A Second Chance (21 page)

‘
We
’
re here with Laura
,
’ Jade explained,
tired of
Melissa’s
sche
m
ing
. It
was one thing to be aware of Liam being out of reach and dealing with it the best she could, but to be put
in
her
place by this Barbie doll was another level of humiliation entirely
—
o
ne that she wouldn’t put up with, no matter what.
‘
If she
’
s up to it, you should definitely go. I
’
m quite tired as it is, Melissa. But thank you for the invitation just the same
.
’

As if on cue, she heard familiar laughter
,
and suddenly Laura was back, breathless and suspiciously giggly.

‘
Wow
, I haven’t have so much fun dancing in ages
.
’
Her
voice dropping conspiratorially
.
‘I met this incredible guy, Jordan. We danced through at least four songs
.
W
hew
!
’
S
he
stopped to catch her breath, finally noticing Melissa
.
‘Hi,
Mel
.
’
S
he
smiled, her eyes going from
Mel’s
rather frosty response to Liam and Jade, still standing together
. ‘
What’s
the plan? Are we staying here or going into town? We could take Jordan with us
.
I know he was
up
for having some more fun
.
’

‘Jordan? Sounds like some toothpaste commercial
,
’ Rocco
interrupted
, and Jade suddenly realized that he sounded positively jealous. She watched him furrow his eyebrows and snicker, his blue gaze on Laura’s heated face.
T
o her utter amazement, her friend’s eyes
glar
ed
back, challenging in
their
intensity. She liked him being jealous, for God’s sake! Jade felt like laughing out loud
;
recognizing
her friend
’s
sneaky ways
cheer
ed
her immensely. She would have to grill
Laura
on it
later, their romance a welcome distraction from her
own
lackluster
love life.

‘We were just talking about
that
,
’
Mel
offered, visibly eager to regain her upper hand
.
‘
J
ade
’
s very tired and
want
s
to go home, but I think the four of us could still have some more fun. Since you and Rocco are in, we could do double dating?’

It
was daring, and for a second Jade almost admired the other woman
’s
spirit, for she would rather die than try
to
make Liam do something he was so obviously
against
. But at the same time, she was
angry
at having been
dismissed that
way
, with no
room
to maneuver.

‘
Yes
, I think I
’
ll
call
it a night
.
’
S
he
managed to smile, attempting to make it her choice after all. ‘
I have
the key, Laura, so don’t worry.’

‘No way
.
’ Liam shook his head in refusal, his words a surprise not only for her but also for Melissa,
judging by
the darkening
of
the woman’s
expression
as she saw her plan being
blocked
so irrev
ocably. ‘I
’
ll take you home, J
ade. I
’
m done for tonight anyway. But you guys should go have fun, definitely
.
’

I must remember he is doing th
is
because of Melissa
, J
ade thought as she fought the absurd happiness spreading all over her suddenly electrified body.
She had no reason to feel that
way
, she scolded herself repeatedly
.
Liam’s sudden eagerness to take her home
was
simply
a perfect excuse to turn down Melissa’s offer to continue the night
.
It was no different than
Liam
making
Melissa
aware of
he and Jade
being friends, the long pause in their relationship conveniently forgotten.

Melissa’s
face
f
e
ll
,
and
she struggled to cover her disappointment behind
the
mask of a radiant
smile that
seemed frozen on her face.
For a
brief moment
Jade
almost
felt sorry for her,
but
the feeling disappeared
when
she was confronted with
a
vis
i
bly hostile
glare. She could have laughed
,
for
unbeknown
st
to Mel
,
they were in the same boat.
Liam didn’t care for either of them
th
at
way, and
nothing would
change
that
no matter how hard one pressed on.

‘Are you sure?’
S
he
looked up
at
Liam’s face, the determination in his features telling her he wasn’t about to change his mind. ‘I can get home no problem, you know. I would take a cab and be there in no time
.
’

‘I want to drive you myself, Jade
.
’
H
is
head dipped closer
,
and she found herself breathless, the proximity of his dark
ly
fringed eyes reducing her brain
function
to mush.

‘All right
,
’ she agreed, barely able to do more than nod. ‘How about you, Laura?’
She
turned to her friend, desperate for some distraction ‘
A
re
you coming or going out?’

‘
Ha
! T
he evening has just started, Jadie
.
’
Laura
’s brown eyes looked amused as she
shook her head
.
‘
N
o way
am I
going home so soon. And if Rocco here
—
’ she smiled at him radiantly, dimples appearing i
n her pale cheeks,
‘
—
wants
to tag along, I
’
m ready for more clubbing
.
’

‘Ladies, you won’t regret it
.
’ The tall Australian grinned widely, his arms going around Laura’s shoulders and reaching out to Mel, who took a hasty step back, her blue eyes icy
.

‘
Well
, maybe I will call it a night after all
.
’
She
was obvious
ly
extremely disappointed, the idea of spending her evening with Rocco and Laura a far cry from her plans to be with Liam. She didn’t even care to pretend anymore,
shaking
her head to stop short whatever
half
-
hearted encouragement Laura was
about
to
offer
.

In the end
,
Jade
found herself propelled toward the exit, Liam’s palm guiding her through the crowd. Laura and Rocco stayed behind
,
and
Jade
couldn’t help smiling at the sight of her friend’s visible excitement. It was exactly what
Laura
needed, she thought protectively, wondering for a second if Rocco knew about her disease
.
He certainly seemed to carry a torch for her, the blue of his eyes even more intense each time he looked her way.
She had made a mental note to investigate it further once they were both back at Laura’s apartment, her sixth sense telling her that there was more to this story than met the eye. For now, she couldn’t help but concentrate all her attention on the man at her side, tall and purposeful as he pushed through the crowd
,
bringing the two of them to the exit in no time at all.

‘I hope you aren’t too disappointed to
have to
take
me home, Liam
.
’
She
turned to him once they were both outside, the cool evening air refreshing on the heated skin of her cheeks.
Being out
doors
again
felt good
, the light breeze that caressed her skin a welcome sensation after the
hot
darkness of the club.

‘Are you kidding me?’
H
is
lopsided grin was infectious enough to make her own mouth stretch in
to
a smile. ‘I was ready to hit the road
,
too. I have an early meeting tomorrow and still need to go through some of my plans
, so it was about time
for me
to leave. I
’
m just surprised you were ready to come, judging by the way you enjoyed dancing with Rocco
.
’

His
words hung in the night air for a second as she wondered
—
with something
that bordered on insane hope
—
if
he was jealous.
O
therwise
,
w
hy
would he notice in the first place?

But he crashed all her hopes as he grinned again and asked, his tone light and strictly friendly
,
‘
He
is fun, isn’t he?’
He
opened the
car
door for her, his dark eyes sparkling in the night
.
‘I think
,
though
,
that he carries a torch for Laura.
H
e h
a
s
for a long time now
,
but all he ever does is
whin
e
about it when we
’
re alone and
th
e
n
act like nothing
is
amiss when they
’
re together.’

‘
Maybe
he
’
s shy
,
’ she offered and was rewarded with a loud chuckle as he started the engine.

‘God knows, no! Rocco is anything but shy around women
.
I should know.’ His fingers pressed a button, and a quiet, pearly
melody
that she recognized as
“
The Girl
w
ith
t
he
Flaxen Hair
”
filled the interior of the car. She had always loved Debussy
,
and
the music
calmed
her
high-
strung nerves, the sweet notes charming her into
resting her head against the upholstery and closing her eyes.
Being
here with Liam
felt good
, the quiet purr of the engine
soothing
as he wove his way through the busy traffic.

She recalled suddenly that
he had played the
piano at
his
old house
.
The
image rose before her eyes
of a tall, skinny boy in a tattered t-shirt and pants full of te
ars from his attempts to master the skateboard
.
Y
et
,
when his fingers touched the keys, all
else
disappeared, the haunting beauty of
the
music that he played with such
a
lack of effort making her sit
silently
listening to the cascade of sound that he charmed from his aunt’s old black piano. To
Laura’s
immense chagrin, he had proved a natural at the instrument with barely any lessons at all, his inborn talent and impeccable ear at odds with
the
hours of practice and sweat she had put into learning the basics.