A Second Chance (4 page)

It was nothing more than a mere touch of his firm lips against her mouth, fleeting and innocent. And it would have been nothing more than that, if only
she had
kept still and let it pass.
Instead,
she opened
her lips, inviting him to explore the wet recess of her mouth. He hesitated for a split second before complying, the quality of the kiss changing into something
entirely
different.
His
arms
tighten
ed
around her once more,
pulling
her against him as he
kissed her properly,
and
the taste of him
ma
de
her dizzy with
a
need she had never experienced before. The first brush of his tongue against hers
was
electrifying
;
her whole body
came
alive with delicious excitement that
curled
her toes in her
high-heeled
shoes.
No one had
prepared
her
for
the
onslaught of
raw
emotion that
c
ou
r
s
ed
through her with lightning speed as he ravished her mouth, each move of his lips more demanding than the last.

They were hidden from sight in the shadows behind the bar, the merciful darkness making her braver. Her arms went up to the nape of his
neck
, her fingers threading through the silky hair she
loved
. He felt wonderful, every inch of his skin inviting her in with an almost hypnotic power.

Someone laughed not far away, and she tensed in fear, the red
haze of
passion clearing just enough to
let
her worry about being
discovered
. Liam must have shared her fear, for he stepped back, putting enough space between them to allow him to look into her face.

‘I
’m
sorry, Jade
.
’
H
e
tried to smile, but she
knew
he didn’t find it amusing at all. He looked tense and almost shocked, his dark eyes
showing
an
emotion she
didn’t understand
. ‘I
never
should have done
that. It
was a mistake
.
’

T
o hear him speak those words
hurt terribly
. She
bit
her lip to stop herself from telling him he was wrong
,
that
his actions
only proved her point, whether he liked it or not. But she
had
had enough humiliation for one evening, and the thought of being rejected again was unbearable. He obviously regretted kissing her in the first place
,
and there wasn’t much she could
say
to change his mind. After all, he was used to his girlfriends
being
experienced and sexually
skilled
. The passion in the kiss they had just shared allowed her a tiny glimpse into his
love life
, where passionate lovers met as equals, giving and taking, satisfied with their
prowess
.
Obviously, she didn’t fit anywhere
in
th
at
description
.

She
looked up
at
him, praying her voice sound
ed
more confident
than she felt.
‘That
’
s
o
kay,
Liam, really. Don’t worry about it
.
’
S
he
smiled, aware of his
eyes searching her face
. ‘
I guess you could say I asked for it, right?’

‘No, don’t say that
.
’
H
e
shook his dark head, his eyes serious. ‘I just… lost control and acted like a jerk. And for that I am sorry, Jade. I promise it won’t happen again.’

He looked over her head and swore softly, his face closing.

‘Here comes my stepdad
. I
f
you don’t mind
,
I’m going to
disappear for a moment now. If he asks me one more time to change my mind about California and stay here working on banners for his parties, I swear I
’
ll push him into the pool. I
’
ll talk to you later, Jade.’

H
e walked off, his white shirt
practically
glowing in the darkness as
he
mingl
ed
into the crowd. She knew
at that
moment she
would
never
forget what
had
happened between them
.
Nor would she
forget
the misery and
sense of
abandonment that followed as she stood alone, her
hand
s
balled into fists so tight her fingernails left crescent
s
in the soft flesh of her
palm
s
.
Liam Latimer might
forget
their
romantic
interlude by the end of this evening, but she
wouldn’t be
that lucky
.
She
smiled politely at
Liam’s stepfather
as
clawing
pain
ravaged through her
.
Liam
was about to
disappear from her life forever
—
punishment for the stolen moment in paradise she
had
experienced in his arms.

Twelve years later

Jade Rowley glanced at her fiancé
in confusion
as they sat
in
an
intimate restaurant
, their
steaming
cups
of coffee wafting
delicious fragrance in
to
the air.
His
spontaneous decision to go out
for dinner
on
th
at
late June Friday night
had caught
her by surprise. They were up to their ears in deadlines and projects that needed completion, so she
had planned
a
quick
meal
at
home
in the loft they
had
shared
for the
p
ast three years.

‘Brian, I don’t understand.’ She looked across the table, her gaze coming to rest
on his
handsome features
twisted into
an
expression
of chagrin
. ‘
What do you mean, you
can’t
go through with the wedding? Is
this
a joke?’

‘I
’m
very sorry
.
’
His b
lue
eyes
were
serious
as
he played with his spoon
to
avoid
her gaze. ‘I just… realized
that it’s not
the best idea, you know. I… there were certain things happening that made me question the whole idea
.
I
’m
sorry
—
’

‘Things?’ Her voice rose
,
and other people
star
ed
their way. Great
.
Nothing was
better than having an audience while being dumped
.
S
he lowered
her
voice. ‘What things do you mean? I think you should be more specific, Brian
.
’

He was obviously uncomfortable, his body language telling her better than any words
that
he wished
this
to be over as soon as possible.

‘Just… things
.
’
His
eyes stubbornly
avoid
ed
hers. ‘I thought we were happy and
right for each other
, but now I know it isn’t enough to make it work
.
’

S
he
leaned
forward,
furious
. ‘Don’t tell me
this
just occurred to you as you were driving to work one morning, Brian. What exactly
makes
you think that being happy and having simi
lar interests isn’t enough to get
married?
And don’t give me
any
bullshit about you coming up with this on your own. I know there
’s
more to it than you getting cold feet
,
and I think I deserve an answer.’

Maybe she was pushy and pathetic, but the wedding was in a month
’s
time
.
P
anic
seized her
at the
thought
of
all the trouble their families
had
already
gone
through to plan the event.
The two
of them
had
insisted
on
a small, private affair
, but
both Brian’s and her parents were only too thrilled to
step
in, ignoring their protests. She
suspected
that
her family was relieved
that the
y
had
finally decided to take the next step after dating for seven years.
Her parents
ha
d
hinted
at
it more than once
,
and she knew her mother
, especially,
didn’t approve
of
them living together for so long without any plans for the future.

Well, she didn’t dare to think
about the
hell
that
would break loose now, after she
told
them about
th
is
fiasco.

Brian
’s
voice
was
barely audible.
‘I met someone else
.
’
He looked down at
the
tiny specks of cinnamon
coloring the
little hill of whipped cream
atop
his coffee. ‘And… it made me realize what we had wasn’t exactly what I was looking for all those years. I am so sorry, Jade
.
’

‘You
met someone else
?’
S
he
stared at him, her mouth half open as she tried to absorb the information. ‘Where? And how long
have
you
ha
d
someone on the side, Brian?’

A
nger
enflamed
her body as she watched him search
—
and fail—to find
the right words. A
portion
of her brain seemed to watch her from
a
distance, analyzing her as she sat and waited for him to speak.
That
sane part of her wondered why she
didn’t
feel as much pain as she should, given the situation. Her fiancé
had
cheated on her and was about to cancel their wedding, and all she could find in her heart was anger, curiosity
,
and
wounded
pride. She waited for
a
swift stab of agony that never came.

‘I… I went to the Home and Garden Expo last month
.
’
He took a sip of coffee
,
and she
resisted
the impulse to wipe away the cream mustache it
had
given
him. Instead
,
she sat
still
, her eyes never leaving his features
as he spoke
. ‘You know, to find some ideas for our business, pick up some contacts
.
’