prince Charming.” She sashayed past Carissa, whistling.

“What are you talking about? You’ve been married six times.”

“Yeah. Come on, lucky number seven,” Helena sang, entering the kitchen and heading straight for the coffeemaker. “Good. I see the maid service cleaned up the mess.” She opened a cabinet.

“Wait,” Carissa commanded.

Her aunt pivoted with her brows raised in curiosity. “Is there a problem?”

“Do you know how to work a coffeemaker?”

“Give me a break.” Helena laughed. “How difficult can it be?”

“I’ll do it,” Carissa insisted, before taking over the task.

“Whatever floats your boat.” Helena shrugged off the insult, then sat on the stool by the credenza. “Now tell me what on earth kept you at the hospital all night?”

Carissa’s back stiffened. “There’s nothing to tell. I went to see about Mr. Edwards’s condition.”

“And it took all night?” Helena’s disbelief echoed in her voice. “Are you sure Junior doesn’t have anything to do with your extended interest in this situation?”

“His name is Nathan. And don’t be silly.” Carissa shook her head, but didn’t dare turn around to meet her aunt’s gaze.

Helena laughed. “You have to do better than that if you’re going to try to lie to me, sweetie. Don’t forget my maiden name is Cartel, too.”

“Be that as it may,” Carissa said as she hit the brew button, then turned to face her aunt, “you’re still barking up the wrong tree. What I’m dealing with is just a tremendous amount of guilt. It’s nothing more than that.” She sat next to Helena with a tight smile.

“Guilt, huh? Now what do you have to feel guilty about? From what I’ve heard, you’ve been known to eat businessmen like Edwards for breakfast. Why the sudden concern?”

“Because I’ve never been responsible for any of them lying in a coma.”

“You’re overreacting and you know it.”

“No, I don’t. Excuse me for growing a heart.”

Helena held her hands up in surrender. “Touché. I apologize. I’m just trying to understand what’s going on in that busy little head of yours. And believe me, I’m not the least bit disappointed that you’ve decided to grow a heart. Frankly, I think it’s about time.”

“Please, I’m not in the mood for a speech.” Carissa groaned as she exhaled. “I don’t mean to be rude.”

“Well, you’re doing a damn good job of it.”

Carissa’s frustration mounted. “I’m thirty-two
years old, Auntie. When do you think you’ll stop advising me how to run my life?”

“Excuse me for trying to help.”

Silence trailed Helena’s curt tone and Carissa buried her head in her hands. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Helena shrugged. “Well, I do. And it sounds to me that you do, too. The question now is when are you going to come clean with this Nathan character.”

Exhausted, Nathan arrived at his apartment in the center of downtown Atlanta with the idea of grabbing a quick shower and a nap. But no sooner had he eased inside the door than the sound of running water stole his attention.

Someone’s taking a shower
. His brows furrowed as he looked around. He was in the right apartment, he concluded. He moved farther into the room. Whoever was in the bathroom had apparently made themselves at home. The scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted throughout the apartment.

He peeked into the kitchen to see dishes piled in the sink and magazines scattered across the counters.

The shower cut off and Nathan’s attention turned toward the bedroom. A familiar feminine voice began singing and he knew instantly who his uninvited guest was.

Nathan stood with his arms crossed and waited for the bedroom door to swing open. When it did, the singing stopped.

“Hello, India.” His gaze quickly took in her wet, ink-black hair and flawless honey-brown complexion. She was still as beautiful as he remembered.

“Nathan. What are you doing here?” She tightened her hold on the towel wrapped around her body.

“Don’t you think that you should be answering that question?” He watched as she swallowed hard and shifted her weight nervously.

She stood staring at him as if dumbstruck.

He waved his hand in front of her face. “Hello?”

“I’m sorry. I know I should have checked with you about staying in here, but I knew you rarely came to Atlanta this time of year, and I guess I was afraid that you would say no.”

“You were right.” He walked away. “How fast can you move out?” he asked with his back to her. The memory of her betrayal resurfaced in his mind.

“So it’s just like that? You’re just going to throw me out?”

“India, it’s over. It’s been over.” He faced her, but then looked away when her eyes glossed over. “Don’t do this,” he warned.

“Why can’t you forgive me? I made a mistake. And for that you’re willing to throw away a five-year relationship?”

“Will you please put some damn clothes on,” he yelled. “I can’t think with you dressed like that.”

She stepped forward. “Maybe I don’t want you to think. It seems like every time you go off thinking I’m the one that ends up getting hurt.”

“Funny. I seem to remember your lies hurting me.”

She took another step forward.

“It’s not going to happen.” His glare stopped her in her tracks.

A long painful silence enveloped them before Nathan spoke again. “This is the last thing I need. I can’t deal with you right now.”

She recoiled as if he’d slapped her.

“You’re a hard man, Nathan Edwards. And you can be quite unforgiving, too.”

“Is that what you think—that I haven’t forgiven you?” This time he moved to close the gap. “I forgave you a long time ago. The problem is I can’t forget.”

India looked deep into his eyes and lifted her hand to caress his face. On her finger, the engagement ring he allowed her to keep sparkled. “I know you still love me,” she whispered.

He nodded. “I won’t lie to you. I do still care for you. But I can’t build a life without trust. And the woman that I marry I need to be able to trust completely.”

C
arissa bolted upright at the phone’s sudden shrill. Sunlight stabbed her eyes and she immediately slammed them shut again.
What time is it
?

When the phone rang again, she snatched the receiver off the cradle. “Hello.” Her voice croaked over the line. She coughed to clear it.

“Ms. Cartel?” Liz questioned.

“Yes. What is it?” She looked around to find the clock. It was well past one in the afternoon. She’d slept in two days in a row. That had to be a record. “Is there something wrong?” she asked.

“Uh, no. It’s nothing like that. I figured you’d want to know that Nathan Edwards, Travis Edwards’s son, has arrived in town.”

“Yeah, I know. I ran into him a couple of times yesterday.” Carissa swung her legs out of bed, but made no attempt to stand. “Luckily for me, he has no idea who I am and I intend to keep it that way.”

“Oh.”

Carissa frowned. “What does ‘oh’ mean?”

“Well, I think you should know that Mr. Edwards had called here at the office asking questions.”

“When? What did he want to know?” she asked, jumping to her feet and pacing in front of the nightstand.

“He called yesterday. He’s coming by the office today.”

“I left a message on your desk, but when I went in your office a few minutes ago I saw you hadn’t gone through all of them yet.”

Liz was right. She hadn’t read all of her messages. “Damn.” Carissa’s mind raced. “No doubt he’ll want to know what happened the other day.”

“He has the right to know.”

“Of course he does. I’m not saying he doesn’t. I just don’t think that it’s a good idea that he hears it from me. Especially since he thinks I’m someone else.” She thought for a moment. “So much for getting through this incognito.”

“Actually, he called here wanting to talk to me.”

“What?”

“Well, I am the one who’d called. I don’t mind talking to him as long as you’re okay with it. Besides, he should be here soon and you’ll never be able to get here on time.”

Carissa hesitated. It was the coward’s way out. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll handle it. Like I said. I called, I should handle it.”

“Thanks, Liz. I owe you big-time.”

When the women hung up, Carissa stood and stared at the phone. A sliver of guilt eased its way into her conscience. She was behaving as if she
had
murdered someone.

She remembered her long talk with Nathan. They had a lot in common to be so different. Even though Nathan and Travis weren’t exactly close, she still didn’t want yesterday’s nightmare to come true. Besides, maybe she could stop Nathan from making the same mistakes she’d made.

She sat back on the edge of the bed. “Who am I, Dr. Laura?” she said, shaking her head. “I’m definitely losing it.”

A soft knock sounded at the door. “Carissa, sweetheart. Are you up?” Helena asked.

“Does that woman ever sleep?” she mumbled to herself.

The door swung open.

“I heard that,” Helena said, sweeping into the room like a breath of fresh air. Her tightly coiled hair and flawless skin helped her appear twenty years younger. “Unlike you, I don’t intend to sleep this beautiful day away. I’ve already made plans on what we’re going to do for the rest of the day.”

“Plans? Oh, I don’t know, Auntie. I have a million
things to do.” She moved from the bed and headed toward the bathroom.

“Come on, Risa. I’m sure those things can wait. Let’s go shopping, take in a matinee, then paint the town red when the sun goes down.”

Carissa turned and laughed. “Where on earth do you get your energy from at your age?”

“I have the same amount of energy as you do. I just direct it toward enjoying life instead of leaping tall buildings in a single bound.”

“Hey, I enjoy my life, too. I mean, sure I have my ups and downs, but for the most part, I know how to have a good time.”

“Prove it.”

Carissa fell speechless at the challenge. “All right, all right. You win. Maybe a day out on the town is just what I need.”

Helena’s smile widened. “Great. Hurry up and get dressed. I read in the paper than Nieman-Marcus is having some type of sale today and I want to try that new Justin’s restaurant out in Buckhead tonight.”

“Great.” Carissa exaggerated her enthusiasm and watched her aunt saunter out of the room.
Where in the hell did she learn to walk like that? And where can I take lessons?

“I can’t believe she just made herself at home,” Nathan said, handing his stepfather, Smokey, a beer. “She has a lot of nerve.”

“Believe it or not there are a lot of worse things a
man can come home to than a naked woman in his shower. Hell, I wish I had your kind of luck.”

“You’re missing the point, Pop.” Nathan plopped down beside him on the couch, wearing only a pair of black jeans.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Smokey pointed to Nathan’s arm. “When did you get a tattoo?” He referred to the malicious-looking panther posed over Nathan’s large biceps.

“That happened after a dare and one too many bottles of Jack Daniels.”

“You still can’t walk away from a dare?”

“I’ve walked away from a few.” The men laughed, then continued their private drink.

“So what exactly happened between you and India, anyway? Or are you planning on keeping it a big secret?”

Nathan was quiet for a moment. His thoughts were instantly tangled in the past. “There was always some type of problem happening. At first they were small. She’d tell me she was doing one thing, then I’d find out that she’d done another. I don’t know, there just seemed to be a lot of unnecessary lies.” He shrugged. “Then the lies got bigger and the next thing I know, she’s sleeping around. And I do mean around.”

“I’m sorry, son.” Smokey slapped his back, then shook his head. “Damn. I didn’t figure her to be the type.”

“Pop, if I’ve learned anything about women, it’s you can never know their type until it’s too late.”

“It sounds like this one left you a little bitter.”

For some odd reason, Nathan thought of Carissa. “I don’t know if
bitter
is the word I’m looking for. More like
cautious
.”

“Now if
I’ve
learned anything over the years, it would be that a man can never be too cautious.”

“Here, here.”

The men’s bottles clinked together in a quick toast.

“What time are you going back to the hospital?”

The question sounded awkward to Nathan’s ears, but he understood his stepfather’s position and knew his concern was only for his benefit. Nathan looked at his watch. “I planned to head back out there in about an hour.”

“Planning on another all-nighter?”

“I don’t think I can handle too many more of those. But I’ll stay as long as the body allows.”

The men nursed their beers in silence, while each wondered what the other was thinking.

“I know what you’re trying to do is probably the right thing,” Smokey began. “But I have to say I’m kind of surprised.”

“No more than I am.” Nathan cleared his throat. “I just know that I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I walk away from him now.”

“It’s not like he’s been there for you or your mother,” he sneered.

“I know, but two wrongs don’t make a right.” Nathan stood and moved away. “I was talking with his fiancée at the hospital last night and—”

“His fiancée?”

“Yeah, if you can believe it.” Nathan shared a half laugh. “She has to be my age, too. I have to hand it to him—she’s beautiful. Maybe a little uptight, but a definite looker.”

Smokey lifted a curious brow. “She seems to have made quite an impression on you.”

Nathan shrugged. “She has. I’m actually happy that she was there last night. She helped me talk through a lot of things—a lot of feelings I didn’t know I had.”

The men fell silent again.

Smokey stood. “I guess I better get going.”

“You don’t have to go now.” Nathan feared that he’d hurt his feelings somehow, but was at a loss as to how to mend them.

“Don’t worry about me. I have a ton of things to do at the office.”

“How is that new job going anyway? What’s the name of the company?”

Smokey laughed, then landed another hard slap across Nathan’s back. “What’s this? A sudden interest in corporate America?”

“Heaven forbid. I’m just trying to keep you from walking out the door mad.”

They stood smiling at each other.

“All right. I admit I’m a little concerned about what’s going on between you and Travis. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I’m a grown man now, Pop.”

“You can still get hurt.”

“I guess that’s a chance I’m going to have to take. Don’t worry,” Nathan said, returning the affectionate slap on the back. “I’m not trying to replace you. You’ll always be my father. You’re the one that has always been here for me.”

A genuine smile lit Smokey’s eyes. “Thanks, son. I needed to hear that.”

“Good. Then what do you say we get together for dinner tonight? And don’t tell me about your workaholic schedule. Surely you can squeeze in time to have dinner with your son.”

“All right. You’re on. How about we meet at Justin’s. It’s not too far from the office. Say around eight?”

“Eight it is.”