Then & Now (26 page)

When Jace went to ask her, she broke down claiming that it wasn’t intentional. Tears had streamed down her face as she explained the conversation she had with her ex over the phone, about the other woman he had been seeing, and how that finally sent her over the edge.  Without thinking she threw her light cigarette into her trash.

At that point she wrapped her arms around his neck, weeping uncontrollably she begged him to help her.  She didn’t want her family hurt over her the stupid blunder.  Her foolish thoughts of salvaging her career had been her own undoing, not her families.

He explained to her that it would get messy, but all in all it would still make some great headlines.  Trying to calm her down, he talked lower as he advised her to get an attorney.  Thinking she was sincere, he hugged her back and told her not to worry. 
His second mistake.

Before he knew what happened her lips were on his.  He told himself she was upset and that she acted—again—without thinking.  But when he heard her mother’s gasp, he knew that he had been played. She hadn’t cared one once about her family.  She was using him and his power to help
herself.

Alethea’s
face twisted in agony flashed recklessly behind his closed eyes.  How was he going to make this up to her?  He had to make this up to her.  Or die trying.

Alethea stood in the middle of what seemed like a jungle of roses.  For the past week Jace had sent her a dozen roses every hour on the hour.  She had no more room for the new vase in her hand.

Every card had only three words on it “I am sorry”.  Jace was clearly remorseful but so was every other guy who left her for her sister.  Although they had never went this extreme before. 

Smelling one of the beautiful roses in her hand she wondered if she should call him.  God, she was pathetic.  He was no different than the rest and she should just except that now.  So what if he got in deeper than the rest.  It only made it worse.

There was no use standing around hoping for nothing.  She needed to get back to packing.  Her plane left in two hours and she wasn’t getting anything done with all these disturbances.

“Holy, crap.”  Her sister’s soft gasp came from the front door.  “Alethea?  Are you in this rose garden?”

Ignoring her, she set the vase on the floor, and moved into the kitchen.  She placed several coffee mugs wrapped in news paper into one of the moving boxes before Mytrice joined her.

“Thea?”  When she got no response her sister continued.  “Is it true?  Are you really moving to Greece with grandma?”

Still ignoring her,
Thea closed the box, labeled it, and then carried it into the other room.

“
Thea, don’t be like this.  Please talk to me.”  Her sister pleaded.

“No,
Mytrice.  There is nothing for us to talk about and there never will be.  You have other things to deal with.  So go away.”  She had no idea she could sound so vicious.  What was worse she had no guilt for it.  Too many years had built this moment.  Now she was too tired and unaffected to care anymore.

“I don’t want to go away, Thea.  I want you to know how sorry I am.  I’ve been so caught up in my career and my looks that I have forgotten what’s most important to me.  This trial has put me into prospective.  Even though my attorney said I won’t do time, I feel like I already have.”  She waited for a moment, but when Thea said nothing she went on.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Thea.  Not with Jace.  With your ex it was because I knew he didn’t love you.  But with Jace…I kissed him and he didn’t want me to.”  She explained stuffing her hands into her pockets.

Shaking her head,
Thea crossed her arms over her chest.  “Why?  Why would you do that?”

“Jealousy.”
  She answered honestly.  “He really likes you.  I mean
really
likes you
.
When he found out the truth about the fire, he came to me to protect you.”  She laughed without humor.  “Men don’t like me like that.  They like the way I look, but that’s where it stops.  I don’t have anything to offer them and they know it.”

Dropping her arms to her sides, Thea released a breath.  “Mytrice—”

“No, Thea.  I know it’s true.  And that’s why I have envied you for so long.”  Her sister admitted with a tone that lined the sincerity of her words.  “I wish I had your stamina.  It’s worth more than my looks could ever hold.”

Stunned.
  That was the only expression Thea could register at that moment.  “You think I have stamina?”

Her sister laughed wholeheartedly. 
“By the truck loads!  And you know if you saw one of my stylist men would go crazy for you.”

“Not next to you.”

“Please!  Next to me, we knock them all over.”  Her sister smiled.  “Thea, don’t leave.  Not like this.  You’re the only real friend I have.”

A l
ump the size of a golf ball formed in the back of her throat.  She could feel the tears well up behind her eyes.  Yet, she couldn’t move.  “Mytrice, I can’t live as your second any more.  I’ve lost too much already.”  Her thoughts went to Jace making the lump that much larger.

Her sister ran up to her taking her hands in her own.  “Don’t you see?  You were never my second, I was yours.  And from the look of things you haven’t lost anything.”  She stated as she gestured toward the mound of roses that lined her home.

She eyed the flowers carefully.  “I don’t know…”

“
Thea, I know I’ve been a horrible sister to you.  I’ve wronged you in so many ways, but please don’t let me ruin this.  He likes you, sis.  I think he might actually love you.”  Her sister’s bold statement had her blanching.

“Love?
  We hardly know each other.”

“So?”

So.  Out of everything that could’ve been said that one little word seemed to fit perfectly.

“Come on,
Thea.  Don’t torture the poor guy any longer.”  Raising both eyebrows her sister pulled out a set of keys.  “I’ll drive?”

She had to smile. “Okay.”

Jace
sat at his large desk staring blankly at the stack of papers piled on his desk.  It had been a week and he hadn’t heard anything yet.  He should back off.  Maybe he should send flowers only once a day now.

Dropping his head forward he let out a tired grown.  She had got into his veins and refused to get out.  Only two days and his heart belonged to her and only her.  Although if he was truthful with himself he knew this was years in the making.  She had been in his vanes since the moment he saw her standing by her locker in high school.

And he lost it all from one stupid kiss, from a woman he didn’t even like.  Where did he go from here?  The whole love and lose thing didn’t set well with him.  Though pestering her with an absurd amount of roses didn’t seem like a good idea anymore either.

His phone rang tearing him out of his thoughts.  Punching the speaker button, his assistant came on immediately.  “Mr. Kamber, a woman is here to see you.”

He wasn’t expecting anyone.  “Who?”

“A Ms. Eneas, sir.  She says she wants to speak with you about her sister.”

Mytrice.  “Send her in.”

He might as well get this over with. 
Although he had nothing to say to her.  No that was wrong he had a lot to say, but wouldn’t say any of it.  He was trying to help his case here not destroy it further.

Maybe he should have a drink first.  Walking over to the small wet bar, he reached for the brandy.  He poured a small amount into the bottom of the crystal tumbler.  When he heard the large oak door open and close behind him he added a little more to the glass.

Turning slowly he brought the cool glass to his lips, only to spit out the tiny bit of liquid that hit his suddenly dry mouth.  There in his office stood the last bit of hope he had left.

“
Alethea!”

“You were expecting someone else?”  She asked in a small voice.

“Yes—No!  I mean I was hoping it would be you, but after what I done I didn’t think…God you look good.”  He smiled almost dropping his drink.

Her cheeks reddened to match her nice fitting sweater.  “Thanks.”

He took a cautious step toward her.  “Did you get my flowers?”  He asked dimwittedly.

“Yeah, all six
hundred of them.”  Her mouth quirked up slightly.

“I went a little over board didn’t I?”

“Only be a few…hundred.”  Pushing some of her hair back she glanced around his office. “Nice.  You can see the whole city from here.”  She noted without walking over to the large bay window.

“I’m so sorry,
Thea.”  He started getting right to the point.  “About what happened, I wish I could explain.  But I—”

Holding up a delicate hand she stopped him midsentence.  “Mytrice told me the truth. Which, frankly I didn’t believe.  Until I saw how serious she was.”  She paused for a moment, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time.  “You really didn’t want to kiss her?”   

His chest released the tight knot that had formed over the past week.  Smiling for the first time in what felt like an eternity he took another step toward her.  “No, Thea.  Your mouth is the only one I want to dine on.”

It took everything he had not to laugh out loud at her expression, while she stared up at him with those kissable lips framing around her silent gasp.
He had to admit that she was rather adorable with those big blue eyes wide with shock.

Closing the space between them, he took her face into his hands.  “I wasn’t lying to you.  I have been waiting since high school for you.”

Then like a prayer that had been gratefully answered she leaned forward and kissed him.  He held onto her allowing the kiss to last as long as it could.  Feeling her in his arms again was better than breathing. 

She lightly pulled back, giving him a look he’ll never forget.  “I’ll owe Leya for the rest of my life and it isn’t the money I owe.”  Letting out a slow breath, she placed her forehead against his chest.

Kissing the top of her gorgeous head he smiled at that.  “We both owe her.” 

“It looks like you have some bad news for your Aunt Penny.” She announced remembering their conversation they had the first night they reunited.   

“It’s okay.  I have lots of cousins.” He winked.

“Oh, good.”
  Taking his lips again, he was able to feel his heartbeat for the first time in seven days.

Leya
Davis closed her eyes and sighed as the warmth of her bubble bath consumed her tired body.  Sinking down until the water reached her chin, she watched the snow fall outside her bay window.  There was nowhere else she needed to be.  No one she really needed to talk to.  She could lie there all day and let the world pass her by.

Unfortunately, the world as she knew it wouldn’t allow such a pleasure.  Within only a few minutes of her limited splendor, her bathroom door flew open to a man she didn’t expect for another hour or so.

“You took my car!”  Devlin Finley her lover—ex-lover—shrieked.

“Correction.
My car.  I took my car.” She revised calmly as she played with bubbles in her hand.  “I bought it.  It’s mine.”

“I was in the middle of dinner when my car was towed right in front of the restaurant.”  He continued as if she hadn’t said anything.  “When I went to dispute it with the police they said that it was stolen and that I was wanted for questioning.  Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is?”

Although he was attractive with his cute little Irish accent, he was dumb as a box of nails.  She knew she shouldn’t have dated a model they’re really only good to look at and nothing more.  “Of course it was, you idiot.  That was the point.”

“Why would you do that to me?  Do you have any idea how stupid I looked in front of my friends?”  He shrieked again reminding her of a peacock and with the shirt he was wearing he could’ve easily been trying to accomplish such a goal.

“By friend you mean Jamie Yule?” She asked with a raise of her brow waiting for his reaction.

He stood for a moment without saying anything.  Then like the idiot that he was, he further disappointed her.  “Yes.  My best friend’s little sister was there.”

Rolling her eyes she reached for the plug draining the once inviting bath.  “I knew the minute I met you that you’d be my worst nightmare.”  She grumbled as she reached for her towel. 

To his credit he said nothing as she covered herself and left the bathroom to her joining bedroom.  She took her time picking out her outfit while he watched her from the door of her large walk in closet.

“Leya, baby.  If I’ve done something to make you this upset then you need to tell me.  Because I have no idea—”

“Are you kidding me?!”  She turned on him completely irate.  “Are you really going to do this?  I mean, really?”

“What?  I don’t know what’s wrong?”  He turn his big brown eyes into that puppy dog stare that pegged her the first time she had met him.

But not this time.
  Throwing the outfit she had been holding at him she watched as the hanger nearly caught his eye.  “I know your sleeping with your ‘best friend’s little sister’.  Which by the way I know she’s not!  You met her at a bar in town!”